Ismail Abdulle, a 54 year old Somali cab driver, was found dead inside his vehicle near Davis Street and Irving Avenue in Blue Island, Illinois, at about 6 a.m. after Christmas Eve. The Cook County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide from multiple injuries sustained in an assault. Investigators say Abdulle had reported a robbery earlier and that a passenger identified as 26 year old Francisco Ojeda had been picked up on Fullerton Avenue after calling for a pre-dawn ride to the LaSalle Street Metra station.

Prosecutors allege Ojeda struck Abdulle in the head with a whiskey bottle, drove the cab to Blue Island, and tried to set the car and driver on fire before abandoning them. Authorities recovered Abdulle’s wallet and, at Ojeda’s home, bloody clothing. Ojeda was arrested on December 26, 2017, charged with first degree murder, and denied bail. Mourners remembered Abdulle as a gentle husband and father of five who had lived in Chicago for about a decade and often gave discounted rides; a fundraiser was launched to support his family.