A man has been charged in the death of a beloved Chicago-area boater known as “Captain Bill” five months after his body was discovered in DuSable Harbor.
Chicago Police said Alexis Trader was arrested on Wednesday, February 4, and has been charged with one count of murder, according to ABC 7 Chicago.
Police believe that Trader, 34, battered Nabil Abzal on August 30, 2025, which allegedly caused him to fall into Lake Michigan and drown on Labor Day weekend. Abzal was 63 years old at the time of his death.
Trader appeared in court on Thursday, February 5. The suspect has a long criminal history that dates back 20 years, and he was already in custody at Cook County Jail for an unrelated crime when he was charged in connection to Abzal’s death, according to reports.
During the court hearing, a judge ordered that Trader remain behind bars until the trial begins, according to ABC 7 Chicago. It’s not currently clear if Trader has entered a plea or retained legal representation in light of the recent charges.
Prosecutors said that Trader was with another man and two women at DuSable Harbor in the early hours of August 30 when they decided to sneak onto the dock so that the women could take photos near the yachts, per the outlet.
The two women allegedly got on Abzal’s yacht, not realizing that he was asleep onboard.
Investigators believe that Abzal woke up and he allegedly asked them to leave. As Abzal escorted the women off the dock, Trader allegedly responded by punching him in the face. The punch caused Abzal to hit his head on the dock and he fell in the water.
Trader reportedly called 911 to report the incident, though he gave police a fake name.
Authorities said that video and audio from a nearby restaurant’s security camera captured the attack, which helped them connect Trader to the crime. Additionally, several witnesses identified Trader as the attacker. Police were then able to locate him through phone records.
The Chicago Police Department did not immediately respond to Luxury Handbag Shopping’s request for comment.
Following Trader’s arrest, several of Abzal’s friends opened up about the previous mystery regarding his death.
“I figured that he didn’t just, like, fall in the water and drown, because he’s a very experienced boater. I know he told me he had been, like, a captain for over 20 or 30 years, or something like that, and so it’s very unlikely that someone with that type of boating experience would just drown,” former passenger Sharonda Wilson told CBS News. “I’m just hoping that his family, you know, gets some type of peace.”
Another friend reflected on first hearing that a body had been found. “I actually heard the story that a body was found in the lake and I had no inclination at all that it would be him,” another friend told Fox 32 Chicago. “Just thought it was somebody random, maybe walking by and fell in the lake and then as the circumstances started to evolve, it just became more and more apparent that there was more to it and just very, very sad.”
