Cold Case: Billy the Kid: Investigating History's Mysteries

by W.C. Jameson

In this series, private investigators pick up where the historians left off, taking on a series of major cold cases in history, starting with the mishandling of evidence relating to the life and times of Billy the Kid.Cold Billy the Kid tackles the myths and legends about the notorious outlaw one by one, considering the evidence from contemporary sources and looking at the physical evidence still extant today to consider the veracity of historical claims and considering the evidence through the lens of a legal investigation.

In this first book, the writers tackle the evolution of an outlaw in myth and lore, claiming that Billy the Kid as a notorious outlaw is a manufactured concept. They offer evidence that the Kid was little more than one of several small time cattle and horse thieves whose rustling netted him only a small amount of intermittent income. He killed no fewer, and probably no more, than four or five men. For the most part he worked on ranches, notably those of John Chisum and John Henry Tunstall. The Kid, as a cattle thief, was known to many in southern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle, along with a number of other troublesome rustlers.

217 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2018

About the author

W.C. Jameson is the award-winning author of 70 books, 1500 articles and essays, 300 songs, and dozens of poems. He is the best selling treasure author in the United States and his prominence as a professional fortune hunter had led to stints as a consultant for the Unsolved Mysteries television show and The Travel Channel. He served as an advisor for the film, "National Treasure" starring Nicolas Cage and appears in an interview on the DVD. Jameson has written the sound tracks for two PBS documentaries and one feature film. His music has been heard on NPR and he wrote and performed in the musical, “Whatever Happened to the Outlaw, Jesse James?” Jameson has acted in five films and has been interviewed on The History Channel, The Travel Channel, PBS, and Nightline. When not working on a book, he tours the country as a speaker, conducting writing workshops and performing his music at folk festivals, concerts, roadhouses, and on television. He lives in Llano, Texas.