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The Wild West Extravaganza

Digging Up Billy the Kid: Exhuming the Dead

The Wild West Extravaganza

Wild West Josh

History, Education

4.8833 Ratings

🗓️ 18 February 2026

⏱️ 51 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Should Billy the Kid’s body be exhumed? In today’s episode, we break down the evidence surrounding Billy’s death at Fort Sumner, as well as the two failed attempts to dig up the Kid: the 1961 court fight between Lincoln and Fort Sumner, and the 2003 official investigation led by Sheriff Tom Sullivan, Deputy Steve Sederwall, and Sheriff Gary Graves. Finally, we address the DNA question itself and what evidence actually justifies disturbing the dead. Merch! https://wildwestextramerch.com/   Buy Me A Coffee!  https://buymeacoffee.com/wildwest   Check out the website! https://www.wildwestextra.com/   Email me! https://www.wildwestextra.com/contact/   Free Newsletter! https://wildwestjosh.substack.com/   Join Patreon for ad-free bonus content! https://www.patreon.com/wildwestextra   The Lunacy of Billy the Kid | True West - https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/the-lunacy-of-billy-the-kid/   Dreamscape Desperado | True West - https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/dreamscape-desperado-2/ David G. Thomas Website - https://doc45.com/   Dr. Robert Stahl Eyewitnesses - https://doc45.com/pleading/tenth-court-pleading-by-dr-robert-stahl-for-kid-death-certificate.pdf   Forever West | James Townsend - https://www.youtube.com/@ForeverWestPodcast   To Hell on a Fast Horse by Mark Lee Gardner - https://www.amazon.com/Hell-Fast-Horse-Untold-Garrett/dp/0061368296/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&sr=1-1   Chasing Billy the Kid by Kurt House & Roy B. Young - https://www.amazon.com/-/he/Chasing-Billy-Kid-Stewart-Manhunt/dp/0963894706 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

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0:30.2

Should Billy the kid's body be exhumed?

0:33.2

I mean, how can we know for certain that he was actually killed at Fort Sumner

0:36.0

if we don't dig him up and extract DNA?

0:39.0

History tells us that on the 9 July 14th, 1881, Billy the Kid was shot dead by Sheriff Pat Garrett.

0:45.3

There was an official coroner's jury report, deride witness statements, Garrett received the $500

0:49.7

bounty, and that was that. As far as everyone was concerned, Billy the kid was dead. Or was he?

0:57.7

After all, rumors have swirled for decades now regarding the kid's mysterious demise,

1:02.5

some claiming that the entire thing was a hoax and that nobody was even killed. Others maintain

1:07.0

the Garrett shot the wrong man, and rather than risk getting in trouble, he simply buried the body before anyone could see it. Meanwhile, his old pal Billy slipped away and lived

1:15.3

happily ever after. And despite many of these claims haven't already been thoroughly debunked,

1:20.7

there are still a lot of people who think that the only way the case can truly be solved is through

1:25.2

DNA. Sort of like when they dug up Jesse James back in the

1:28.6

1990s. Now, I will share my own personal thoughts towards the end of today's episode, but I think the

1:34.5

first question I'd ask anyone in favor of Exumen Billy the Kid is why. Why exactly do you have doubts?

...

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