Billy A. King Sr. was a 36‑year‑old Caucasian man who was found shot to death in his van in West Peoria, Illinois, on January 9, 1984. The killing remained an unsolved homicide for nearly two decades, and investigators considered multiple suspects over the years but filed no charges at the time.

In April 2002 David R. Waters, a 54‑year‑old White male and career criminal from Peoria then serving federal time, confessed from custody to shooting King after an argument that escalated into a confrontation. Waters was already imprisoned on federal convictions tied to the 1995 kidnapping and murder of Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her family and was ill with terminal hepatitis.

Peoria County State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons declined to prosecute Waters for King’s death, citing Waters’s terminal condition and the fact he was already serving a lengthy federal sentence. No charges were brought in King’s homicide following the confession. Does anyone have memories or information about King, his last known movements, or contacts in West Peoria in January 1984?