Fred E. Bickler, 30, and Carrie Lemke, 31, were indicted on Tuesday on murder charges in connection with the September 2008 stabbing and death of cab driver Vincent Flores.
Flores, 54, was found in the trunk of an A-Cab Company cab on Sept. 25, 2008. Police were called to the cab, which was ablaze on Meloy Drive in the Benning Hills area of Columbus.
The fire was extinguished and taken to Phenix City, where Flores body was discovered in the trunk.
Bickler, who worked at the Greater Columbus Fair, and Lemke, his girlfriend who came to Columbus to accompany him, are both of Posen, Ill. Both were found at the Greyhound Bus Station on Veterans Parkway shortly after the discovery of Flores body.
Police believe Flores picked the two up and drove them to north Columbus. The victim was stabbed and placed in the trunk of his cab at an unknown spot, Columbus Police Lt. Lynn Joiner said. The two suspects then allegedly drove back to south Columbus and ran out of gas in Benning Hills. At that point, Lemke allegedly attempted to rob a 67-year-old female with a knife on Meloy Drive. The female victim defended herself with a bigger knife, Joiner said, and ran the suspect out of her house. The cab was then set on fire and the two suspects ran from the area.
Both were indicted on charges of murder, kidnapping with bodily injury, first-degree arson and armed robbery.
