After Abraham Vanhorn’s death, newspapers around the new Republic rushed to report the conflict. Vanhorn’s and Crane’s altercation was often described as a fight gone too far. Emerging information placed many people at the scene. Meanwhile, the Berkeley Sheriff imprisoned Crane – despite his genteel background – in the county jail to await an examination for murder by the county justices of the peace. Fighting was common in Virginia, but homicide was rare. Virginia’s fights were brutal, but came with rules: particularly, no weapons. But witnesses claimed that Crane had stabbed Vanhorn. Other reports circulated, claiming that Crane had also maimed Vanhorn’s horses – after those horses broke into Crane’s fields. What was true? Was it a fight gone wrong, or something more sinister? That would be up to the courts to find out.