In A Strange Twist, The Man Who Killed Outlaw Billy The Kid Became His Official Biographer

Having begun as friends, Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid's paths would diverge when Garrett was elected Sheriff and was tasked with bringing the Kid to justice

Depiction of Pat Garrett

It’s been said betrayal by a friend is worse than from an enemy.

A fact that played out in the strange saga of Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett. An unlikely friendship between an outlaw and a sheriff would later lead to the ultimate betrayal when Sheriff Pat Garrett gunned down Billy the Kid.

In a bizarre twist of circumstances, Garrett would also become the Kid’s biographer and the only source to relate Billy’s death.

Billy The Kid

Known as one of the most notorious outlaws of the Old West, surprisingly little is known about Billy the Kid’s early life. Most sources agree Henry McCarty (his birth name) was born in New York City around 1859 to a single mother named Catherine McCarty.

The family, including Billy’s brother, Joe, traveled to Indianapolis where Catherine met a man named William Antrim. The family would move around to various states over the next several years.

Eventually, Catherine and William were married and settled in Silver City, New Mexico. They’d moved there in the hopes the dry, desert air would cure Catherine of tuberculosis, or consumption as it was then called. Sadly, she died a year later, leaving Billy and his brother, Joe with their stepfather William.

Around 1874, Billy replaced his birth name of Henry with the name William Bonny, after the stepfather he admired. It was eventually shortened to Billy. Others nicknamed him, “Billy the Kid” because of his youthful face and demeanor.

Although he was intelligent, being able to read and write as well as speak Spanish, Billy eventually got involved with a rough crowd.

Rare photo of Billy The Kid (second from left) playing cards (NY Post)

Becoming An Outlaw

Billy’s first known criminal act came in 1875 when he stole clothes from a Chinese laundry. The Sheriff of the town, hoping to teach the boy a lesson, locked him in jail overnight. Frightened, Billy managed to shimmy up a chimney and escape.