Public Reaction
&
The Trials

When word got out that Roscoe Arbuckle had been arrested, the national press - led by William Randolph Hearst's San Francisco Examiner - had a field day. One must remember that yellow journalism was common in this era.
Banner headlines, proclaiming lurid innuendoes about Arbuckle's private life, filled newspapers throughout the nation for weeks. Even The New York Times, known for it's having "all the news fit to print," went out of its way to incriminate Arbuckle.
Later, W. R. Hearst would brag - in front of Buster Keaton - that he'd sold more newspapers on the Arbuckle case than on the sinking of the Lusitania.

The public reaction to these headlines was swift and brutal. Women's groups across the United States condemned Arbuckle for his "immorality." As far as the public was concerned, Roscoe Arbuckle had already been found guilty.

Meanwhile, San Francisco's District Attorney Matthew Brady - basking in the publicity of a murder trial that would only be matched by the O. J. Simpson trial of 1994 - found out that his key witness, Maude Delmont, was lying. Every time Delmont talked about what happened in the hotel room, she gave a different story. Nevertheless, Brady insisted on continuing with the case.

Using third degree methods, Brady publicly (in front of a grand jury) threatened another woman, Zey Prevon, with perjury if she refused to agree with an unsigned police statement alleging that Virginia Rappé said that Roscoe "hurt her."

Judge Sylvain Lazarus found Brady's case so weak that he had the charges dropped from murder to manslaughter. He might have dropped them completely, had it not been for the public uproar.

Roscoe remained in shock. "I don't understand it," he said. "One minute I'm the guy everybody loves, the next I'm the guy everybody loves to hate."

Not everyone was against Arbuckle. Several Hollywood stars offered to testify in Roscoe's behalf, but were told to stay away by Arbuckle's lawyers, who feared the Anti-Hollywood feeling of San Franciscans.

One who came anyway was Roscoe's wife, Minta Durfee, who stood by him throughout the trials.

The first trial started on November 14, 1921. When the jury found out that the prosecution's star witness Zey Prevon had been threatened by Brady, the prosecution's case fell apart (again).

On Monday, November 28, 1921, Roscoe Arbuckle took the stand and testified. His account to the jury of what happened is shown below (see "What Really Happened"). District Attorney Brady failed to shake Arbuckle's testimony.

Medical experts at the trial - for both the prosecution and defense - at the trial, agreed that Virginia Rappé had died of a ruptured bladder, there were signs of acute peritonitis, that Virginia Rappé must have been in pain before the party, and that the ruptured bladder was not caused by an outside source.

In his closing argument, Roscoe's attorney Gavin McNab blasted the San Francisco Police Department. "It was a deliberate conspiracy against Arbuckle. It was the shame of San Francisco. Perjured wretches tried, from the stand, to deprive this defendant, this stranger within our gates, of his liberty."

On December 4 - after 22 ballots - the jury returned, announcing that it was hopelessly deadlocked 10-2 for acquittal.

One juror, a Mrs. Helen Hubbard, was the hold-out. Hubbard -- who held fingers in her ears during defense testimony -- bragged that no one could change her mind, and that she intended to vote for conviction from the moment she'd heard Roscoe had been arrested.

D. A. Brady insisted on trying Roscoe a second time. In complete contempt of the prosecution, the defense refused to put Arbuckle on the stand, and refused to make any closing arguments. This backfired when the jury, thinking the defense's actions were an admission of guilt, voted 10-2 for conviction. Luckily, this jury was also deadlocked.

The defense took no chances during the third trial. Roscoe was put back on the stand to repeat his story, and McNab again blasted the prosecution. There was little doubt of the jury's verdict, as the prosecution's main witness, Zey Prevon had escaped the San Francisco police's house arrest, and left the country.