Donato Bilancia was born on July 10, 1951, in Potenza, Italy. When he was around five years old, his family moved to northern Italy. They first settled in Piedmont before moving to Genoa in the Liguria region. During his childhood, Bilancia faced issues like chronic bedwetting, which continued until he was about ten or twelve years old. His mother publicly shamed him for this and would put his wet mattress out on the balcony for neighbors to see. His aunt also embarrassed him by exposing him to his cousins during bedtime.

At the age of 14, Bilancia chose to start calling himself Walter. He left high school early and took various jobs, including working as a mechanic, bartender, baker, and delivery boy. While still a teenager, he encountered trouble with the law. He was arrested for stealing a motor scooter and later for taking a truck full of Christmas sweets. In 1974, he was jailed for possessing an illegal gun.

Bilancia had periods of psychiatric care in a hospital in Genoa but managed to escape at one point. After being caught again, he served 18 months in prison for robbery. Overall, he had several prison terms for robbery and armed robbery, both in Italy and France. Despite his history of psychiatric issues, he did not have a record of violent crime until he reached the age of 47.

Donato Bilancia was an Italian serial killer who committed his first murder in October 1997. He killed a friend who betrayed him in a card game, leading to a huge financial loss for Bilancia. Initially, the death was thought to be from a heart attack. Following this, he murdered the game operator and the operator's wife. He took money from their safe after the crimes.

Bilancia then went on to kill a jeweller and his wife after following them home. He shot them when the wife screamed. He emptied their safe of jewellery. His next victim was a money changer whom he also robbed. Later, he killed a night watchman simply because he did not like them.

In 1998, Bilancia escalated his crimes further. He killed two night watchmen while attacking a sex worker. He also murdered several other sex workers, including a Nigerian and a Ukrainian. During a train journey, he killed two women in train toilets, unlocking the doors with a skeleton key and shooting them.

In his last murder before being caught, he shot a service station attendant after refuelling his vehicle and took the cash from the station.

A police investigation led to him being considered a primary suspect when witnesses described a black Mercedes connected to him. They collected DNA evidence from items he discarded. Bilancia was arrested on May 6, 1998, in Genoa.

After his arrest, he confessed to his crimes in detail after spending eight days in police custody. He was sentenced to 13 life terms plus another 20 years for his actions. The judge also ruled that he would never be released from prison.

Bilancia died in prison on December 17, 2020, from complications related to COVID-19.