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Why was Jack Kerouac arrested in 1944?

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Portrait of Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet, looking over his shoulder in a collared shirt, circa 1965. — Jack Kerouac American novelist and poet Jack Kerouac, c. 1965.

In August 1944, Jack Kerouac was arrested as a material witness following the killing of David Kammerer by his friend and fellow Beat Lucien Carr.1

After Carr confessed to killing Kammerer in Manhattan’s Riverside Park, it was revealed that Kerouac had assisted him in disposing of the knife used in the crime and the victim's glasses. Following his arrest, Kerouac was released on bail provided by the parents of his then-girlfriend, Edie Parker, who conditioned his release on the couple getting married.12