Girl Charged With Murdering Uber Driver Heads To Adult Jail At 18

SKOKIE, IL — A judge ruled the Chicago girl awaiting trial on charges she murdered an Uber driver last year should be moved to the Cook County Jail upon her 18th birthday next week. Eliza Wasni, who awaits trial as an adult on charges of first-degree murder, told other juvenile detainees she hoped to go on a killing spree and discussed how to dispose of body parts, prosecutors said. Wasni has also been hospitalized at least six times for harming herself while in custody, the Chicago Tribune reported, and recently she used her own blood to write out the word "die" on a wall at the Juvenile Temporary Detention Center.

Wasni was 16 when she was arrested and charged in the fatal stabbing of 34-year-old Wilmette man Grant Nelson on May 30, 2017. She turns 18 on Tuesday. Prosecutors said the two met when Wasni hailed her third ride of the night using the app and Nelson, who had wrapped up a Memorial Day dinner with his family, picked her up after she walked out of a Skokie Walmart store with a machete and a hunting knife without paying for them.

Shortly after getting into his car, Wasni began attacking Nelson from behind, according to police and prosecutors. 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. An investigator on the case told Patch officers were unable to establish a motive for the killing. Skokie police have withheld records from inside the Walmart.

Since she has been in custody, prosecutors said she has committed more than 450 violations, including attacks on guards and other prisoners, the Tribune reported. Assistant Public Defender David McMahon had filed a motion seeking to have her transfer to the adult jail blocked on safety grounds. Assistant State's Attorney Diann Sheridan said it would be dangerous to staff and fellow detainees were she to remain in juvenile detention. Cook County Associate Judge Lauren Edidin said she believed it would be safer for Wasni in adult prison, noting current safety measures had not stopped the teen from attacking guards, inmates and harming herself.

Related:

• Teen Accused Of Machete Murder Could Avoid Cook County Jail
• Teen Accused In Uber Murder Attacked Guards: Prosecutor
• Teen Girl Accused Of Uber Driver Murder Hospitalized, Misses Court
• 16-Year-Old Girl Killed Wilmette Uber Driver in 'Random Act Of Violence,' Judge Says