The second known photo of Billy the Kid could be sitting in an old photo album in New Mexico, a forensic artist said. The photo was passed on to Ray John de Aragon of New Mexico, in the 1970s when his father passed away, but only recently did he hire well-known forensic artist Lois Gibson to put the photograph’s origins to the test, NBC affiliate KOB reported.
"I got an email from this shy guy in New Mexico saying he's got a picture of Billy the Kid, and no one believes him," Gibson, a forensic artist and sketch artist for the Houston Police Department, told KOB on Tuesday. Gibson has helped solve thousands of cases with her sketches and claimed to identify the soldier kissing a nurse in the iconic Times Square photograph shot on the day World War II ended.
After investigating de Aragon’s claims, Gibson told KOB she believes the photo is in fact of the famous gunslinger himself. "It's the same body, face and head," Gibson said, adding that the teeth look the same as well."The dentition, it locks it in for me. Everything else lines up, but the dentition is so unusual."
De Aragon said he is excited the photograph is authentic and plans to keep it as a family heirloom."It's so wonderful to have a fleshing-out of history because everyone has heard of Billy the Kid,” Gibson said, adding she is happy for de Aragon. “He's a Wild West icon, and this picture seems to be from before he went wild."
