Crime & Law

Murder Charge Filed in Death of Boat Captain Who Was Struck and Drowned in DuSable Harbor

A Chicago man faces a first-degree murder charge months after he allegedly struck a boat captain in the head at a dock in DuSable Harbor, knocking him into the water where he drowned.

Alexis Trader, 34, will be detained in Cook County Jail pending trial after he was charged Thursday in the death of 63-year-old captain Nabil Abzal, who was pulled from the harbor waters in the early morning hours of Aug. 30, 2025.

According to Cook County prosecutors, Abzal worked as a charter captain for multiple boats and regularly slept multiple nights per week on a yacht named “Gone.” Much of the incident was captured on surveillance cameras, prosecutors said.

Around 2:45 a.m. Aug. 30, Trader allegedly scaled a locked gate at the end of a dock in the harbor and unlocked it, allowing another man and two women on to the dock. The women boarded “Gone” and sat on its back deck, taking photos of themselves, according to prosecutors.

This woke Abzal, who was sleeping below deck. He confronted the women and told them to leave, prosecutors said, but as he walked them back toward the gate, Trader allegedly approached and struck Abzal with his right hand.

Abzal struck the back of his head on a metal portion of the gate and fell into the water, sinking below the surface, prosecutors said.

A nearby fisherman who overheard the incident approached the group and Trader allegedly told him someone had fallen into the water and that they should jump in and help them. The fisherman instead told a friend who called 911, prosecutors said.

Trader called 911 as well, but mentioned no details about how Abzal had fallen into the water, according to prosecutors.

When paramedics and police arrived minutes later, Trader again said someone had fallen in and pointed them to the area where Abzal had sunk, prosecutors said. But Trader allegedly again did not say he’d struck Abzal and provided authorities with a fake name.

As police scanned the water, Trader allegedly scaled the fence a second time to retrieve a wallet on the ground, then he and the three others he’d been with ordered a rideshare vehicle and left the area.

Chicago Fire Department divers recovered Abzal’s body about 10 minutes after their arrival on scene and attempted to resuscitate him, but he was pronounced dead on scene. An autopsy determined he had drowned and determined his manner of death to be a homicide, according to prosecutors.

Investigators recovered surveillance footage showing Trader strike Abzal and recovered a vape pen and blunt wrappers from the area of the yacht where the women had been sitting, prosecutors said.

After learning that Trader had been arrested for a DUI a week before the incident, detectives spoke to the arresting officers in that case, who were able to identify Trader from body-worn camera footage recorded at the harbor, according to prosecutors.

Trader on Thursday was already in custody at Cook County Jail following his arrest in an aggravated battery case from January 2025 in which he allegedly entered a gas station and punched an employee in the face, breaking their nose.

Prosecutors said Trader has an extensive criminal past that includes convictions in three burglary cases, two attempted burglary cases and an armed robbery case.

He is due back in court for a hearing Feb. 25.

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