William McCloskey (died 9 March 1878) was a member of the Lincoln County Regulators during the Lincoln County War. He was shot by Billy the Kid for spying for Lawrence Murphy.
Biography[]
William McCloskey was employed by Lawrence Murphy before being sent to spy on the Lincoln County Regulators before the Lincoln County War, as Murphy and Regulator leader John Tunstall were on the verge of conflict. McCloskey told Tunstall that he had been fired by Murphy, and he was allowed to join the Regulators. After the Regulators captured Murphy's henchmen Buck Morton and Frank Baker near the Blackwater Creek, McCloskey suggested that the captives be taken through the town of Lincoln. Billy the Kid saw McCloskey do a facial emotion that suggested that he had ulterior motives, and he pointed a gun at him and told the others that McCloskey was a spy. Richard M. Brewer, the leader of the Regulators, did not believe The Kid, and told him to apologize to McCloskey. The Kid apologized, but then said that he was sorry that he hadn't sniffed him out sooner, and proceeded to shoot him in the head at point-blank range, splattering his blood on Doc Scurlock's face.
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