Discovered: The Coroner's Report on the Death of Pat Garrett
by Corey Recko
Pat Garrett is best known for killing Billy the Kid. Like Billy the Kid, Garrett had his life ended by a bullet. He was shot in the back of the head while urinating. Wayne Brazel confessed to the killing and claimed self-defense. The self-defense claim worked. Brazel was tried and found not guilty. Despite his confession, there is still debate over who killed Garrett, as some see Brazel not as the gunman, but as the fall guy in a larger conspiracy.
Recently in Las Cruces, the coroner's report on the death of Pat Garrett was discovered. The long sought after document was found in November, 2016, by Angelica Valenzuela, the recording and filing supervisor for the Doña Ana County Clerk's office as part of a project to preserve and catalog documents in the office's archives. The report was unveiled on June 16, 2017. It reads:
| We the undersigned Justices of the Peace and Coroners Jury have attended the investigation of the body of Pat Garrett who was reported dead within the limits of Precinct No. 20, County of Doña Ana, territory of New Mexico or about five miles northeast of the town of Las Cruces and find that the deceased came to his death by gunshot wounds inflicted by one Wayne Brazel. |
As interesting a find as this is, it changes nothing. Dated the day of Garrett's death, it identifies the man who confessed to shooting Garrett as the killer and contains little else. For those who believe that Brazel was just taking the fall in a larger conspiracy, this brief document contains no evidence that weakens their claim, just as it does nothing to strengthen the case against Brazel. Since Brazel confessed when he reported the murder, it comes as no surprise that the Justices of the Peace and coroner's jury believed him to be the killer. In the end, it is an interesting find that unfortunately does not add to our understanding of the death of Patrick Floyd Garrett.
About the author: Corey Recko's first book, Murder on the White Sands: The Disappearance of Albert and Henry Fountain, won the Wild West History Association's award for the “Best Book on Wild West History” for 2007. New Mexico Magazine said of the book, “The story moves along like detective fiction . . . .” Of his second book, A Spy for the Union: The Life and Execution of Timothy Webster, the Civil War News review of the book concluded, “Just about everyone will find something to like in this tale of Civil War espionage that mixes in portions of heroism, intrigue, cowardice and betrayal.” Along with books, Recko has written articles on a variety of historical topics for magazines and historical journals and has become a sought after speaker (including an appearance on C-SPAN). Death of a Kootch Show Girl, a murder mystery about a death at a small-town carnival in 1953, is Corey Recko's first novel.
