When Delmont walked into the room, Rappe stated "Arbuckle did it" (via Smithsonian Magazine). Per PBS, Rappe also reportedly said "I am dying, I am dying." The young starlet was then moved to a different room and cared for by a hotel doctor. Although she was eventually taken to a hospital, Rappe remained in pain and never recovered. On September 9, 1921, Virginia Rappe died of a ruptured bladder. Almost immediately, scandal followed Arbuckle. It was surmised that he had sexually assaulted Rappe and his 266-pound frame had resulted in her death. A day later, he turned himself in to San Francisco police, who charged him with manslaughter.
According to Smithsonian Magazine, Arbuckle's account differed vastly from Delmont's. He said he was never alone with Rappe and that she "complained she could not breathe and then started to tear off her clothes" after having too many drinks. He simply believed that she was sick from all the alcohol that she had drunk. Arbuckle added that he had tried to help Rappe. The Independent states that Arbuckle had three trials as the first two ended in mistrials. Here, the defense tried to paint Delmont as an unreliable witness and a questionable woman.
PBS reports that the hotel doctor testified that Rappe had told him that Arbuckle had not assaulted her. Per Smithsonian Magazine, the defense also smeared Rappe's reputation and painted her as a salacious woman with loose morals. Moreover, there were claims that she had been in pain for weeks before the ill-fated party and had long suffered from bladder infections.
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