In the small town of Hagerstown, Indiana, a long-simmering dispute between neighbors erupted into a fatal encounter on November 4, 2020. KC Allen Simpson, a 32-year-old male, was shot and killed in his own front yard, a tragic end to a series of escalating disagreements. The man responsible, his 77-year-old neighbor Billy Wilson Sr., would later claim self-defense, but the events of that day painted a far more deliberate picture.
The conflict between Simpson and Wilson had been building
for some time, marked by a series of hostile incidents. Wilson had reportedly shot and injured Simpson's dog, and in an act of retaliation, Simpson had shot and killed Wilson's cat after finding it in his garage. There were also allegations that Wilson had killed several of the Simpson family's chickens and had previously threatened to shoot his neighbors over the use of four-wheelers on their property. This history of animosity set the stage for the deadly confrontation that would ultimately unfold.
On that fateful Wednesday afternoon, the dispute came to a head over a property line survey that Wilson had initiated. When Simpson saw the surveyor in his yard, he came out of his house. An altercation ensued, and Wilson, armed with a handgun, shot Simpson multiple times. According to trial testimony, after Simpson fell to the ground wounded, Wilson fired three more shots. Simpson was unarmed at the time of the shooting; his own handgun was later found with the safety on and no round in the chamber. He was airlifted to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Billy Wilson Sr. surrendered to police without incident and was arrested and charged with murder. At his trial, he maintained that he acted in self-defense. However, a jury convicted him of murder in May 2022. In June of that year, a Wayne County judge sentenced him to 48 years in prison. During sentencing, the judge noted Wilson's lack of remorse as an aggravating factor, though his military service and lack of a prior criminal record were considered as mitigating factors. Wilson later appealed his conviction, but the court upheld the original verdict. In addition to the criminal proceedings, Simpson's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Wilson.
