Billy the Kid: Murder, Myth, and the Wild West

Few names in the American West are as infamous as Billy the Kid. Born Henry McCarty and later known as William H. Bonney, Billy the Kid became one of the most legendary outlaws of the 19th century. A teenage fugitive, cattle rustler, gunman, and participant in New Mexico’s bloody Lincoln County War, Billy’s life quickly became tangled in revenge, murder, and violence. By the time he was barely twenty-one, newspapers had transformed him into a symbol of the lawless frontier. He was accused of multiple killings, captured, sentenced to hang, and then stunned the territory by escaping from the Lincoln County courthouse after killing two deputies. But his freedom would not last. On July 14, 1881, Sheriff Pat Garrett tracked Billy to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, where Garrett shot and killed him inside a darkened room. Or at least, that is the official story. More than a century later, questions still surround Billy the Kid. How many men did he actually kill? Was he a cold-blooded murderer or a young outlaw whose legend became larger than the truth? And did Pat Garrett really kill Billy that night—or did the Kid somehow escape and live under another name? This is the true crime story of Billy the Kid—a tale of murder, revenge, jailbreaks, frontier justice, and one of the most enduring legends of the American West. Sources used for this podcast Support the show JOIN THE  HITCHED 2 HOMICIDE IN-LAWS AND OUTLAWS START KRIS CALVERT'S BOOKS TODAY FOR FREE Send Kris and Rob a Message H2H WEBSITE H2H on TWITTER H2H on INSTA   Billy the Kid, Henry McCarty, William H Bonney, Pat Garrett, Lincoln County War, Billy the Kid murders, Billy the Kid death, Old West outlaw, Wild West true crime, Billy the Kid escape, Fort Sumner, historical true crime, American outlaw, Western crime history #BillyTheKid, #HenryMcCarty, #WilliamHBonney, #PatGarrett, #LincolnCountyWar, #WildWest, #OldWest, #Outlaw, #WesternHistory, #HistoricalTrueCrime, #TrueCrime, #TrueCrimePodcast, #AmericanHistory, #CrimeHistory, #Hitched2Homicide       Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.