Couple facing murder charges after Uber driver found stabbed to death in Issaquah

A couple from Nevada are facing second-degree murder charges after reportedly robbing and stabbing an Uber driver to death in Issaquah. 

According to court documents, it happened about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 13, in the 8200 block of Renton-Issaquah Road Southeast. Officers were called to a single-vehicle crash and found the driver, later identified as 28-year-old Cherno Ceesay, dead at the scene. Ceesay had been stabbed multiple times in the head and neck and crashed into a tree.

Investigators obtained a search warrant for Uber records that showed Ceesay had picked up a fare a few hundred yards from the crash scene. Police were able to track GPS on Ceesay's phone, as well as the phone of the person who requested the ride. Both phones were traveling together for a few hundred yards before the person who requested the ride disconnected their phone from the Uber app. Ceesay's phone stayed connected to the app for about two-and-a-half hours. 

Detectives tracked a white Nissan Altima with a Nevada license plate that followed the same GPS route. The car was found two days later with two people inside. Those same two people were arrested for shoplifting later that night. They searched the car after detaining the suspects and found Ceesay's phone and two bloody knives. 

The couple, both 21 years old, told police they live in the car with their two dogs. Both denied their involvement, but eventually asked for lawyers when confronted with evidence. 

The man and woman were booked into the King County Jail for suspicion of murder. They are facing second-degree murder charges but have not been formally charged yet. Q13 does not typically name suspects until they are formally charged with a crime. Both suspects are being held on $2 million bails.

Ceesay's family said on Facebook that he was from Gambia and living in Seattle.