Billy A. King Sr. was a **36‑year‑old male**, identified as **Caucasian**, who was found shot to death in his van in West Peoria, Illinois, on **January 9, 1984**. His death remained an unsolved homicide for nearly two decades. Law enforcement considered multiple suspects over the years, but no charges were filed at the time.
In April 2002, **David R. Waters**, a **male**, **White**, career criminal from Peoria, then **54**, imprisoned for unrelated convictions involving weapons and extortion, **confessed** to the killing of King. Waters admitted that, on the night in question, he and King had argued, which escalated into Waters shooting King during a confrontation. He provided this confession from federal custody, where he was serving a 20‑year sentence for his role in the 1995 kidnapping and murder of atheist activist Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her family.
Waters faced no charges for King’s death. Peoria County State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons made the decision not to pursue prosecution, citing Waters’ terminal hepatitis and the fact that he was already incarcerated on federal charges and likely to die in prison. Prosecutors deemed further legal action unnecessary, as Waters would not face additional practical consequences.
At the time of his confession, David R. Waters was well known to authorities: he had a long criminal record beginning in 1964, which included killing another teenager, and later convictions for embezzlement from American Atheists and involvement in the high-profile O’Hair case. His violent past and proximity to King at the time of the 1984 homicide made him a person of interest from the outset. However, the confession emerged only after he was already serving a federal sentence and was near death due to illness.
In summary:
* **Victim**: Billy A. King Sr., **36‑year‑old Caucasian male**, shot in his van in West Peoria on January 9, 1984.
* **Suspect/Confessor**: David R. Waters, **White male**, career criminal, confessed in 2002.
* **Legal outcome**: No arrest or prosecution was carried out for King’s case after Waters’s confession; authorities considered Waters already appropriately penalized.
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This account draws exclusively from documented online reports and focuses only on confirmed details up through Waters’s confession and the prosecutorial decision not to charge him.
