Coroner’s Report of Billy the Kid

By Josh Slatten

The report was first handed by Pat Garrett to District Attorney of the First Judicial District William Breeden upon his killing of the Kid. The report was filed with the San Miguel County court records; and were found, in 1932 by, State Land Office employee, Harold Abbott, in the Capital Building’s basement.

This find was mentioned in the 1935 book by Frank M. King titled “Wrangling the Past: Reminiscences of Frank King.” King mentions Garrett’s July 15th letter to acting Governor Ritch that cited the coroner report existence. 

Another mention of the report makes the front page of the Alamogordo News. (Nov 30, 1950) Titled, “Sumner Jury Thought the Kid Had Been Killed.”  

Part of the article stated: 

He, with other employees, we’re going over some old records in the basement of the state capital. There they ran a crossed, in the San Miguel Court records, the original copy of the coroner’s jury, dated July 15, 1881, and written in Spanish. 

The coroner’s report once again had been lost or is in a private collection somewhere. Fortunately for us and history, copies were made of it before it once again vanished. It appears that these papers turned out to be allusive as the Kid himself.