A Kentucky woman is charged with murder after she shot and killed an Uber driver she thought was kidnapping her.
On June 26, Phoebe Copas, 48, ordered an Uber in El Paso, Texas, where she was visiting her boyfriend. When Daniel Piedra Garcia, 52, arrived, she entered his vehicle and he started the trip to get the suspect to her destination.
But things took a turn for the worst. According to El Paso Police Department, Copas thought Piedra was driving her to Mexico when in reality, he was taking her to her location in El Paso’s Mission Valley.
Police records show Copas saw signs to “Juarez, Mexico” and panicked.
In fear for her life, Copas removed a gun from her purse and shot Piedra in the head. The victim’s vehicle proceeded to crash into barriers on a freeway.
In a statement released to the press, police said they conducted an investigation and found that the driver was not trying to kidnap the suspect.
The investigation further revealed that after shooting Piedra, Copas took a picture of the deceased and sent it to her boyfriend.
Piedra was rushed to a local hospital where he was kept on life support for several days. His family decided to take him off support after medical personnel informed them he would not recover.
Copas is charged with murder and is being held on $1.5 million bond. She was originally charged with aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury but the charge was upgraded after the victim was pronounced dead.
Meanwhile, loved ones of Piedra say he was a “hardworking” and “really funny” man.
“He was never in a bad mood,” his niece Didi Lopez told the El Paso Times. “He was always the one that, if he saw you in a bad mood, he’d come over and try to lift you up.”
Piedra’s loved ones also say he was the sole provider for his family and has created a GoFundMe to assist with expenses to care for his family.
Learn more about the life and legacy of Piedra and make a donation here.
