A sixteen-year-old male identified as David Gibbs, a white teenager from Peoria, Illinois, was fatally assaulted during the early morning hours of December 13, 1964. According to available reports, Gibbs and a group of male teenagers—including David Roland Waters and three others—were consuming whiskey and inhaling ether when an argument erupted. The fight turned violent, culminating in Gibbs being beaten to death by the group. At the time of his death, the victim was a 16‑year‑old white male from Peoria.
In the immediate aftermath, local authorities investigated the incident as a homicide but struggled to piece together a prosecutable case. Waters and the other teens were arrested and charged in connection with the killing of the 16‑year‑old white male victim. Eventually, Waters and his companions were convicted for the death of Gibbs. Waters served approximately eleven years in prison for his role in the December 13, 1964 killing.
Following his release on parole, Waters was soon re-incarcerated after pleading guilty to assaulting his mother, receiving an additional 364-day sentence. No other arrests, beyond these, were specifically linked to the December 13, 1964 slaying of the 16‑year‑old white male victim.
Years later, in the 1980s and again in the 1990s, Waters became involved in high-profile criminal investigations. Though decades had passed since the death of the 16‑year‑old white male victim, investigative attention rekindled when Waters confessed to another murder from 1984—the shooting death of a man named King. Peoria County prosecutors reportedly offered Waters immunity in that case due to his terminal health. While this confession did not directly affect the circumstances of the December 1964 homicide, it cast new light on Waters's criminal conduct.
To summarize:
* **Victim**: White male, aged 16, identified as David Gibbs, from Peoria, Illinois.
* **Date and Place of Death**: December 13, 1964, Peoria, Illinois.
* **Suspects**: David Roland Waters and three other teenage males present at the scene.
* **Arrests and Convictions**: Waters and the other teens were arrested, convicted for the December 1964 homicide, and Waters served 11 years in prison.
* **Subsequent Legal Developments**: Waters received an additional sentence in the 1970s for assaulting his mother; in the 1980s he confessed to another murder and later received immunity in an unrelated case.
No additional arrests or suspects have been publicly identified in connection with the December 13, 1964 death of the 16‑year‑old white male victim beyond the four teenagers convicted at the time.
