load his wagons two days before the planned murder. Beauchamp's plan was complicated by a warrant sworn out against him by Ruth Reed. She sued him for support of her illegitimate son, born on June 10, 1824, claiming he was the father. Beauchamp later said he had ignored the warrant, dated October 25, 1825, on the advice of a friend who termed it harassment. He also said he had arranged for the warrant, as an excuse to be in Frankfort to kill Sharp. The historian Fred Johnson says that Beauchamp likely added the warrant into his story after the fact, as a means of damage control. It hardly looked good for him to have committed the act for which he ostensibly killed Sharp. In preparation, Beauchamp packed a change of clothes, a black mask, and a knife with poison on the tip, to be used as the murder weapon. Finding all the inns filled when he arrived at Frankfort, he took lodging at the residence of Joel Scott, warden of the state penitentiary. Between nine and ten o'clock that evening, Beauchamp went to Sharp's home. Dressed in disguise, he carried his usual clothes and buried them along the bank of the Kentucky River for retrieval following the murder. Discovering that Sharp was not home, Beauchamp looked for him in the city, finding him at a local tavern. He returned to Sharp's house to wait for him, and saw him return at midnight. At two o'clock in the morning, Beauchamp thought the household was quiet. In his Confession, he described the murder of Sharp: Sharp died within moments. Fleeing the scene, Beauchamp went to the river to retrieve his clothes, where he changed and sank his disguise in the river with a stone. He returned to his room at the house of Joel Scott. When the Scott family awoke the next morning, Beauchamp emerged from his quarters. He feigned surprise when told of the murder and was apparently believed at the time. After being told there were no suspects yet, he called for his horse and began his return trip of four days to Bowling Green. Arriving, he told his wife Anna that Sharp was dead. The next morning, a posse from Frankfort arrived and told Beauchamp that he was under suspicion for the murder. He agreed to return with the men to Frankfort and face the charge. Trial for murder