Historian Seeks Death Certificate to End Billy the Kid Rumors

In spite of eyewitness testimony and official records, rumors have persisted that the famous gunslinger Billy the Kid was not killed by Sheriff Pat Garrett in 1881 but escaped to live a long life. Fed up with the doubts about Billy the Kid’s demise, an historian has petitioned a New Mexico court to create a death certificate for the notorious outlaw.
As midnight approached on the night of July 14, 1881, Pat Garrett’s posse closed in on the most wanted man in the West. After three months of searching, the Lincoln County sheriff had received a tip that the gunslinger who had escaped jail—as well as a date with the noose—was holed up in the small town of Fort Sumner, New Mexico. Seeking information on the fugitive’s whereabouts from one of Fort Sumner’s leading citizens, Garrett entered the open door of Peter Maxwell’s residence like a cooling breeze on the hot summer night. Just moments after the sheriff roused Maxwell from his slumber to ask about the outlaw, another figure appeared in the doorway of the unlit room with a six-shooter in one hand and a butcher knife in another.

“That’s him,” Maxwell whispered. As the shadowy figure in the doorway spotted Garrett’s outline, he drew his gun and yelled in Spanish: “Who’s that? Who’s that?” Instantly recognizing the fugitive’s voice, the sheriff fired his revolver as a bright flash lit up the bedroom. The bullet pierced the heart of the wanted man, and when Garrett’s posse entered the room, the flicker of their candlelight fell upon the body of William H. Bonney—better known as “Billy the Kid.”


http://www.history.com/news/historian-seeks-death-certificate-to-end-billy-the-kid-rumors