Ashley Tucker Murder: This Forensic Evidence Is Critical

JOLIET, IL - Peter Zabala has remained locked away from the community inside Will County's Jail since late October, charged with first-degree murder in the disappearance and brutal killing of 25-year-old Ashley Tucker, who vanished without a trace in the middle of October.

Joliet Police have previously told Patch that the homicide investigation into Tucker's disappearance was the detective bureau's best all-around performance on a Joliet homicide case during 2018. After Zabala was captured on a violation of the sex offender registry, detectives continued to investigate Tucker's whereabouts.

Eventually, Joliet Police came across her human remains inside a burn barrel at a property in Lockport Township, which is several blocks north of the Old Joliet Prison property.

The Joliet woman's death was ruled was a homicide, and Zabala remains in custody, without bail. Joliet Police have said that Zabala was a dangerous sexual offender who needed to be taken off the streets.

Now, four months since Tucker's slaying, the Will County State's Attorney's Office of Jim Glasgow is moving ahead with its efforts to convict Zabala, now 43, of first-degree murder. It's uncertain whether his case will go to trial in 2019.

What is clear, however, is that in order to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Zabala murdered Tucker, prosecutors will be relying on forensic evidence collected by police in October.

At the Will County Courthouse, Assistant State's Attorney Michael Fitzgerald filed a recent motion to consume DNA evidence.

The key components of his motion are as follows:

"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.

"The Illinois State Police Crime Laboratory has recovered DNA from those aforementioned items and requests permission to consume the DNA recovered from said items during its analysis," Fitzgerald continued.

Last week, Joliet criminal defense lawyer Chuck Bretz entered an appearance in regard to the issue of the DNA evidence.

Zabala's murder case is assigned to Courtroom 405 of Will County Circuit Judge Dave Carlson.

The defense has asked the judge for a hearing on Fitzgerald's bid to consume the DNA samples during the Illinois State Police testing procedures. In addition to that, Bretz also wants the judge to appoint an expert witness for the defense side.

On both issues, the judge is expected to take up oral arguments from the lawyers at 9:30 a.m. Feb. 26, the Will County Courthouse schedule shows.

RELATED: Ashley Tucker: Joliet Police Proud Of Detective Work

RELATED: Ashley Tucker Murder Defendant Hires Bretz Law Firm

Mugshot of Peter Zabala via Will County Sheriff's Office