Who does Ponyboy say killed Bob?

In The Outsiders, Ponyboy says that he himself killed Bob, although Johnny actually killed Bob in self-defense.

The killing happens in the park after Bob and the other Socs attack Ponyboy and Johnny. One of the Socs forces Ponyboy’s head underwater in the fountain, and Ponyboy blacks out. When he wakes up, Bob is dead, Johnny’s switchblade is bloody, and Johnny says, “I killed him.”

Later, after Johnny dies and Ponyboy is suffering from a concussion and grief, Ponyboy goes into denial. When Randy visits and tries to reassure him before the hearing, Ponyboy insists that he, rather than Johnny, killed Bob. He also denies that Johnny is dead. Darry recognizes that Ponyboy is not thinking clearly or coping well with Johnny’s death and his own injury.

The legal truth remains that Johnny killed Bob while defending Ponyboy and himself. At the hearing, Randy and Cherry testify that Johnny acted in self-defense, and Ponyboy is acquitted. Ponyboy’s confused claim shows how deeply he is trying to avoid the reality of Johnny’s death and the violence that changed all their lives.