'You gotta die,' carjacker told Farmington Hills woman

They hit her over the head with a hammer, tried to strangle her with a cell phone cord, covered her head with a plastic bag and then stuffed the bag into her mouth, trying to kill her. They broke her fingers with the hammer as she tried to shield her head from further blows.

The man and woman who abducted Ingrid Ellerbe from her Farmington Hills apartment on Jan. 21 and then stole her car wanted her dead, she said.

"I was barely breathing. I thought I was going to die. I thought I was about to die," Ellerbe said.

As she pleaded for her life, Ellerbe said, the man told her: "No, you gotta die, you gotta die."

He also said "rest in peace," she said.

Those nightmarish events were recalled Friday by Ellerbe, 40, as she testified at a preliminary examination for her two alleged attackers: Joshua Miller, 18, of Farmington Hills, and Jasmine McReynolds, 21, of Farmington.

Based on the testimony, Farmington Hills District Court Judge James Brady ordered the pair bound over to circuit court for trial. They are charged with assault with intent to murder, armed robbery and carjacking — all punishable by up to life in prison — as well as with unlawful imprisonment and home invasion,

Appearing distressed and with bandages wrapped around several splinted fingers, Ellerbe testified that Miller and McReynolds — unknown to her at the time — were inside the lobby of her building at the Fairmont Park Apartments near Nine Mile and Drake roads.as she arrived home from a college class that evening.

Suddenly, she said, she was hit in the head with a hammer and fell to the ground. While McReynolds went into her apartment, Miller stayed in the lobby with her, keeping his hand over her mouth to muffle her screams.

"I'm laying there, scared for my life. I didn't know what was going to happen," Ellerbe testified.

Pleading for her life, she was then forced into the rear seat of her vehicle, where Miller began to choke her, she said, while McReynolds took the driver's seat. As they drove around the complex, Miller then wrapped a cell phone cord around her neck in an attempt to strangle her, she said, and covered her head with a plastic bag and then stuffed it into mouth trying to choke her, she testified.

At one one point, Ellerbe was able to escape from the vehicle while it was still in the apartment complex. Attempting to flee, she slipped on the ice and the two caught up with her, she said. She was then hit multiple times in the head with the hammer, she testified, and her fingers were broken as she tried to shield the blows.

"They were just annoyed that it was taking so long to kill me — that's how I felt," Ellerbe said.

A neighbor heard her screams and came outdoors, asking if she was OK, Ellerbe said.

Ellerbe said she didn't see Miller and McReynolds take off because she was scared to look back, but assumed they drove away in her vehicle.

A tip from a citizen led police to the vehicle two days later while Miller was driving it in the area. He and McReynolds were arrested after a short foot chase. Police also recovered Ellerbe's purse containing credit cards and other property believed to have been taken from her.

Ellerbe was hospitalized for days after the incident and has undergone surgery. She said more medical care is needed to treat her injuries.

Ellerbe was the only witness called to testify during the preliminary examination.

Miller and McReynolds are housed in the Oakland County Jail, each on a $500,000 bond.

Miller also faces charges in a baseball bat attack and attempted carjacking in Farmington that reportedly occurred Jan. 12.

Aileen Wingblad is a reporter for Hometown Life. She can be reached at awingblad@hometownlife.com.