The MGM+ series Billy the Kid paints a compelling picture of a brotherly bond turned sour between the famous outlaw and fellow gunslinger Jesse Evans. While the show’s dramatic friendship makes for gripping television, the real-life history between these two figures was far more complex and rooted in rivalry, shaping one of the most volatile chapters in the Old West.
The Real Jesse Evans
Jesse Evans was a notorious outlaw and leader of the Jesse Evans Gang, a group that also called themselves “The Boys”. Born around 1853 in Missouri or possibly Texas, his life of crime began early. He was arrested with his parents in 1871 in Kansas for passing counterfeit money. By 1872, he had moved to the New Mexico Territory, working as a cowboy for prominent ranchers like John Chisum before falling in with John Kinney’s criminal outfit.
Evans soon formed his own gang, which included members like Billy Morton, Frank Baker, and Tom Hill. They were involved in cattle rustling, robbery, and violence throughout New Mexico, quickly earning a fearsome reputation. A newspaper report from the time even described Evans as “more troublesome than the raiding parties or the Apaches.”
The Lincoln County War and the Shift to Rivalry
The conflict that permanently linked Evans and Billy the Kid was the Lincoln County War, a violent economic feud between two rival business factions in Lincoln County, New Mexico. Evans and his gang were hired guns for the Murphy-Dolan faction, which sought to maintain its monopoly on trade in the region.
In a pivotal moment on February 18, 1878, Jesse Evans, Frank Baker, William Morton, and Tom Hill ambushed and murdered John Tunstall, a wealthy English rancher and merchant aligned with the opposing faction. Tunstall was a mentor and employer to Billy the Kid, and his murder was the spark that ignited the full-scale war.
Following Tunstall’s death, Billy joined the Regulators, a vigilante group formed to avenge the killing. This placed him and Evans on opposite sides of a bloody conflict. Evans was a prominent figure throughout the war, leading posses and attacks against the Regulators. Historical accounts, including letters written by Billy the Kid to Governor Lew Wallace, show that Billy even expressed fear of being assassinated by Evans.
Fact Versus Fiction in the MGM+ Drama
The television series takes creative license to deepen the emotional stakes of the story. Actor Daniel Webber brings a magnetic and dangerous charm to the role of Jesse Evans, portraying him as an older mentor and close friend to a young Billy, a relationship that fractures due to betrayal.
In reality, while their paths did cross, their association was likely more transactional and situational. Billy the Kid is believed to have ridden with the Jesse Evans Gang for a short period around 1877, but they were never the close friends the show depicts. Their relationship was defined by the opposing sides they took in the Lincoln County War, not a personal falling-out.
The show also attributes the decision to kill John Tunstall directly to Jesse Evans as a personal act. In historical records, the murder was an action carried out by Evans and his gang on behalf of their employers, James Dolan and Lawrence Murphy.
The Mysterious Disappearance of Jesse Evans
After the Lincoln County War, Evans’s criminal career continued. In 1879, he and gang member Billy Campbell killed attorney Huston Chapman. This led to a manhunt by Texas Rangers, who eventually captured Evans. He was sentenced to prison but escaped, only to be recaptured and sent to Huntsville Penitentiary in Texas.
After his release in 1882, Jesse Evans vanished completely from historical records. His ultimate fate remains one of the Old West’s enduring mysteries. In 1948, a probate investigator found an elderly man in Florida named Joe Hines who claimed to have been involved in the Lincoln County War and hinted that Billy the Kid was still alive. Some have speculated that Hines was actually Jesse Evans living under an assumed name, but this was never proven.
The real Jesse Evans was a formidable and feared outlaw in his own right, a central player in the conflicts that created the legend of Billy the Kid. The MGM+ series uses their complicated history as a foundation to explore themes of loyalty, morality, and the choices that define a legacy.
Also Read: Billy the Kid Season 3 Episode 5 Recap: A Fatal Escape and Garrett’s Final Confrontation
