Celebrities murder and celebrities get murdered. Sometimes we never know if their deaths are really murder, suicide or accidental. Fatty Arbuckle, first accused of murder, found himself in such a situation.

Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle, named after Roscoe Conkling, a republican politician, became a respected and wealthy comedian, director and screenwriter prior to the incident that finally took him down. He reportedly was earning $3 million annually by 1918, the equivalent buying power of nearly $43,000,000 in 2009 dollars as calculated by the CPI Inflation Calculator. Sounds unreal.

Then, in 1921, the incident came along. Mr. Arbuckle lost his wealth and career after the incident. He had the unfortunate experience of dying just when he thought his career was on the upswing. A happy man he was.

After all those years of extreme success, the success of which maybe only the robber barons experienced, followed by a severe blow professionally and financially due to the incident, Fatty Arbuckle died of a heart attack in 1933 at the age of 46.

He passed away about a dozen years after the incident.

The incident
Mr. Arbuckle was charged with raping and murdering Virginia Rappe, an aspiring actress, while attending a 1921 Labor Day party. Before trial, the murder charge was reduced to manslaughter, a good thing, but his ordeal wasn’t over until he was put through three trials. The first two juries were deadlocked which resulted in mistrial rulings. He was acquitted of the lesser manslaughter charge during the third trial.

Mr. Arbuckle had few supporters. Public interest in him and his career declined sharply even to the detriment of his estranged wife, Minta Durfee, who was shot entering the courthouse.

Once the third trial jury began deliberations, it took a mere six minutes to return a not guilty verdict. Five of the six minutes were spent writing a statement of apology; an apology unprecedented in American justice.

The jury statement as read by the jury foreman stated:

Acquittal is not enough for Roscoe Arbuckle. We feel that a great injustice has been done him ... there was not the slightest proof adduced to connect him in any way with the commission of a crime. He was manly throughout the case and told a straightforward story which we all believe. We wish him success and hope that the American people will take the judgment of fourteen men and women that Roscoe Arbuckle is entirely innocent and free from all blame.

My thoughts
It’s easy for me, only an expert because I watch television crime programs, to come up an opinion without being there and without knowing the facts. But, here is what I believe.

After reading from Wikipedia and tru tv, I think Mr. Arbuckle was given a bum rap for three primary reasons:

• The first two juries deadlocked with a total of 80 plus hours of deliberation probably because of a confusing prosecution presentation.

• Witness testimonies during the first two trials were conflicting and changing even with the same information presented.

• The third jury had the advantage of an aggressive defense attorney finding holes in the prosecution’s case.

For the reader interested in pursing the incident, following the Wikipedia and tru tv links above will take you to some very interesting reading.