A pair of 17-year-olds were dating for less than a week when they allegedly killed a taxi driver, a court document reveals.
Linda Bury and Joshua Mebane were arrested Friday in the death of a taxi driver found in a burning car in Northeast D.C. on Wednesday.
The driver was identified as Quader Muhammed by coworkers.
"He was a nice person, a nice gentlemen," said a coworker of Muhammed. "He was very serious about his work. He never had any problems, anything like that."
Bury, of Parkton, Md., and Mebane, of Waldorf, are facing felony murder charges. They are being held without bond.
According to a court document, Bury initially told police that she and Mebane were in a car accident with the driver.
However, she later said that they were staying at a Motel 6 when they decided they needed money, walked to the Greyhound bus station, and hailed a cab. Mebane allegedly told the driver to take them to the back of a school near their hotel. He also asked the driver if he could break a $50 bill, and the driver said he could, Bury told police.
When they arrived, Mebane shot the driver in the back of the head, Bury told police. The car then accelerated and crashed into a tree Bury said.
Police found the car burning in the 1400 block of Brentwood Parkway NE, with Muhammed's body still inside.
Authorities received tips that ultimately led them to Bury and Mebane, after Bury allegedly told someone that she and her boyfriend robbed a cab driver. The two looked up an online story about the incident together.
She also reportedly told another person, "My boyfriend and I killed a cab driver," and showed that person a bruise on her leg.
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Authorities searched the suspects' homes Friday.
In Mebane's home, they found a black handgun, ammunition and hotel receipts from the area near the murder, they said. In Bury's home, they could a note stating, "We should have took the dude's money." Bury admitted to writing the note, the court document says.
Bury's lawyer didn't immediately return a phone message seeking comment Tuesday. A lawyer for Mebane couldn't immediately be reached.
