Chicago Teen Gets 27 Years in Prison for Killing Uber Driver with Knife, Machete

A Chicago teenager was sentenced to 27 years in prison this week for killing an Uber driver with a knife and machete she stole from Walmart.

“Eliza Wasni, who was 16 years old at the time of the 2017 brutal killing of Grant Nelson of Wilmette, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder, and was sentenced Monday by Cook County Judge Timothy Chambers at the Skokie courthouse,” according to the Chicago Tribune.

The murder took place on May 30, 2017, just after 34-year-old Nelson picked up Wasni a few blocks away from a Walmart in Skokie.

“Shortly after getting into his car, Wasni began attacking Nelson from behind, according to police and prosecutors,” Patch.com reported.

The article detailed the events:

Nelson fled the car and sought help at a nearby apartment building. He died hours later after being taken to a local hospital. Wasni drove the car a short distance before crashing into a median and taking off on foot. Police said she shed a bloody Chicago Cubs shirt and had to be tased after she was found hiding behind an air conditioning unit, still holding the suspected murder weapons.

Following her arrest, prosecutors said Wasni committed more than 450 violations while in custody that included attacks on guards and her fellow prisoners, the Patch article from 2018 said.

Just before the murder took place, a couple shopping at the Walmart said they noticed the teenager walking around and acting suspiciously, WGN9 reported at the time.

“She walked over and grabbed a hunting knife and a machete,” said Krista Jurasek, adding that Wasni was grabbing weapons off the shelves, but no one seemed to notice.

“It was aggressive. She was holding the machete in one hand like you would see in a horror movie or something like that,” she continued.

When Wasni left the store without paying, Juraseck and her partner alerted security, but by the time they called police, it was too late.

At the time, prosecutors described the murder as “heinous” and “not provoked in any manner,” the Tribune article said.