The death & discovery of The Sundance Kid

As the story goes... Bill Long died in Duchesne, Utah by a gun shot to the head. The family never believed he would kill himself. At the time of his death Matt Warner had wrote a book and it was about to be released... Some people believed old Matt came to talk with Bill about the things that were going to come out in his new book and then Bill Long was dead. The family found Grandpa Long lying dead out back of the house they were so upset at the sight they took the rifle and threw it in the canal, the gun was never recovered. This is a photo of how the house looks today.

Below is a photograph of Bill and Luzernia Morrell Long.The pair met while her first husband (Silas Morrell) was still alive, but suffering from serious injuries that would later kill him. They later married and lived in Fremont, Utah for many years farming and living the family life. She had six children with her previous husband and they had 2 daughters together Viola & Evinda. Turns out this was just a pretty great cover story for an Outlaw. All while he was out robbing banks and trains, gambling and drinking with the Wild Bunch and his good buddy Butch.  

                                                     

Long's remains were unearthed, Dr McCullough conducted a physical examination of the bones as well. That analysis revealed that Long may not have committed suicide, as his death certificate stated. McCullough found evidence that the .22-caliber bullet that killed Long entered his skull from an angle that indicates someone else shot him.

The work of University of Utah anthropology professor John M. McCullough, another person involved in the 2008 exhumation studied the similarities in the Long/Longabaugh photos. In court papers filed to obtain permission to exhume Long, the anthropologist declared: "It is clear that these two photographs are of the (same) person. 

         William (Bill) Henry Long                                                                                    Henry Longabaugh "The Sundance Kid"

"McCullough's photo analysis revealed identical traits in both men -- including a notch in an ear, evidence of a broken nose, and a cleft chin. There are also matches in height, hair color and eye color. The photos below are transparencies of both photos above laying on top of one another. As you can see... The faces match EXACTLY!

The documentary and a book of The Sundance Kids exciting adventures and romances are forth coming by the Great Grandson Jerry Nickle. For updates and photos check out our face book page Outlaw Stories of the Wild West. If you would like to support our endeavor check out our Kickstarter Project for a TV pilot on Outlaw Stories of the Wild West. The Horses and riders were all supplied by Extreme Outlaw Rides here in Utah. A Documentary on the whole project is being created by Mike Karr of Scene by Scene Productions.