BILLY THE KID
HOW DID THE NOTORIOUS OUTLAW DIE?
BILLY THE KID LIVED TO BE AN OLD MAN
In 1949 a childhood friend of Billy the Kid claims Billy is still living and sets an investigation in motion. He leads William V. Morrison to a man in Texas known as William H. “Brushy Bill” Roberts. After denying it at first, Brushy finally confesses his identity on one condition. He wants to obtain a pardon so he can die a free man. Over the course of several months Mr. Roberts provides many astounding proofs that he is the Kid of legend. These include physical evidence and firsthand knowledge of many obscure aspects of the Kid’s life. In addition, living acquaintances of Billy the Kid were found. Many of these people sign sworn affidavits stating Roberts is the man they know as Billy the Kid.
NOT KILLED BY PAT GARRETT
But wait...didn't Pat Garrett kill Billy the Kid in 1881? According to Roberts, Garrett shot a Mexican friend of his that was about the same height but was clearly Mexican and had a beard. Roberts claim is originally scoffed at by some until obscure newspaper articles from just a few days after the shooting support his claim.
Modern research also exposes many irregularities with the testimony of Garrett and his deputies. Many irregularities begin to appear. Most bizarre, perhaps, is that the brother-in-law of Pat Garrett was the one hiding the Kid in Fort Sumner. This same brother-in-law that was aiding and abetting the most wanted man in New Mexico. Despite this, he is asked to serve on the coroner's jury that says the shooting is justified.
NEW EVIDENCE REVEALED
Even more bizarre is that Garrett never properly filed the coroner's jury report and the Justice of the Peace did not record it in his log book even though it was the second inquest that day. Read about these details and many more in the book "Alias Billy the Kid by William V. Morrison and C.L. Sonnichsen. Now after more than 50 years Brushy’s original story can be purchased for the first time ever in paperback.
In 2014 more evidence is revealed to support Brushy Bill's claims of being Billy the Kid. The title of the book is Billy the Kid: An Autobiography: The Story of Brushy Bill Roberts. The author is Daniel A. Edwards. In this book, primary research reveals never before revealed information on Brushy's claims. Using Alias Billy the Kid as a guide, Mr. Edwards investigates the claims of Brushy Bill. What he finds is that in many cases there is evidence of the things that Brushy claims. This book propels the story of Billy the Kid and Brushy Bill Roberts to new heights. It has inspired an audio book narrated by Actor Barry Corbin, many TV shows, and now a 40 minute documentary. This new documentary on Billy the Kid features Emilio Estevez as narrator. it also features music by country music artist Tim Montana. Watch it today!
BILLY THE KID FAQS
WHO WAS BRUSHY BILL ROBERTS?
To many in the small town of Hico, TX, Brushy Bill Roberts was simply a local frontier character. By the time he came to Hico, Brushy Bill was more than seventy years old. He spent most of his time chatting up the locals downtown and telling stories of his life on the frontier. From time to time, he would share with some that he "had a secret", but he never revealed to anyone that he was the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid until he was discovered by researcher William V. Morrison in 1949.
WAS BRUSHY BILL ROBERTS BILLY THE KID?
Opinions vary on whether Brushy Bill Roberts was Billy the Kid. On the one hand, he sure did know quite a bit about the life of "the Kid". He knew many things that historians of his time did not know and that were only proven to be true many years later. Further, William V. Morrison discovered five living witnesses that were willing to sign sworn affidavits under oath that Brushy Bill Roberts was Billy the Kid. The problem until recently has been the difficulty in proving many of Brushy Bill's claims. Now modern photographic comparison software and more access to primary source documents have helped bring new light to the story. More than ever before, people are beginning to believe that Brushy Bill Roberts truly was the Billy the Kid of legend.
WASN'T BRUSHY BILL ROBERTS PROVEN TO BE A FRAUD YEARS AGO BY DNA EVIDENCE?
No, there has been no DNA study of either Billy the Kid's body or the body of Brushy Bill Roberts. For one, the actual grave site of the Kid has been lost to history and there is no body. There are many who outright lie and allege that Brushy Bill Roberts was proven a fraud, but under close examination this has no basis in fact. In reality, the basis that Pat Garrett killed the Kid boils down to the fact that he and his cohorts said so, and that Bill the Kid never revealed himself publicly to dispute Garrett's claims, at least not until 1950.
WHO WAS OLIVER PLEASANT ROBERTS?
Oliver P. Roberts was a cousin of Brushy Bill Roberts. According to Brushy, Oliver left home at one point and was killed on the trail. Brushy Bill was working as a law enforcement officer at the time and discovered his cousin's body. When he went to return the man's belongings to his mother, she took him for her son and he claims he went along with the deception and kept the identity. Its important to remember that Oliver P. Roberts was a farmer and not an adventurer. Brushy Bill Roberts had numerous gun and knife scars on his body that indicated a life of combat fighting that were inconsistent with the life of a simple farmer. In addition, there is evidence in the historical record that seems to support the claims of Brushy Bill Roberts that he took on his cousin's identity around 1910.
DOESN'T THE BIRTH DATE OF OLIVER PLEASANT ROBERTS PROVE HE WASN'T BILLY THE KID?
No. No one is claiming that Oliver P. Roberts was Billy the Kid. Oliver was a real person that was born in 1879. Brushy Bill Roberts simply assumed Oliver's identity. Therefore, Oliver's birth date would have no bearing whatsoever on Brushy Bill's claims.
DIDN'T BRUSHY'S OWN FAMILY SAY HE WASN'T BILLY THE KID?
No. Brushy Bill Roberts didn't have any immediate family that was living at the time he came forward as Billy the Kid other than his wife. His wife, Melinda Allison Roberts, believed he was Billy the Kid. We must keep in mind that Brushy Bill Roberts worked very hard for many years to convince people he was Oliver P. Roberts. So, it is natural that those who knew him by that name may believe that to be true. Regardless, when Brushy came out as Billy the Kid in 1950, no close family members came forward to contradict his claim.
In recent times, there have been two very distant relatives of Oliver P. Roberts that have disputed his claim. These relatives either did not know him personally or they had met him after he assumed Ollie's identity. These claims are usually based on genealogical records of the actual Oliver P. Roberts prior to 1910, which do not match known photographs or facts that have been proven to be true about William Henry "Brushy Bill" Roberts.
DIDN'T BRUSHY BILL ROBERTS CLAIM TO BE A MEMBER OF THE JAMES GANG AND ONLY CHANGE HIS STORY TO BEING BILLY THE KID AFTER THAT DIDN'T WORK?
No. Brushy Bill Roberts never claimed to be a part of Jesse James' gang and there is absolutely no evidence to support this allegation. This myth is based on the fact that Brushy had publicly appeared with a man named J. Frank Dalton who claimed to be Jesse James. Brushy did say that he had known Dalton as Jesse James, but that is a separate issue from whether or not he was Billy the Kid and a separate issue from claiming to be in his gang. Further, J. Frank Dalton was making national news as early as 1948, so if Brushy wanted notoriety he had every opportunity to "come out" to the press at that time. Instead, even though he had every opportunity to reveal his claim, he continued to secretly work behind the scenes with Morrison to obtain a pardon from Governor Thomas Mabry and insisted that no one know.
WHAT NEW EVIDENCE IS PROVIDED IN BILLY THE KID: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY TO SUPPORT THE CLAIMS OF BRUSHY BILL ROBERTS?
Author Daniel A. Edwards approaches the story of Brushy Bill Roberts with a fresh eyes on the subject. He begins by studying photos of Brushy Bill Roberts. A facial comparison between the two man is provided in his book. Research is then done on the more mundane aspects of Brushy Bill Roberts' story. This research reveals numerous corroborations to his account in the historical record. Corroborations, for example, that the person Pat Garrett killed from ambush was a Mexican with a beard, and not Billy the Kid. Edwards finds a trail of aliases and notable wild west characters that appear and disappear from history in an unusual way. They appear at precisely at the times and places where Brushy Bill Roberts claims to have been. They also appear doing the things that he claimed to do. What's more, there are striking similarities in the aliases used. In one case multiple photos that match Brushy Bill Roberts are found. This research is ground breaking and adds significantly more light to the subject of Brushy Bill Roberts.
ARE YOU SAYING PAT GARRETT WAS A LIAR?
ARE YOU SAYING PAT GARRETT WAS A LIAR?
Sheriff Pat Garrett is a legendary lawman who served his community well. He was fearless and and always treated the Kid well, even in captivity. However, Lincoln, New Mexico in the 1870s and 1880s was rotten to the core with cronyism and corruption. President Ulysses S. Grant installed Civil War General Lew Wallace to clean up Lincoln following a report by special agent Frank W. Angel. The men behind the scenes of power were known then as the "Santa Fe Ring". These men used the newspapers to blast Angel and brand him a fraud. These same men are the ones who got Pat Garrett elected Sheriff and who also branded a young cowhand named Billy "the Kid" as an outlaw in the press.
Author Daniel A. Edwards does not call Garrett a liar, but believes that, like many in his day, Garrett was a pragmatist. He had previously shot two men without warning in his attempt to get Billy the Kid (Tom O'Folliard and Charlie Bowdrie). According to Brushy Bill Roberts, in Ft. Sumner Garrett shot a third man from ambush without warning, only this time it was an innocent Mexican. This is now corroborated by the Las Cruces Sun Times and other local newspapers just days after the shooting. Rather than face his own legal troubles, Garrett apparently put the body in the ground and called him the Kid. The reader can make up their own mind on this matter. According to Brushy Bill Roberts, "Garrett would rather climb up a tree and tell a lie than stand on the ground and tell the truth."
WHAT DOES FACIAL RECOGNITION SAY ABOUT BRUSHY BILL BEING BILLY THE KID?
Facial comparisons are continuing to experts and these support the findings already established. There have been many studies done comparing the facial features of Billy the Kid and Brushy Bill Roberts that indicate they are the same person. Although the majority of the time AI software indicates matches to Brushy Bill Roberts, it is not reliable with vintage photos as the pixelation is often not detailed enough. Since the 1990s many facial recognition experts have studied the two men and determined them to be the same person. In 2023, an NYPD facial recognition expert did the study again with the same result. He said it was "Highly Likely" the two men were the same, going so far as to say if not Brushy would have to be his twin brother.