SUMMARY: RUNNING TIME: Approx. 44:16 Min.
This episode premiered on The History Channel on November 23, 2011. Hosted in-studio by novelist Brad Meltzer, his investigative team consists of: mechanical engineer/author Christine McKinley; attorney (and now a circuit court judge) Scott Rolle; and professor/author Buddy Levy.
Revisiting pivotal New Mexico sites during the last months of Billy the Kid’s life, Meltzer’s investigators probe alternate theories re: whether Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett indeed killed the Kid (aka William H. Bonney/Antrim/McCarty) on the night of July 14, 1881.
Cause for skepticism primarily stems from the Meltzer team’s efforts to debunk some of Garrett’s claims ultimately leading to the Kid’s death: i.e., on April 28, 1881, why did Garrett fatefully (or perhaps conveniently) leave town on county business prior to the Kid’s deadly jailbreak? How were the sheriff’s security precautions breached, so the shackled Kid could readily access a firearm? Months later, at Pete Maxwell’s home, how could the Kid have slipped past Garrett’s two deputies standing guard outside before meeting his fate against Garrett in a darkened bedroom?
Guests interviewed are: historian Mark Lee Gardner; retired police officer Steven Sederwall (who supervises a forensics test re: Deputy Bell’s murder during the Kid’s escape); author W. C. Jameson; two of Garrett’s grandchildren: Savannah & J.P. Garrett; and two of the Kid’s purported descendants: great-grandson Elbert Garcia and second cousin-once-removed Elaine McReynolds.
Meltzer’s team further examines Garrett’s veracity, as to the Kid’s infamous jail breakout killing two deputies, let alone the theory that an obstructive scheme shielded Garrett’s supposed killing of the wrong man in the Kid’s place. Also contemplated is the likelihood of whether elderly Ollie “Brushy Bill” Roberts (one of innumerable mid-20th Century Kid claimants) was the authentic Kid, as based upon photographic analysis technology and eyewitness accounts.
Further, several uncredited reenactment segments are included.
REVIEW:
Without passing judgment on the series itself, this episode proves watchable. Even its most dubious speculations are more plausible than, say, America Unearthed’s “Lost Secrets of the Alamo Revealed” episode, which dubiously pitches Davy Crockett’s alleged survival into old age in a secluded corner of Alabama.
Veering between theories that long-time buddies Garrett and the Kid had conspired together to fake the outlaw’s death (in an everybody-wins scenario), or that Garrett’s less-than-heroic version (despite its logical flaws) is basically correct, Meltzer’s presentation of disputed history is generally fair. His cohorts also convey an articulate pendulum weighing alternative answers explaining Garrett and the Kid’s final showdown. Yet, Meltzer’s advocation for sensationalizing conspiracy theories is excessive, which obstructs his program’s own credibility.
Though 1990’s Young Guns II, is not specifically mentioned, several elements of the film’s premise and plotting are mirrored throughout this episode. Hence, fans of Young Guns II should enjoy “Billy the Kid’s Mysterious Death.” Most others will deem the truth behind the Kid’s demise still muddled – as Meltzer’s show readily stirs the unprovable conspiracy pot.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 5½ Stars
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