‘Void we can’t fill’: Petersburg mother still looking for answers five years after son’s death

PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) -- Half a decade after her son was shot and killed in Petersburg in October 2020, a mother is still pleading for someone to come forward with information.

Two friends, 30-year-old Johnathan King and 33-year-old Kevin Williams, were killed in a drive-by shooting on the night of Oct. 4, 2020.

King's mom, Tasha, has been fighting to get him justice ever since.

On Monday, Oct. 20 -- the anniversary of this deadly shooting -- the Petersburg Bureau of Police posted a renewed effort to get information on the case on Facebook. But Tasha said she knows there are people out there who know what happened that night.

"You don't have to be silent anymore," Tasha said. "Come forward."

Police said that night King and Williams were standing outside in the 900 block of Hinton Street when passing vehicles fired the shots that led to both of their deaths.

Tasha said she was one of the first to get to the scene that night, where she found her son unresponsive.

"It's a hole. It's a hole you can't replace," Tasha said. "It's a void we can't fill."

Tasha has been searching for information herself and doing anything she can to keep her son's story out there. 8News spoke to her days after the shooting, and years later, she's still asking the same questions.

"They see me trying to get him justice," Tasha said. "So just speak up and come forward."

King left behind his mom, his three siblings and his four young children. She said she remembers him for his big heart and love of his family, who try to keep his memory alive any way they can.

"When family came together, he loved that," Tasha said. "Every time we do a dinner or something, we're always keeping him in our memory."

"My son didn't deserve what happened to him. So please, just help," Tasha said. "Just help us put this case to rest, so he can rest."

A reward is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in this case.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Gray with Petersburg Police at 804-631-4016 or ngray@petersburg-va.org.