Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian

Monday, April 28^th, 1913

In the room where Mary Phagan was attacked and paid out her young life to the brutality of her assailant, across the floor where her limp form was dragged, down the stairs and down through the square trap-door into the dirty basement where her body was found, Chief of Police Beavers and two detectives trailed, step by step, every move of the girl’s murderer to-day.

Determined that not a clew should be overlooked in the efforts to fix guilt upon the man or men that took the young girl’s life, the Chief and his aides began at the very spot in the tip plant in the rear of the second floor where the bloodstains and the strands of matted hair indicated that the girl had put up such a desperate fight for her life and honor.

Curious Crowd About Factory.

Meanwhile the surging crowd of curiosity seekers on the outside of the building would be restrained, and that with the excitement of the employees made it necessary to close down the factory for the day.

Excited men in the throng, morbidly curious or filled with wrath at the inhuman deed, forced their way into the building and refused to turn back. A detective had an encounter with one insistent man who would not leave the building.

Inside the building the nervous tension of the employees was apparent in every department. With the ghost of the terrible crime stalking about, they could not work. After several hours of ineffectual work, the foreman saw that the girls and other employees were so wrought up over the tragedy that it was useless to keep them in the building longer. They were told to go.

Chief Beavers and the detectives, confident that they had established beyond doubt that the crime was committed inside the building by some one who had access, continued their painstaking and minute inspection.

Bloodstains on Floor.

They demonstrated that the stains on the floor were not of red paint, but were of blood. Had the stains been paint, they would have been soluble in alcohol. But when the alcohol was applied the tell-tale splotches only grew the brighter.

Added to this convincing evidence, the Chief had the testimony of employees in the building that these stains were not there Saturday when the building was cleaned up for the week. They must have come some time between Saturday and the time that they were discovered this morning. For the purpose of conclusive analysis, the Chief had pieces of the floor chiseled up and taken to headquarters.

The detectives believe they have solved the manner in which the assailant made his escape from the building. A staple in the rear door of the basement was found drawn entirely from the wood. The door is a sliding affair and the way in which the staple was pulled out leads to the belief that it was accomplished from the inside.

The theory is still held that the murderer gained entrance through a regular doorway and that the night-watchman, Newt Lee, could tell something of the circumstances if he wished.

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Atlanta Georgian, April 28th 1913, “Chief and Sleuths Trace Steps in Slaying of Girl,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian

Monday, April 28^th, 1913

A new turn was given the mystery to-day when strands of blood-matted hair were found in a lathing machine on the second floor of the factory.

The discovery made it certain that the crime was committed in the factory by some one who had access to the building, a theory which had been without conclusive support previously.

Blood stains leading from the lathe to the door showed the manner in which the fiend had dragged the body of his victim and had taken her to the basement.

Appearances indicated that the murderer had sought to cover up the trail of his crime by endeavoring to efface the bloody stains.

Another name was brought into the case to-day by the testimony of pencil company employees. Detectives were hurried to the building and an arrest is expected momentarily. The new suspect is said to be a former employee who was seen about the building Friday and Saturday.

The blood-matted strands of reddish-brown hair were discovered this forenoon when L. A. Quinn, foreman in the tip plant on the second floor, sent R. P. Barrett, a workman, over to the lathe.

Barrett gave a cry of alarm when he saw the evidences of the shocking crime and of the struggle the little girl apparently had made against the superior strength of her assailant.

The hair was twisted about the turn-up screw on the lathe, a crank-like device which is used to move the pencils forward and backward on the machine.

Evidence of Terrible Struggle.

Blood was on the sharp end of the crank, leading to the belief that it had been used as a weapon and was responsible for the gash in the back of the Phagan girl’s head. The alternative theory is that she fell back against it in her struggles.

The mutilated body of Mary Phagan was found in a dark, dismal corner of the pencil factory basement shortly after 3 o’clock yesterday morning by Newt Lee, the negro night watchman. The negro said he almost stumbled against the body before he saw it. In the dim, flickering light of the watchman’s lantern the tragedy was revealed in all its ghastliness.

The girlish form lay amid the trash and sweepings of the basement with bruised and bloody face upturned, in a pool of blood, and with the freshly laundered dress of but a few hours before dyed crimson.

All about was the evidence of a terrific struggle. The dilapidated condition of the dead girl’s clothing and the signs of confusion on the dirty basement floor told the tragic story of the girl’s battle for life.

Fought Till She Swooned.

She had fought her brutal murderer until the last—until her strength had given out and she had swooned into death.

The body lay at a point about 75 feet from an elevator shaft. Midway between the body and the shaft, on a pile of trash, was found one of the girl’s shoes—the one from her left foot—and her hat. The slayer had torn the shoe and hat from the little form as the girl struggled vainly to save herself from his blows.

About the girl’s neck was tightly drawn a strong piece of twine. A strip of cloth, torn from her underclothing, was also fastened about her neck. Not satisfied with the blows he had dealt on the head—one blow on the back of the head being so terrific as to discolor one of the girl’s eyes—the slayer had resorted to strangulation to be sure that the last spark of life had been extinguished. A big twine had been drawn so tightly that it was imbedded in the tender flesh, leaving the throat and neck discolored and lacerated.

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Atlanta Georgian, April 28th 1913, “Story of the Killing as the Meager Facts Reveal It,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

Atlanta Georgian

Monday, April 28^th, 1913

Stretched full length, face downward on the floor of the basement at the rear of the plant, the body was found. A length of heavy cord or wrapping twine, which had been used by the slayer to strangle the child after he had beaten her to insensibility, was looped around the neck, and a clumsy bandage of cloth, torn from her petticoat, as if to conceal the horrible method of murder swathed the face.

The stray end of the cord lay along the child’s back between her two heavy braids of dark red hair as if it had been arranged that way deliberately.

No marks appeared to indicate that death came by any other means than strangulation, save a four-inch clean cut on the back of the head on the left side—a serious scalp wound—and a few bruises on the forehead and cheeks, on the left arm at the elbow and on the left leg just below the knee.

Body Dragged.

The neck was cut and bruised horribly by the contraction of the heavy strangling cord and the marks on the face indicated that the slayer had dragged the body back and forth across the basement floor to complete his work of garroling.

The child evidently had struggled and fought frantically before perhaps brought to unconsciousness by the blow on the head.

On her left arm was a small gold band bracelet that had sunk in to the white tender flesh as if under the pressure of a heavy grip. Two of the fingers on the left hand were bruised where a small signet ring encircled the third slender finger.

The child’s face was covered with dirt and sand when the detectives reached the basement after being notified by Newt Lee, the negro watchman, who called police headquarters when, as he asserts, he stumbled over the little body as he made his rounds. The fine black particles were ground into the neck and shoulders, indicating her body was bumped along the floor dangling and twisting at the end of the garroling cord.

Features Marred.

She was garbed in a one-piece pongee silk dress of lavender, simply made, and caught at the bodice and trimmed at the sleeves with cheap lace. The dress fell barely below the knees. The stockings were black and a black gun metal pump was on the right foot. The other pump was found a few feet away on a pile of trash. A plain blue straw hat, with the band or trimming missing, was found near the elevator shaft.

Two turquoise-blue silken ribbon bows were fastened on each side of the wavy red braid of hair. Strangely enough the bows had been kept in place by the improvised bandage torn from the underskirt by the slayer. The bow, said to have been on the hat, was never found.

The horrid manner of her death marred frightfully the girl’s once attractive features.

What had been a soft white skin—white almost to translucence under which the color might have run in life in pink swirls—was discolored and bruised.

The force of the blow on the head had blackened the right eye and swollen both lids beyond recognition. Into the forehead cuts and scratches was grounded dirt and sand.

The marks on the left arm and leg were skin bruises as if made when the body was dragged across the floor. The skin had been scraped off in little patches from spots about two to three inches in diameter.

Mary Phagan was 14 years old. She was slender in stature. She was perhaps 4 feet 10 inches in height and weighed about 105 pounds.

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Atlanta Georgian, April 28th 1913, “Body Dragged by Deadly Cord After Terrific Fight,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)

Another in our series of new transcriptions of contemporary articles on the Leo Frank case.

STRAND OF HAIR CLEW IN KILLING OF PHAGAN GIRL

Atlanta Georgian

Monday, April 28^th, 1913

Body of Mary Phagan Is Found in Basement of Old Granite Hotel in Forsyth Street—Mute Evidence of Terrible Battle Victim Made for Life

WHITE YOUTH AND NEGRO ARE HELD BY THE POLICE

After Being Beaten Into Insensibility Child Was Strangled and Dragged With Cord Back and Forth Across Floor—Incoherent Notes a Clew.

Leo M. Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Company plant, in which Mary Phagan was employed, was taken to police court this morning by Detective Black to tell what he knows in connection with the girl’s death. The police say he is not under arrest.

At the same time Geron Bailey, the negro elevator boy employed in the factory, was arrested. One theory names Bailey as the man to whom the incoherent letters apply that were found by the side of the dead girl, and that evidently were written in an effort to describe her assailant.

Policemen Mack, Phillips and Starnes went to the factory this morning upon the statement that blood and matted hair, evidence of a terrible struggle had been found on the third floor of the factory. It was on this visit that they summoned Frank and arrested Bailey.

They conducted a minute investigation of the signs of the struggle of the third floor, going so far as to tear up several sections of the plank flooring in their inspection.

A new and terrifying turn was given the gruesome Mary Phagan strangling mystery to-day when strands of blood-matted hair were found in a lathing machine on the third floor of the National Pencil Company’s factory, 37-39 South Forsyth Street.

The discovery made it certain that the dreadful crime was committed in the factory by some one who had access to the building, a theory which had been without conclusive support previously.

Blood stains leading from the lathe to the door showed the manner in which the fiend had dragged the body of his victim and had taken her to the basement.

Appearances indicated that the murderer had sought to cover up the trail of his crime by endeavoring to efface the bloody stains.

Another name was brought into the case to-day by the testimony of pencil company employees. Detectives were hurried to the building and an arrest is expected momentarily. The new suspect is said to be a former employee who was seen about the building Friday and Saturday.

The blood-matted strands of reddish-brown hair were discovered this forenoon when L. A. Quinn, foreman in the top plant on the third floor, sent R. P. Barrett, a workman, over to the lathe.

Barrett gave a cry of alarm when he saw the evidences of the shocking crime and of the struggle the little girl apparently had made against the superior strength of her assailant.

The hair was twisted about the turn-up screw on the lathe, a crank-like device which is used to move the pencils forward and backward on the machine.

Blood was on the sharp end of the crank, leading to the belief that it had been used as a weapon and was responsible for the bloody gash in the back of the Phagan girl’s head. The alternative theory is that she fell back against it in her struggles.

Evidence of Terrible Struggle

The mutilated body of Mary Phagan was found in a dark, dismal corner of the pencil factory basement shortly after 3 o’clock yesterday morning by Newt Lee, the negro night watchman. The negro said he almost stumbled against the body before he saw it.

GIRL FOUGHT DESPERATELY IN PITCH-DARK BASEMENT FOR HONOR AND HER LIFE

In the dim, flickering light of the watchman’s lantern, the tragedy was revealed in all its ghastliness.

The girlish form lay amid the trash and sweepings of the basement with bruised and bloody face upturned, in a pool of blood, and with the spotless and freshly-laundered dress of but a few hours before dyed crimson. The disheveled hair was blood-soaked from the great gaping wounds on the head.

All about was the evidence of a terrific struggle. The dilapidated condition of the dead girl’s clothing and the signs of confusion on the dirty basement floor told the tragic story of the girl’s battle for life.

Fought Slayer Till She Swooned

She had fought her brutal murderer until the last—until her strength had given out and she had swooned into death.

The body lay at a point about 75 feet from an elevator shaft. Midway between the body and the shaft, on a pile of trash, was found one of the girl’s shoes—the one from her left foot—and her hat. So ferocious was the slayer that he had torn the shoe and hat from the little form as the girl struggled vainly to save herself from his deadly blows.

About the girl’s neck was tightly drawn a strong piece of twine. A strip of cloth, torn from her underclothing, was also fastened about the neck. Not satisfied with the blows he had dealt on the head—one blow on the back of the head being so terrific as to discolor one of the girl’s eyes—the slayer had resorted to strangulation to be sure that the last spark of life had been extinguished. A big twine had been drawn so tightly that it was imbedded in the tender flesh, leaving the throat and neck discolored and lacerated.

Strange Notes Increase Mystery

A few inches from the body were found two remarkably strange notes. These notes, incoherent and almost illegible, only serve to increase the mystery. Detectives declared there was no doubt but that these notes were written by the murderer and were a feeble and tragically grotesque effort at a ruse. They purport to have been written by the girl, and the wording would seem to indicate that she had written them after she was in the throes of death.

“A tall, black negro did this,” is the substance of the two notes.

The notes are in the hands of detectives, who believe they may prove to be valuable clews.

The police were notified by the janitor of his ghastly find, and several officers were quickly on the scene, immediately starting a thorough investigation.

After finding that all of the doors and windows to the building were securely fastened, the police took Newt Lee into custody on suspicion, believing that he could throw light on the tragedy. Lee carried the keys to the building, but protested that he had admitted no one to the building, and that he had no idea that anyone had been inside until he found the body.

Detectives are certain that the negro can explain the mystery of how the girl found her way into the building, even if he did not actually commit the murder.

Negro Pleads Total Ignorance

The negro’s sole statement to detectives since his arrest has been:

“I didn’t know nothing about it until I found the body.”

Detectives, however, declare the locked doors and windows render this statement unreasonable.

The negro was put through a grilling examination time and again Sunday and last night, but no amount of questioning could induce him to change his “know nothing” statement. To every question he replied:

“I don’t know nothing about it.”

Detectives are sure the negro has not told all he knows, and will hold him until the mystery is cleared.

The theory that the crime was the work of a negro held full sway and was assiduously followed by detectives until Sunday afternoon when E. L. Sentell, of 82 Davis Street, a clerk for the Kamper Grocery Company, divulged the information that he saw Mary Phagan at Forsyth and Hunter Streets Sunday morning about 12:30 o’clock in company with Arthur Mullinax. He said they were walking in the direction of the pencil factory, which is but a few doors from this corner. Sentell knew the Phagan girl, and said he spoke to her as he passed.

Since then, detectives have been working on both theories—job of a white man and that the negro watchman is an accomplice, in that he knew of it.

This gave a new angle to the mystery and set detectives on the trail of Mullinax, who was found late in the afternoon and placed under arrest on suspicion.

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Atlanta Georgian, April 28th 1913, “Police Question Factory Superintendent,” Leo Frank case newspaper article series (Original PDF)