Ashley Tucker's Murder: Trial Set For 'Predator' Peter Zabala

JOLIET, IL — Peter Zabala, the notorious Joliet sexual predator who has remained in Will County's Jail the past four years and three months facing first-degree murder charges in the death of 25-year-old Ashley Tucker, recently learned his trial date.

This month, Will County Judge Dave Carlson set Zabala's murder trial for Aug. 7 in Courtroom 405. Now 47 years old, Zabala remains in custody without bail. He is represented by private counsel, downtown attorney Chuck Bretz.

According to court documents in the case, Tucker drove to her father's housewarming party in the 1000 block of Joliet's Loren Drive, which was a Saturday night. At 8:55 p.m. Zabala attended the housewarming party for Ashley Tucker's father. Tucker got there between 9 and 9:30 p.m. She left at 10:45 p.m. Zabala left around 10:50 p.m. Tucker later drove to Joliet's far east side, where she lived, in the 2100 block of Tamarack Drive. She pulled into her driveway around 11:30 p.m.

Her two roommates never saw her enter their residence.

Here's a recap of key events surrounding Zabala's prosecution since his arrest by Joliet police:

Oct. 13, 2018

Tucker disappeared around 11 p.m. on a Saturday after last being seen in the Parkwood-Ridgewood area where she lived. Her car was found nearby. Days later, family members informed Joliet Patch that "her roommate called and told us that her car was there, and she wasn't home. They found the jacket in the backyard with blood on it and specks all over the area where the jacket was found. It was the jacket she was wearing during the party."

Through interviews with Tucker's roommate and other people, Joliet police investigators later learned Zabala was the last person to be around her before she went missing.

Oct. 21, 2018

On the eighth day since Tucker vanished, the Joliet Police Department asked for assistance in circulating information to help the police find Zabala. "Zabala is a person of interest in the disappearance of Ashley Tucker," police announced.

By 9:15 p.m., that night, about eight hours later, Joliet Police arrested Zabala in the 1000 block of North Hickory Street. Besides the arrest warrant for failing to register as a sex offender, Zabala was charged with two counts of resisting arrest and one count of unlawful restraint. Police say he was detaining a woman at the residence at the time of his arrest.

Oct. 26, 2018

Five days after Zabala's arrest, Joliet police showed up at a property in the 3500 block of South State Street in Lockport Township. The lot is several blocks up the road from the Old Joliet Prison. Joliet police made a gruesome discovery. They found human remains at the bottom of a burn barrel kept on the private property.

Oct. 27, 2018

The Will County Coroner's Office of Patrick O'Neil announced the human remains in Lockport Township were Tucker. Police suspect her killer tried to incinerate her body after her homicide. "There were burn marks on her body," Joliet Police spokesman Darrell Gavin told Patch. Joliet "There was nothing visible of a shooting or that she had been stabbed," he added.

Dec. 5, 2018

The murder defendant, who has been called a "dangerous sexual predator" by Joliet police, has retained the downtown law firm of Chuck Bretz & Associates to put forth a vigorous defense.

Nov. 2, 2018

The formal filing of first-degree murder charges came two days after Halloween. Joliet police continued to work on the homicide, trying to tie up loose ends.

"That motive is a question," Sgt. Gavin said. "He is a sexual predator. His past criminal history involves violence. He's a violent individual."

Feb. 13, 2019

Prosecutors will be relying on forensic evidence collected by police in October. Assistant State's Attorney Michael Fitzgerald filed a recent motion to consume DNA evidence.

"The Joliet Police Department collected swabs from the handle and blade of a tool found at the location where the victim's body was discovered and from the steering wheel of a Buick allegedly driven by the defendant at or near the time of the victim's disappearance," Fitzgerald notified the judge. These swabs have been submitted to the Illinois State Police Crime Laboratory for DNA tests, he further explained.

May 21, 2019

In the pretrial phase of Zabala's first-degree murder case, court documents revealed the car belonging to Henry Hill should remain as impounded evidence related to the ongoing murder case. Hill's Buick Lacrosse was seized as part of a search warrant.

"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," Will County prosecutors outlined.

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

Dec. 16, 2019

The law firm for first-degree Joliet murder defendant Peter Zabala has asked a judge to authorize the use of county funds to hire an independent arson expert in connection with the October 2018 death of Ashley Tucker.

Attorney Neil Patel informed Will County Judge Dave Carlson that his firm wants to use the county funds to hire Dr. Judy Melinek, a pathology expert in San Francisco. She graduated with a bachelor's in biology in 1991 from Harvard University. Since 2004, Dr. Melinek has worked as an independent consultant with Pathology Expert Inc.

"The heart of any murder case is that the State would first prove a homicide," Patel's motion argues. "The State's case is entirely circumstantial. There is no eyewitness putting the defendant and the victim together at the time of her death, no confession, no forensics linking the defendant to the victim.

"The evidence suggests there was no physical evidence or trauma prior to the burning or autopsy."

July 30, 2020

Peter Zabala will not be leaving the Will County Jail to attend his 16-year-old son's funeral. Zabala's 16-year-old son, Pedro, was fatally gunned down near the intersection of South Ottawa and Munroe Streets. Joliet police arrested Jimmy Baker, 18, on four felony weapons charges.

Will County prosecutors said that Pedro Zabala fired his gun first, prompting Baker to return fire, hide his weapon and run from the neighborhood after killing Pedro on the city sidewalk.

In the aftermath of Pedro's slaying, Joliet criminal defense attorneys Neil Patel and Charles Bretz filed a motion seeking a contact visit for Peter Zabala with his 30-year-old sister, his 14-year-old son, his 15-year-old daughter and his mother. The first-degree murder defendant's lawyers also requested that Carlson issue their client several new phone cards to use at the Will County Jail.

Bretz told Joliet Patch that the judge granted his motion, however, his client will not be attending the funeral services for Pedro.

Feb. 17, 2022

The Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow filed a 16-page motion seeking to introduce expert testimony against Zabala. Based on the following court documents from prosecutors:

At 5 a.m., Oct. 14, 2018, one of the roommates saw Tucker's car parked in her driveway, but she was missing. Around 1 p.m., video surveillance showed Zabala driving a Buick Lacrosse south along Joliet's Mission Boulevard. Around 3:10 p.m. Zabala turned into a private driveway in the 3500 block of South State in Lockport Township, between McBride's Collision and his uncle Joseph Zabala's residence at 3502 South State Street.

About 30 minutes later, Peter Zabala left, driving the Buick Lacrosse southbound along South State. At 3:50 p.m. Joseph Zabala, the uncle, drove a GMC Sierra north along State Street.

By 4:40 p.m. Peter Zabala and Joseph Zabala went to the Menards at 2524 West Jefferson Street in Joliet. After leaving Menards, Joseph Zabala followed his nephew to Peter Zabala's house at 3105 Arborsedge Drive.

By 5:20 p.m. Peter Zabala was driving a Ford Thunderbird northbound on State Street, and he turned into the private driveway between McBride's Collision and his uncle Joseph Zabala's house. Joseph Zabala was driving right behind him in the GMC Sierra. Two days later, cell phone records indicated Peter Zabala was back at his uncle's on Oct. 16, 2018.

Related Joliet Patch coverage:

Here's Why Joliet Arrested Peter Zabala In Ashley Tucker's Murder

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

Ashley Tucker Slaying: Bretz Questions Physical Evidence

Ashley Tucker Murder: This Forensic Evidence Is Critical