James “Jimmy” Coyle, a Tombstone policeman, was standing on Allen Street talking with Dave Cohn. Coyle had his back toward the Oriental Saloon when he heard a gunshot.

Turning toward the sound, Coyle saw Buckskin Frank Leslie with a pistol in his hand. Coyle started toward the saloon, and as he did, a second shot was fired.

When the officer reached the scene, Billy Claiborne was down and Leslie was still holding his revolver.

Coyle approached Leslie, who offered the officer his weapon.

“Jimmy,” Leslie said, “here’s my pistol. Be careful—it’s cocked.”

Leslie lowered the hammer as Coyle took possession of the revolver.

“I’ll go with you,” Leslie added. “I could have done more, but I couldn’t have done less. I didn’t want to kill him… but he was laying to kill me.”

Coyle then turned his attention to Claiborne, who was slumped against the wall of the Crystal Palace Saloon. A Winchester rifle was still resting across Claiborne’s thighs. Coyle removed the rifle and took possession of it.

With Leslie’s revolver and Claiborne’s Winchester secured, Coyle escorted Buckskin Frank Leslie through Tombstone to the Police Courtroom. There, Coyle turned both weapons over to Deputy Sheriff Cory.

The Coroner’s Jury

A Coroner’s Jury was soon convened to determine the circumstances surrounding Billy Claiborne’s death.

Customers who had been inside the Oriental Saloon testified about Claiborne’s behavior before the shooting. According to their accounts, Claiborne had been loud and belligerent, directing insults and threats toward Buckskin Frank Leslie and others in the saloon that November morning.

Other witnesses had seen Claiborne outside.

Several Tombstone citizens testified that they saw him near the corner of Fifth and Allen Streets with a rifle in his possession. According to their testimony, Claiborne paced back and forth and openly stated that he was waiting for Leslie and intended to kill him.

The testimony established that the trouble between the two men had begun before the shots were fired.

Oriental Saloon from the Crystal Palace

Dr. Willis Examines Claiborne

Dr. G. C. Willis also appeared before the Coroner’s Jury and testified about Billy Claiborne’s condition following the shooting.

Claiborne had been carried to Willis’s office while still alive.

According to the doctor, the wounded man continued to curse Buckskin Frank Leslie, calling him a “murdering S.O.B.” and claiming that Leslie had shot him in the back.

The physical evidence described by Dr. Willis, however, contradicted that claim.

Willis testified that the entry wound was in the front left portion of Claiborne’s body. Whatever Claiborne believed or claimed during his final moments, the doctor’s examination indicated that the fatal bullet had entered from the front rather than the back.

Taken together, the testimony presented to the Coroner’s Jury described the events leading to the shooting: Claiborne’s threats inside the Oriental, his presence on Allen Street with a Winchester, his statements that he was waiting for Leslie, and finally the confrontation that left him mortally wounded.

The jury was left to determine whether Buckskin Frank Leslie had committed a killing—or had fired in defense of his own life.