Billy the Kid Mystery Solved 

Billy the kid is one the rare western icons where legend and fact were really pretty close.not a cold blooded killer but dealt with many who were and sought to take his life.doesn't get the credit he deserves for standing up to a corrupt system alone.

So many people empathize with Billy the Kid because of the injustice he suffered at the hands of the corrupt legal system. His boss, mentor and father figure was murdered and justice was not done. He took the law into his own hands. He wasn't alone, yet he shouldered most of the blame. The time and place where he lived was brutal and unforgiving. He is a sad and tragic figure in American history.

Well done, you even pointed out that the old tin type photos were mirror image, meaning what appeared to be the rifle in the right hand was actually being held in the left and the revolver (and it was a revolver) was actually on his right side. If you look real close at the old tin type, even the vest buttons were on the wrong side, they were on the side of the vest a woman would have them (on the left) the buttons were actually on the right side. Well made video, your research was outstanding. Thank you for that.

There is actually a pretty well developed protocol for comparing photographs like this. It involves taking precise measurements of things like the bottom of the nose to the top of the lip bottom of the nose to the bottom of the lips the distance between the eyes things like that. You have to do it properly, with quantifiable measurements if you want to convince everyone of the authenticity of it.

Whether it is or isn't I know not, but I'm sure that Billy would be amazed at the interest in his picture. I lived in Lincoln and worked at Fort Stanton in the mid 1970s. I've thought alot about Billy's escapades in my life. I too believe that he got a bum rap because of dishonest politicians and other public officials. History shows that he was a stand up guy who didn't bail on his friends when the chips were down. That's a personality trait that is rare in this day and was probably just as rare then.

I played and re-played the merging over and over again, and I noticed that the mouths were an almost exact match, including what is visible of the teeth. My opinion is they are the same person, just in a slightly different pose and in different lighting (one outdoors, the other inside).

The tin type Billy has a thinner nose, and droopier eyes, especially the right eye. The nose in the new photo is way too bulbous and wide to match the tin type. Close, but no cigar. It's not Billy.

After researching my family tree and assisting others doing the same, one thing I learned from this experience is how many times I saw photos of a person's great, great grandfather and was shocked at the resemblance between people long since dead vs. their decendents who were currently alive. Sometime there were some amazing resemblances to nephews. I believe there is no way to prove this without doing actual DNA analysis. So I would like to declare that this could very well be a photo of Billy, but it also could very easily not be a photo of Billy. We'll never know without using actual DNA analysis.

I believe with about 90% certainty that this is a photo of 'Billy The Kid'. Wonderful explanation, &compelling proof! Well done 🖒🖒

Just my two cents worth...the only thing that really caught my eye was the mouth. It is well known that Billy had protruding upper front teeth (buck teeth). That is obvious in the tintype and you can actually discern Billy’s front teeth. In the newly discovered photo the mouth is closed not allowing a look at the teeth but the shape of the mouth does not belie buck teeth. If anything the lower lip appears to protrude more than the upper which leads me to believe the subject does not have buck teeth. As much as I would like this to be of Billy I have my doubts. How does this new photo measure up when compared in the same manner to the “croquet” photo?

As a pro photographer who uses this technique routinely, I note that while there is much continuity in the registration of superimposed images I also note that the subjects left eye appears considerably different in that it is “raised” higher on the tin image. I am not convinced that the tilt of the head accounts for this…..but am prepared to be wrong. A mystery indeed🧐!

The tin type has always been known to be a very unflattering picture of billy because of movement, but the way you did the overlay convinced me…regulators mount up !!

Pffffttttt This looks nothing like Emilio Estevez.

I won't swear to anything - but your efforts produced an excellent reply - yes - it is the Kid . One more way of ID is look at his ears in both photos - exactly the same size , place and pattern . Excellent work !

You have convinced me Mark. The photo you're referring to is Billy. Great work!

To me, that is in my opinion, neither the eye brows nor the nose align with each other. You made some good points, I agree. But I'd like to be able to critique the finer details before making an assessment. But, I thank you So Much for bringing this material up front and presented to us all. What you've done is commendable, for sure. Again, Thank You Sincerely.

Being a Facebook certified expert, on pretty much everything, I do hereby declare that this may, or may not be, Billy the Kid.

Well done sir. Very convincing procedure you went thru. If it looks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck and so on.

I definitely agree with you. That's Billy The Kid!!! That process you did was freaking amazing!!! There is not a doubt in my mind that this is Billy!! Now you need to compare this one to some pictures that are known to be Brushy Bill Roberts and see if you can find any similarities there!!!

The census data and the picture overlapping are very convincing. I don’t see how it could be anyone else. They are the same person! Thank you!!

After reading about "Billy the Kid". I had more respect for his anger. He was mistreated many times that stimulated this anger and outrage. Many times he was protecting himself and was condemn for it. I don't agree with the outrage, but I can understand why he acted out.

The tin type nose looks thinner. Nostrils don’t flair as much.

We went from one picture of Billy the Kid standing with a rifle, to pictures of him playing croquet, playing poker, sitting behind Pat Garrett, standing with two unknown men. standing with one unknown male, sitting next to an unknown male, and standing, alone, next to a chair. The resemblance of the man playing poker and the man sitting with an arm on a pillow next to a standing, unknown man are closest to the one picture known to be Billy the Kid. Like stated by another commenter, he had buck teeth and his mouth, opened or closed, evidenced this profoundly. With all the time, from start to finish, it took to actually pose for, and have a tin type taken, how did he find the time to be an outlaw? The process was akin to the bird pecking an image into a stone slab on the Flintstones, but the bird was faster.

I would say yes. Every time I see this stuff I want to say give the man a rest and let him rest in peace but I always enjoy it

They have been playing young guns and young guns 2 over and over on tv . Now we know that Lou Diamond Phillips and Keifer Sutherland's characters did not die in gunfights but they lived long lives . I agree with multiple comments on here about BTK . He like most of the regulators were like modern day ppl who struggle to make ends meet , all they knew was street wisdom and surviving the best they knew how . Life did not give them a choice , and bc they avenged the death of Mr. Tunstall , bc they defended themselves from the hired scum of the crooked ass bully land baron and did not blend in with the rich pigs and real pieces of shit in that society, they automatically were assumed guilty and had death tags on their heads . They were not outlaws, the man made law was not made for them and they stood up to it and refused to back down. They became famous for being killers as news reported back then but to me they became Legends for standing up for their beliefs, forming a family of outcasts that society looked down on . They are trailblazers and like Bon Jovi they went out in " A Blaze of Glory " . Regulators 4 Life. Sometimes you have to invoke your own form of justice to survive .

The photograph is a dead ringer for an old newspaper or wanted poster I remember seeing somewhere of 'William H. Bonney'. Bear in mind, the confirmed photo with the Winchester was of Billy after a few days of rough trail riding-he might have been halfway sloshed and decided a picture would be a grand idea. This was also when he was a wanted man and had 'matured' quite a bit. The one in question seems to show an innocent young man before he went renegade. When I look at both photos I get the sense of a mischievous, fun loving type that matches contemporary accounts of BTK being a jovial, wonderful sense of humor type which he got from his mother.

If he only knew how much he is loved 💙💙RIP WILLIAM FROM YOYR BIGGEST SCOTTISH FAN 🙏🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

My family has been in chavez an Lincoln county's before new mexico was a state an I have heard stories of Billy passed down through the family he never robbed any one killed just to kill did not bully people those that were killed tried to kill him he was helped by Hispanic family because he respected them an was willing to help whenever he could

Ok. Looking at this video few times. I see the similarities in the body. The face may have some differences cause one picture was taken indoors and the others was taken outdoors with the sun in his face. Therefore.. there may be different on facial figures. Specially on the nose and eyes. But something made me scratch my head while looking at this and is convincing me as well that this could be Billy the Kid. #1. The Adam’s apple in the throat. They both share the same Adam’s apple and that cannot be hidden by sun light or environment. #2. They both have the same hat. Billy was known to have unique hat at the time. Overall... this could be “Billy the kid” unless there’s another kid with the same body fixtures and Adam’s apple with the same hat. Good video.

I recognized him immediately, yes. The way life was back then, people's "looks" changed with how much they had to eat, where they were sleeping, how much time they spent outdoors for their occupations (or indoors), and in Billy's case the trauma/violance with which he was engaged throughout his young life. In your photo, it seems to have been, as you believe, a younger Billy; less stressed, less "taken apart" by life, and with a bit less "bravado" than in the tintype. As an artist who does a lot of portrait work I can tell immediately, despite the seeming "differences" in photos, the "essence" of a person; their emotional and psychological qualities as much as their physical appearance from year to year or decade to decade. This is Billy, definitely.

I am quite sure you are right. As a former seaman I look at the nose as well. Many young guys get a broken nose and in both photographs we see the same crooked nose. Same direction, to the right as so many and very remarkable the same "intensity" (!)

You make a very compelling argument and I find no room to dispute your claim. Excellent presentation!

The resemblance is there. It's very convincing. Old photos are hard to work with. But technology helps. I would say yes. Only question I have is how was he when the photos were taken? People do age and if it is him obviously he was younger when the photo was taken. Truly "The Kid".

A friend of mine pointed out the reversed image and the loading gate on the rifle, back in '75. His grandfather saw it years earlier. Its funny how Hollywood made many movies of him being left-handed.

My family are McCarty's from County Cork in Ireland. Every St. Patrick's day I think of William McCarty. As time passes I hope to learn as much as possible about William. Not much in my family history about him. RIP Billy.

I'm convinced. It could even conceivably be argued that he's wearing the same hat, the tintype photo coming later after it had seen more wear and tear. The right ear is the same (once the tintype has been reversed to reflect the proper view). Someone commented on the mouth not being the same, with the original tintype clearly showing his prominent buck teeth, but I disagree; it's been my experience that people with an overbite, when their mouth is closed their lower lip protrudes, and that can be seen by the shadow created by the lower lip in the new photo. It's subtle, but there nonetheless. I believe this one is much easier to see the similarities than the croquet photo..

I believe it is Billy. The eyes were almost identical, as was the body type. shoulders, etc. A jawline can become rounded as just a few pounds are gained. The 2 photos are too much alike not to be him. One would have to look far and wide for someone who looked so much like Billy. Great job you did. Thanks.

The nose is perfect as well. Dimensions of faces are remarkably different in most people, and I've learned this as a portrait artist of over forty years. I'm in complete agreement that this is one and the same man.

To me the nose appears different in size and the orbital balance of the eyes is off as well. Billy’s left eye is noticeably higher in the original photo and his nose is narrower in the original.

Very convincing. The hat adds to it for me. No living relatives with artifacts? One of the best stories of the old west.

I think it is Billy. I think you've shown some pretty compelling evidence. The facial features line up with reasonable accommodations allowing differences for photographic techniques. The shape of the neck and shoulders are spot on.

Great points. However, I think that in those days not too many people had very many clothes in the closet so they were the same clothes for a long time. I observed that he appears to have on the same hat, vest and possibly the same pants and boots on as well. So yes, it looks authentic to me.

Yea I totally agree. The technology is amazing. Awesome work.

I personally am convinced the new photo is in fact Billy , a much better photo process obviously . The tin type was way to rough in my opinion distorting his true young handsomeness . Great Video

The kid did get a bad wrap , he's a hero in my eyes.

I have met like 15 people or so in my life telling me that they were the direct descendant of Billy The Kid or Jesse James. Man, I swear, some people got their info wrong or those guys got around quiet a lot back in their day.

Crazy to see him age almost. Those were hard times and I'm sure even harder being on the run where everywhere you could go someone was waiting to kill you. In between those places were tribes that didn't care who you were. He seems to lose weight and his face looks harder and eyes get more piercing. I like it. It gets my vote as a lifelong fan of his! Who is the other guy supposed to be?

Absolutely Yes.

Billy or not..its still a boy that was 16 years old that stood up to what he belived was corruption .and they killed his boss that took him in..rest in peace Billy

Interestingly, the author never mentions the similarity of ears. In both photos, the right ear sticks out more than the left-- caused by the hat or natural physically, they too are nearly identical. That was the final proof to me in addition to the similar facial recognition. Good video.

That is Billy. The boots even look the same. He worked as a ranch hand on my ancestor's small ranch in Rodey, N.M. It was called the "Coleman Ranch" in those days.

Been watching the new show about Billy the Kid... Excellent.. the actor who plays him is Great... Recommend It Highly...

My sister does facial recognition sketches for missing person age progression, wanted suspect etc and she thinks its the same. If you put more center lines on nose mouth eyes the spaces dont change. These features can differ on identical twins but not this photo. Pic with gun is photo lighting so shrinks the edges of nose compared to sunlight contrast. Whether its billy or not its highly likely its the same person body proportion matches too.

The jawline for sure, I think it is Billy the kid who in my eyes is a hero, fighting as he did against government corruption. Thank you!!

Unless Billy had a twin, it's got to be him! I've seen a very similar software, if not the same, used on a forensic show tp ID a skull to a missing person's photograph.

I, 100%, agree that this is the kid! Looks clean-cut and ready for a good day's work....

Bingo. For me it was his right eye that immediately struck me: He had a characteristic squint and raised eyebrow clearly visible in the scaled photo comparisons, which is especially impressive in consideration of the fact that his eyes would have to be slightly distorted in the tin-type due to the extremely long exposure; it's just damned difficult to impossible to keep your eyes perfectly still and you have no control whatsoever over the dilation of your pupils. Heck, it even looks like he could be wearing the very same hat in both photos. Very cool.

Take into account the pictures were most likely taken at two different times, maybe years apart and the fact that the eyes in the photo of Billy with his pistol were slanted just like eyes the authinticated photo of Billy. Also that they were taken at two different distances. This may explain the slight differences in placement of his facial features. Overall who's to say, however in my opinion it is the same person. Billy the Kid

I always thought Emilio Estevez gave an incredible performance of Billy in Young Guns

The similarities of both pictures are amazing how close they are

Wow! I agree, it has to be Billy. Hes even wearing the same hat. Its at a bit of a different angle, but I notice what seems to be a unique hatband and it appears to be the same in both images. Also, the ears seem to be on the same level, albeit, a bit different but the difference in the ears and hat, from pic to pic us the difference in head angle. It amazes me that just when you think youve seen the last evidence, something new crops up. Well done on the verification!

When he says the eyes are a bit different because of the tilt of the head, funny how the other eye seems to stay in the exact same place, only one eye really moves. But the tilt of the head, oookk

Yup, no question about it. Great video and commentary. Thanks

Impressive and astounding!

It's also the same hat tilted slightly different from the known photo of Billy. The hats are the same in both pictures. I'm convinced they are the same person.

You’ll notice he doesn’t mention the nose, that’s because it doesn’t match. One is a lot broader than the other and has a different shape to the end and the nostrils. Definitely not the same person

You did a fantastic job... The two pictures are 100% of each other, that's Billy the Kid... Thank You!!!

The NOSE is the biggest difference between the two photos. If I had not previously been a cop I would not have paid attention to it. The nose from the tin type is thinner. It could be the angle difference or the lighting. It could have also been that the difference in the time frame he may have had a broken nose.

I agree, I think its him and if the the dimensions are not enough for most folks, keep in mind he is wearing his classic top hat to boot.

If you read Garrett's story of Billy and other contemporaneous writers, they all say Billy had a pronounced overbite. I see a dominant lower lip in the new photo.

A very strong argument and expertly backed up. Can't say it's 100% certainty but I would say yes this is Billy the Kid

Wow. At first i was skeptical and thinking no way. Billy the Kid photos popping up everywhere. But after your presentation and the research you found. I think this is The Kid. The face and body lines match up. And what are the odds of another boy his age, living in the same county, the same time period, with the same face and body comparisons matching up. As long as your research is correct, then i'm 99% sure, this is an early photo of Billy the Kid.

The nose that's not him

Without a doubt that is BILLY...The Facial zoom is extremely convincing.

Billy was a victim of circumstance. He was a criminal due to those same instances. He is without a doubt my FAVORITE criminal.😊

I am an artist and I make portraits from memory, I don't need to look at subject that I am painting more than once and I don't think that they are the same faces!

Your one of the first to explain how tintypes work its been documented many times that Bonney was Right handed not left as most assume

When he presented the picture of the two men I said to myself no way that looked like Billy the kid but when he zoomed in I started to see it did line up with the real picture of Billy the kid. I googled Wikipedia and Pat Garrett fired at a person in the dark room and killing him thinking it was Billy and when they turned the body over some say it wasn't Billy. In 1950 a man in his 90's came forward and said he was Billy the kid. To prove it all of his scars lined up where Billy was shot and knifed before. The man that claimed he was Billy died a short time later.

Yes, Especially the right eye has that tiny bit of closing. Great Job.

This is remarkable, and certainly makes a strong case. I’d add a couple more similarities. Forensic investigators use earlobes to ID people, and if you watch the final head-only fade back to the new photo, the lobes look to match to me. Second. The hats appear to be identical. Sidebar: on the croquet shot, I’ve seen the Nat Geo doc, which makes a convincing case (although the naysayers do as well). However, I never noticed that the authenticated photo has Billy in a sweater with dark, baggy sleeves. Same with the croquet shot. Maybe not the identical sweater, but maybe from the same knitting pattern? Fascinating.

My eyes say not even close! Not the same man!

Billy according to reports was better looking than the tin type ..It wasn't his best shot ..it's blurred .which accounts for teeth , nose and eyebrows. .If you see a picture of his Mom then look at this ..It's a possibility .His Hat looks pretty much the same but I'm not an expert.

Awesome video I think you got an authentic MATCH to the famous tin-type photo purported to be Billy the Kid !! Kudos!

The flipped image in the tintype is what gave rise to the myth of Billy being left-handed. Throw in the Paul Newman movie "The Left Handed Gun", and you get a left handed outlaw.

I think you're seeing what you want to see.

Just bought 2tin types of Jesse James and possibly Frank James my favorite outlaws since childhood I feel honored to own These pictures knowing that they were owned and handled by Jesse James and possibly Frank James These men were true Americans as was Billy the kid.

Man, what a great way to make the case for the photograph. I have one of Annie Oakley that I should do the same thing with.

Fascinating, and really persuasive. Thank you very cool. 👍

Billy the kid , sua história é marcante. 🇧🇷

Looks totally different! The person in the tin type photo has a narrower head, cheeks and jaw line. The browridge is not only in a different place, but of a different shape too. The fact you have put a grid on the other picture only serves to emphasize these points even more! But I thankyou for your views and opinions and for sharing.

Great video, you really have me convinced this really could be Billy. Everything lines up as you say, but you forgot to mention something extremely important. Check out the shape, angle and length of his right hand thumb and trigger finger. They're a virtual perfect match.

Awesome production. Also, it seems that his right ear rather sticks out more than the left. It is the same in both photos- the ears are the same.

I swear, Billy the Kid must be the most photographed person of the 19th century.

00:42 Clearly the man pointing is Tom O'Folliard. Without him in the photo, it would have been difficult for any historian to prove the man on the left was Henry McCarty; who clearly made a silly face for the camera. The best photo of Billy is the newly found poker photo with known members of the Regulators.

Awesome Marc, I agree it looks like a match!

The one thing I noticed consistently is that his right ear stuck out farther than his left ear in both images. If the tintype is Billy, then the cabinet card is most definitely him as well.

I've always been fascinated with Billy The Kid for years! I don't believe he was an outlaw, he was cleaning up the old west and taking out the trash.

The tintype photo of Billy looks like he might have had a few drinks because he looks more relaxed. Both photos are probably him but who knows. I have 5 photos of my grandfather who was born in the 1800's and he looks different in every one.

I was looking at the nose and it never changed, it’s him! Great job 👍🏻👍🏻

The nose gives it away i.e., the "Billy the Kid" tintype has a narrow nose while the new photo has a wider nose. One more difference is the right ear is larger in the new photo and pressed more near his head while in the tintype the ear sticks out and is smaller.