Finally, in 1587 Antonio Pérez was formally accused of the 1578 murder of Escobedo. This judicial process progressed very slowly and during this time Antonio Pérez was kept prisoner but moved around different towns and castles. During all this time his conditions varied from harsh to relative freedom. The intention of the king was to recover the incriminating papers which Pérez still kept hidden somewhere. Pérez knew that his safety depended on having these papers and would not produce them and the king's tactics alternated between punishing him or giving him more freedom. But the king was becoming aware that he was not getting the papers he wanted.