The Stolen Pinkerton Reports of the Colonel Albert J. Fountain Murder Investigation

by David G. Thomas

The abduction and apparent murder of Colonel Albert J. and Henry Fountain on February 1, 1896, shocked and outraged the citizens of New Mexico. It was not the killing of Colonel Fountain, a Union Civil War veteran and a prominent New Mexico attorney, which roused the physical disgust of the citizenry - after all, it was not unknown for distinguished men to be killed. It was the cold-blooded murder of his eight-year-old son which provoked the public outcry and revulsion.

The evidence indicated that although Colonel Albert J. Fountain was killed during the ambush, his son was taken alive, and only killed the next day.

The public was left without answers to the questions:
Who ambushed and killed Colonel Fountain?
Who was willing to kill his young son in cold-blood after holding him captive for 24 hours?

The case was never solved. Two men were eventually tried for and acquitted of the crime.

The case file for the crime contains almost no information. There are no trial transcripts or witness testimonies. The only reports that exist today of the investigation of the case are these Pinkerton Reports, which were commissioned by the Territorial Governor, and then stolen from his office four months after the murders. These Reports, now recovered, are published here.

These Reports are important historical documents, not only for what they reveal about the Fountain murders, but also as a fascinating window into the how the most famous professional detective agency in the United States in the 1890s - the Pinkerton Detective Agency - went about investigating a murder, at a time when scientific forensic evidence was virtually non-existent.

The two Pinkerton Operatives sent to investigate the crime were John Conklin Fraser and William C. Sayers, the Agency's most competent detectives. Their investigative methods revolved around taking witness and suspect statements, and then working to verify what they were told, a process that remains at the heart of criminal investigation today. As of the date of this writing, the Dona Ana County Sheriff's Office has reclassified the murders as an Active Case.

194 pages, Paperback

Published March 25, 2020

About the author

Author, historian, filmmaker, producer, actor, screenwriter, playwright, and travel writer. Associate Producer of the 2019 documentary film "The Wonder of the Century," based on the author's book on Giovanni Maria de Agostini, an Eighteenth Century world traveler. Co-founder of the Pat Garrett Western Heritage Festival and the Friends of Pat Garrett.

2019 Best Book Awards Finalist in the History: United States category for "Killing Pat Garrett, The Wild West's Most Famous Lawman - Murder Or Self-Defense." 2019 Royal Dragonfly Book Award Winner, Second Place, Historical Non-Fiction for "Killing Pat Garrett," 2019 Best Indie Book Notable 100 Award Winner for "Killing Pat Garrett."

Winner of the 2015 Pasajero Del Camino Real Award for Vols. 1 and 2 of the Mesilla Valley History Series "in which the life and times of La Posta and Giovanni Maria de Agostini emerge in rich detail." Winner of the 2017 Pasajero Del Camino Real Award for "Screen With A Voice," "A significant, comprehensive account bringing 110 years of theater to life."

Reviews

[Mary Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting historic non-fiction concerning the Fountain murders. The discovery of the long lost Pinkerton report brings the whole matter into slightly more focus, but I fear we are no closer to finding the real murderer and probably never will because those secrets were brought to graves. I purchased the book for my own research in writing my historical fiction about the ten years leading to the murders for which it isn't a direct resource, but one that will prove more valuable as I progress to that fateful day. Congratulations David on a well written and formatted book.

[Keith Kucera]

I think bill carr was billy the kid , I will investigate this until my dying day or until I discover the truth , either let me read the book or stick it where the sun don't shine muchachos