 Isaac Desha left Kentucky and assumed an alias. He went to New Orleans. From there, he traveled with a man named Thomas Early to San Antonio, Texas. When Early went missing during their travels, Desha fell under suspicion. A former Kentuckian living in Texas recognized Desha. Arrested soon after Early's body was found, Desha confessed to the murder after being recognized by a second man from Kentucky. A day before his trial was to start, Desha died of a fever. A legend soon arose that he had faked his death and fled to Hawaii, where he married a native woman and fathered several children. Later historians have debunked that myth.
