PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria County judge has found an 18-year-old guilty in the strangulation death of his mother in the East Bluff two years ago.
Chief Judge Katherine Gorman on Friday found Avion Tapia guilty of Second Degree Murder in the death of 36-year-old Vanessa Tucker at a home in August of 2023. Tapia was 17 at the time of the murder.
During the two-day bench trial, Tapia confessed to strangling his mother during an argument but claimed self-defense as the pair had a volatile relationship. The history included cases of abuse and threats against his life by Tucker, and Tucker had previously pleaded guilty to domestic violence against Tapia.
The Department of Children and Family Services was named Tapia’s guardian in September of 2019, but prosecutors say he would occasionally stay at Tucker’s apartment.
Prosecutors say they moved forward with First Degree Murder charges due to Tapia’s statements to police and Tucker’s autopsy.
A forensic pathologist testified that it would have taken 4-5 minutes of continuous and forceful pressure to cause Tucker’s death. Tucker also had hemorrhages on her face and mouth, as well as spots of bleeding on her inner eyelids and mouth, indicating pressure was applied to the neck, mouth, and nose.
Gorman believed that Tapia’s reasoning of using deadly force was unreasonable, and found him guilty of second-degree murder.
Tapia’s sentencing is set for June 4th.
