In the pre-dawn hours of a Tuesday in Hartford, Connecticut, the life of William "Bill" King, a 40-year-old Black man, was tragically cut short. On August 11, 2015, at approximately 4:15 a.m., gunfire erupted on Lenox Street. When police arrived at the scene, they discovered King and a woman, Jennifer Ryan, both suffering from gunshot wounds in front of a house.
King had been shot multiple times in his lower extremities.
He was rushed to Saint Francis Hospital, but his injuries proved to be fatal, and he was pronounced dead. Ryan, who was 40 at the time and from Coventry, was shot in the calf. Her injuries were not considered life-threatening, and she was also transported to the hospital for treatment. In the immediate aftermath, police used K-9 units to search the area, but details about what led to the shooting were scarce.
The investigation into William King's death was taken over by the Hartford Police Department's Major Crimes Division. At the time of the incident, authorities did not release any information about a possible motive or any potential suspects. In the years that have followed, no arrests have been publicly announced in connection with the fatal shooting. William King's case is now listed among Connecticut's cold case homicides, a somber reminder of a life lost to violence and a case that remains unresolved.
