The case that has haunted DuSable Harbor for months has now produced a murder charge. Chicago police say 63-year-old Nabil "Captain Bill" Abzal, a well-known presence along the docks, was pulled from Lake Michigan on Aug. 30, 2025, and later pronounced dead. Investigators have now charged 34-year-old Alexis Trader, who was already in custody on an unrelated burglary case when detectives tied him to Abzal's drowning.
Suspect charged after monthslong inquiry
Police filed the murder charge against Trader on Wednesday and said he is expected to appear at a detention hearing, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. The outlet reports that Trader was already being held in Cook County Jail on a separate burglary case when detectives brought the new allegation to prosecutors. Investigators say this is the first criminal charge directly connected to Abzal's death since police recovered his body last summer.
Video and witness accounts
Witnesses at the harbor told officers they saw Abzal walking along the dock before falling backward into the lake, and surveillance video from a nearby restaurant was turned over to detectives, according to ABC7 Chicago. The Cook County Medical Examiner later ruled Abzal's death a homicide, a finding that matched what many boaters on scene were already saying: the circumstances did not look like a simple accidental fall. Friends and neighbors held memorial gatherings last fall while detectives publicly appealed for any leads.
Detectives point to a shove at the gate
Detectives who reviewed the surveillance footage say it shows Abzal approaching a dock gate with two women walking behind him. Two men then confront him at the gate, and the video appears to show Abzal being shoved into a metal grate attached to the gate, striking his head and tumbling into the water, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. He was pulled from DuSable Harbor and pronounced dead at the scene, with drowning listed as the cause of death. Authorities have not released any information about a possible motive or whether more arrests could follow.
Harbor community pushes for answers
Abzal, known around the marina as "Captain Bill," worked as a licensed boat captain and often slept aboard a chartered boat at DuSable Harbor, neighbors told reporters when the case first surfaced. Cook County Crimestoppers later offered a $10,000 reward for information in the case, according to ABC7 Chicago. Last September, Hoodline captured how the boating community mourned and rallied around calls for dockside security footage.
What's next in court
Trader is scheduled to appear at a detention hearing this week, where prosecutors will weigh their next steps, including whether to seek a formal indictment. Chicago police are still asking anyone with additional video or information to contact detectives as the case moves through the courts. For a harbor crowd that has spent months waiting for movement, the murder charge marks the first real sign that the legal process is finally catching up to a killing that never sat right on the docks.
