Town file
Fort Sumner, New Mexico
Fort Sumner, New Mexico (DeBaca County, New Mexico) is the town in one episode of Small Town Murder, the comedy true-crime podcast: episode 466, "No Remorse, Plenty Of Stupid" (10 February 2024). A.J. Harden was born in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, on 2 April 1938, one of a pair of twins; his brother was known as C.J. He grew up in the town, worked in the logging industry in Alaska and Oregon in the 1950s and 1960s, served in the US Navy, and spent years as a long-haul truck driver for Furs Trucking before owning and operating his own truck.
- Town
- Fort Sumner
- County
- DeBaca County
- State
- New Mexico
- Country
- USA
- Episodes
- 466
- Approximate location
- 34.487, -104.218
Episode 466 / 10 February 2024 / 70 min / express
No Remorse, Plenty Of Stupid
"We're going to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, in eastern central New Mexico, east of Albuquerque, about two and a half hours away." about 0:04:28
The case: Murder of A.J. Harden (August 2020; body found October 15th, 2020); Murder of Michael Gutierrez (February 2021). Read the case file.
The figures, as told in 2024
- Population
- 1,364
- Median household income
- $35,556 a year
- Median home value
- $134,600
History, in brief
- Fort Sumner is named after Edwin Vose Sumner, a former military governor of the New Mexico Territory. about 0:05:57
- U.S. Fort Sumner was a military fort charged with the internment of nearby Navajo and Mescalero Apache people from 1863 to 1868. about 0:06:03
- The federal government closed the fort in 1868 and sold its buildings to Lucian Maxwell, a man who owned a great deal of land in New Mexico. about 0:06:19
- In the late 1870s Maxwell's son Pete became close friends with Billy the Kid, who hid out in the area. about 0:06:34
- Billy the Kid is buried in the old military cemetery in Fort Sumner. about 0:06:56
- Billy the Kid was killed just south of town by Pat Garrett. about 0:10:49
- Billy the Kid's original tombstone was stolen years ago, and the grave now has a replica. about 0:09:41
The reviews read out
5 stars
"A very small rural community, quite peaceful and for the most part a very nice little town; the reviewer would like to see it grow a little and have one or two things for the kids to do."about 0:07:24
3 stars
"The community is great and treats one another like family; the downside is that there is not much to do because it is the middle of nowhere."about 0:07:52
1 star
"A higher cost of living than other areas with more conveniences, too far from shopping, utilities double or triple those in other towns, water that is often brown or rust coloured so bottled water is an added expense, and a school that was a joke."about 0:08:04
Nearest Small Town Murder towns
- Roswell, New Mexico79 miles
- Hondo, New Mexico97 miles
- Dimmitt, Texas109 miles
- Tijeras, New Mexico129 miles
- Chimayo, New Mexico143 miles
- Bernardo, New Mexico149 miles
Everything here is as told in the episode, on the date it went out; figures and places may have changed since. Endings are covered: open an episode and use the spoiler switch to read them.