Billy Strings brother: Who is Patrick Apostol?

Patrick Lee Apostol, the elder half-brother of Grammy Award-winning bluegrass singer and guitarist Billy Strings (whose real name is William Lee Apostol), has been in the spotlight for a different reason.

Unfortunately, Patrick Apostol is facing murder charges in Denver, Colorado. Zackary Smith, a local musician, was tragically shot in the head while driving down an alley in east Denver on September 10, 2020.

Court documents from a federal 2022 weapons and drugs case directly tie Patrick Apostol to Billy Strings. The two share the same father, Billy Apostol, who sadly passed away from a heroin overdose.

Although authorities didn’t have clear evidence linking Apostol to the shooting at the time, they continued to build their murder case while pursuing lesser charges related to drugs and firearms.

During the trial, Apostol’s connection to Billy Strings was mentioned. Apostol’s defense attorney highlighted that Billy Strings is a Grammy Award-winning artist who has been generous with his brother, even traveling together on private jets.

Billy Strings has toured with Greensky Bluegrass, The Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, I’m With Her, Cabinet and others. He also collaborated with Molly Tuttle on the songs “Sittin’ on Top of the World” and “Billy in the Lowground”.