Ashley Tucker Slaying: Different Man's Car Tied To Murder

JOLIET, IL — Last October, Joliet Police arrested Peter Zabala and charged him with first-degree murder in connection with the disappearance and death of 25-year-old Joliet resident Ashley Tucker, who vanished without a trace on Oct. 13.

She was last seen on the city's far east side near where she lived. It turns out that a car belonging to someone other than the murder defendant is central to the prosecution's case, documents at the Will County Courthouse show.

Last week, Joliet criminal defense attorney Neil Patel of the downtown law firm Bretz, Flynn & Associates, filed a motion with Judge David Carlson for the return of that property.

Patel's motion reminds the court that his client has been charged with first-degree murder and the Joliet Police Department "took into their custody a 2012 Buick Lacrosse."

But that car does not belong to the defendant, rather, it's owned by Zabala's "family friend, Henry Hill," court filings show.

"As such, it would be fair and just if the defendant's family friend, Henry Hill, is allowed to retrieve these items from the police," Patel's motion asks the judge.

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However, Assistant Will County State's Attorney Mike Fitzgerald has filed a detailed response to Patel's motion, explaining why the car belonging to Henry Hill should remain as impounded evidence related to the ongoing murder case from last fall.

Hill's Buick Lacrosse was seized as part of a search warrant on Oct. 18, the prosecutor stated. "During the processing of this vehicle, a Joliet Police Department evidence technician swabbed a stain in the rear seat of the vehicle. This swab was sent to the Illinois State Police Crime Laboratory in Joliet and testing of this stain revealed that blood was indicated and that a mixture of DNA profiles was identified that was interpreted as a mixture of at least two people," Fitzgerald's filing states.

It turns out that "a major DNA profile was identified from which Ashley Tucker cannot be excluded" as the DNA source, Fitzgerald's court filing indicates.

"Based on the discovery of forensic evidence in the vehicle of Mr. Hill," Fitzgerald tells the judge, "the State believes that the aforementioned statute requires the vehicle to remain in the custody of the Joliet Police Department ... The defense, up to this point in the proceedings, has not requested an opportunity to view or inspect or request its own testing or sampling of any evidence inside the 2012 Buick Lacrosse."

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As for Hill, the murder defendant's friend, he "has been interviewed by the Joliet Police Department during its investigation concerning the use of his 2012 Buick Lacrosse during the time period the victim, Ashley Tucker, was reported missing," Fitzgerald outlined. "Mr. Hill is likely a witness the prosecution will call in its case-in-chief."

According to Fitzgerald, when Hill requested the Bretz firm "pursue the return of Mr. Hill's vehicle, the State believes this created a potential conflict of interest in that the law firm for the defendant is seeking to return property which may contain evidence detrimental to the defendant's case to a likely State witness."

If, however, the judge agrees to return the Buick to Hill, the Will County State's Attorney's Office wants the judge to issue a court order for the following four matters:

1. That Zabala waive any potential conflict of interest.
2. That Zabala agree he does not wish to have the Lacrosse visually inspected or otherwise examined or photographed by the defense prior to its return to Hill.
3. That Zabala agree that he does not want the car to undergo any forensic testing "by his own expert prior to its return to Mr. Hill."
4. And "that the defendant acknowledge that the 2012 Buick Lacrosse has been in the custody and control" of Joliet Police since Oct. 19, 2018, "until the date of the court order returning it to Mr. Henry Hill and that the vehicle is in the same or substantially the same condition on the date of its return to Mr. Hill as it was on Oct. 19, 2018."

Will County Circuit Judge Carlson has scheduled a court hearing on the pretrial motion for early June. In the meantime, Zabala, now 43, remains in the Will County Jail without bail.