Beauchamp arrived in Frankfort on November 15, 1825. New Court partisans talked of Sharp's murder as the work of the Old Court party, just as Beauchamp had hoped. One suspect was Waring, who had printed the handbills critical of Sharp. Known as a violent man, he had both political and personal motivation for the crime. He was cleared of suspicion when investigators learned that, at the time of the murder, Waring was in Fayette County recovering from unrelated injuries. Suspicion moved to Beauchamp, as he was loyal to the Old Court Party, and was known to hate Sharp for his political principles. People knew of Sharp's earlier alleged involvement with Anna Cooke before her marriage to Beauchamp. Witnesses placed Beauchamp in Frankfort the night of the killing, and his host, Joel Scott, said that he had heard Beauchamp leave the house during the night. After presenting preliminary testimony, Commonwealth's Attorney Charles Bibb asked for additional time to assemble more witnesses. Beauchamp assented to the request. A second delay pushed the hearings back to mid-December. The dagger taken from Beauchamp at his arrest did not match the wound on Sharp's body. (In his Confession, Beauchamp claimed to have buried the murder weapon by the bank of the river near where the murder took place. That knife was never found). Beauchamp's shoe did not match a track found outside Sharp's house the morning of the murder. The posse lost a handkerchief found at the scene of the crime and believed to belong to the murderer. (Beauchamp later claimed to have stolen and burned it after the posse had gone to sleep one night). Several witnesses testified against him. The widow Eliza Sharp testified that the voice of the killer was distinct. A test was devised allowing Mrs. Sharp to hear Beauchamp's voice; she immediately identified it as that of the killer. (Beauchamp claimed he had disguised his voice on the night of the murder and thought Mrs. Sharp would not recognize it). Patrick Henry Darby, an Old Court partisan, claimed that in 1824, he had a chance encounter with the man he now knew as Beauchamp. Darby said the man – a stranger to him at the time – had asked for Darby's help in prosecuting an unspecified claim against Sharp. The man then identified himself as the husband of Anna Cooke and said he intended to kill Sharp. Based on the