Who killed Joseph Smith?

The attack involved between one hundred and two hundred people, according to the podcast transcript. [7] Willard Richards described Joseph’s attempt to escape through a window: “two balls pierced him from the door, and one entered his right breast from without, and he fell outward exclaiming, ‘ O Lord my God! ’” [2] The transcript notes uncertainty about whether Joseph died before falling to the ground; Elizabeth Kuehn explains that some accounts describe him surviving the fall and then being shot again near the well. [2]

In October 1844, nine men were indicted for Joseph Smith’s murder: Levi Williams, Jacob C. Davis, Mark Aldrich, Thomas C. Sharp, William Vorhas, John Wills, William N. Grover, and two men identified only as “Gallagher” and “Allen.” Four of those indicted were never arrested or tried, according to the transcript. [7] These indictments identify alleged participants, but the excerpts do not establish which person inflicted the fatal wound. [2][7]