DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - New details have been released regarding the Decatur Police Department's investigation into the homicide of 22-year-old Zachary Hubbartt.
Decatur police say Jason A. White, 27, Ryan Waters, 20, and Autumn Billings, 26, were arrested on September 13 in connection with Zachary Hubbartt's death. Hubbartt was found dead inside a vacant home in the 1200 block of East Condit Street on August 27.
According to police sworn statements, Decatur police officers spoke with the home's owner, who said the last occupant of the house was Jason A. White. Additionally, officers learned that White was listed as the occupant of the home in a Decatur Fire Department fire report.
As a part of the homicide investigation, Decatur police spoke with two acquaintances of Hubbartt's, who said they helped Hubbartt make a deal to purchase marijuana from someone known as "Alex White." Police say "Alex White" would later be identified as Jason A. White. Officers say they were able to corroborate these statements using electronic records.
Decatur police also say cell phone records show Hubbartt and White were at the crime scene at the time of the homicide, and that Hubbartt and White were using the cell phones to coordinate the meeting. Additionally, police learned that White was contacting Ryan Waters during the time of this transaction.
Officers say Waters and his girlfriend were taken to the Decatur Police Department on September 13 for questioning. During a Mirandized interview with detectives, Decatur police say the girlfriend reported that White had contacted her and Waters via cell phone, and that White asked Waters to come to the house in the 1200 block of East Condit and pretend that he had marijuana for sale. According to sworn statements, the girlfriend told police she assumed Waters and White were going to rob someone, and that she and Waters drove to the house.
Police say the girlfriend reported that Hubbartt, Waters, and White walked to the back of the house, and a few minutes later, she heard a gunshot, followed by several more gunshots and Waters running from the home, stating that White had shot Hubbartt. Police also say the girlfriend told detectives how she, White, Waters, and Autumn Billings collected and disposed of evidence at the crime scene.
Detectives note that details of this evidence disposal had not been made public, and could have only been known by someone with "firsthand knowledge of the event."
Decatur police then spoke with Waters after he was advised of his Miranda Rights. Detectives say Waters admitted that White contacted him, asking him to go to the 1200 block of East Condit and pretend he had marijuana for sale. Waters says White was intending on robbing Hubbartt.
Detectives also say Waters admitted to going to the house, and that he saw White with a handgun. According to sworn statements, Waters told police that he saw Waters fire the handgun, striking Hubbartt in the stomach, before running from the scene. Waters says he heard multiple gunshots coming from the house while he was running. Police say Waters also corroborated his girlfriend's statement about the disposal of evidence.
A Decatur police detective then went to speak with Billings, who initially said that she had no knowledge of the homicide, that she had not left her house the night of the homicide, and that she had no contact with White on the evening prior to or morning after the homicide. However, police say these statements were contradicted by cell phone records. Decatur police say Billings would later admit that she had assisted White in concealing evidence by driving him to Lake Decatur, where he would dispose of items from the crime scene.
WAND-TV learned that Decatur police were at Lake Decatur on Thursday, searching for evidence in connection to a crime. No other details on this search have been released by police.Â
White and Waters are facing a preliminary charge of first-degree murder, while Billings was arrested on a preliminary charge of obstructing justice. White is also currently facing armed habitual criminal and aggravated discharge of a firearm charges in connection with an incident at an IHOP restaurant in April.
The investigation into this homicide is ongoing.
