(Photo courtesy of Robert Stahl)Historian and retired ASU professor Robert J. Stahl is hoping a 130-year-old rumor will be laid to rest — literally.
In February, Stahl filed a petition with the New Mexico state government to get a death certificate issued for the famous outlaw Billy the Kid.
Since Billy the Kid’s reported death on July 14, 1881, there has been an air of uncertainty circulating the outlaw’s death. According to a coroner’s jury report, he was shot to death by Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
The only official record of his death was the coroner’s report, which holds very little legal standing. So while the report was widely accepted as the official death by many, it allowed for the rise of many different impersonators.
“When they’ve investigated these impostors, they’ve found there is no support for their stories,” Stahl said. “People still said, ‘I knew this guy, and he wouldn’t lie to me.’ Next thing you knew it, these impostors had a following and that has continued. In fact, there have been two or three books that have been published that support these impostors, even though their stories have no support when you look at historical documents.”
Stahl said up until the the late 1920s the outlaw’s death was fairly accepted. At the time of his death, coroner's jury reports were considered to be good enough to stand in for death certificates.
However, their legal precedent changed over time and impostors started popping up claiming they were Billy the Kid up until 1950, devising different stories about their lives and excuses for their deaths.
ASU history professor Donald Fixico agrees with Stahl and said he believes the death certificate is important.
“I think that a death certificate from the state of New Mexico is in order to subdue the rumors surrounding the real Billy the Kid,” Fixico said in an email.
Stahl, however, said he views this verification as work to solidify western history.
“It will help to verify a singly important event in New Mexico history,” Stahl said. “Hopefully it will help people to quit supporting the impostors and to accept the historical documents as being accurate and true.”
He said Kid for historians around the world defines the state of New Mexico and, while many don’t recognize the state’s name, nearly all of the people he talks to recognize the name “Billy the Kid.”
“The legend is bigger than the man," Stahl said. "In fact, the legend is bigger than the state."
This importance placed around this mysterious figure is what prompted Stahl to begin his research in 2003 by reading microfilms of newspapers, visiting historical locations Kid visited and consulting with historians.
The hearing for the death certificate is set to take place on May 7 in Fort Sumner. If it gets a positive ruling, Stahl hopes to extend his work to historical figures in Arizona.
Reach the reporter at megan.janetsky@asu.edu or follow @meganjanetsky on Twitter.
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