TWO teens from Detroit have been charged with murder for allegedly robbing an Uber driver and then beating and stabbing him to death.
Prosecutors say the teens booked the driver with the intention of robbing him, and then killed him using a hammer and a knife.
Devin McKee, 16, and Lanyah Brady, 15, were charged on Friday with killing 60-year-old Uber driver Timothy Perkins, according to ClickOnDetroit.
The teens are alleged to have booked the Uber ride on January 21, and attacked Perkins after robbing him.
The victim was found in an alleyway with multiple stab wounds to his head, back and torso. He had also been beaten with a hammer.
The teens took the victim’s car after leaving him in the alley to die, prosecutors allege.
Perkins was brought to a hospital where he later died.
Friends told ClickOnDetroit that Perkins would have given the keys to the teens, and that the brutal violence was not necessary.
He was apparently driving for Uber to support his hobby as a cyclist, according to WXYZ.
The teens are being charged as adults with first-degree murder, carjacking and armed robbery causing serious injury.
“It is rare that we use the automatic waiver to charge juveniles as adults,” Prosecutor Kym Worthy told KOB 4.
“But the alleged facts in this case are especially heinous and violent.
“The evidence in this case will show that these defendants called an Uber with a plan to rob and carjack the driver, beat and bludgeoned him, and left him in an alley to die,” she said.
The teens are both expected to appear in court on February 10.
Uber released a statement saying they are “heartbroken” by the news of the attack.
“We’ll work with law enforcement to help in any way we can with their investigation,” the statement said.
