He died when he was young
One of the interesting facts about Billy the Kid is that he died when he was young. Governor Wallace set a new $500 bounty on McCarty's head while he was on the run. Responding to allegations that McCarty was in the neighborhood of Fort Sumner, Garrett departed Lincoln with two deputies on July 14, 1881, to investigate resident Pete Maxwell, a friend of McCarty's. Maxwell, the son of land baron Lucien Maxwell, spoke with Garrett for several hours the same day. Around midnight, the two were sitting in Maxwell's darkened bedroom when McCarty walked in unexpectedly.
The sequence of events is described differently by different people. According to the canonical version, McCarty failed to identify Garrett as he entered the room owing to bad lighting. Garrett pulled his revolver and fired twice after recognizing McCarty's voice. The first bullet struck McCarty just above his heart in the chest, while the second missed. Garrett's story is uncertain as to whether McCarty was killed quickly or over time.
A coroner's jury of six individuals was constituted by a local judge of the peace a few hours after the shooting. Members of the jury interrogated Maxwell and Garrett, and McCarty's body and the scene of the shooting were investigated. The jury certified the body as McCarty's, and the jury foreman told a local newspaper, "It was the Kid's body that we examined." McCarty was given a candlelight wake before being buried the next day, and his grave was marked with a wooden marker. Garrett traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico, five days after McCarty's murder, to collect the $500 prize set by Governor Lew Wallace for his apprehension, dead or alive. The acting governor of New Mexico, William G. Ritch, declined to pay the reward. Residents of Las Vegas, Mesilla, Santa Fe, White Oaks, and other New Mexico cities raised almost $7,000 in prize money for Garrett over the next few weeks. The New Mexico territorial legislature enacted a special act a year and four days after McCarty's death to grant Garrett the $500 bounty reward promised by Governor Wallace.
