Thursday, May 1st, 1913 — Newt Lee Recounts His Account in the Morning Session
Thursday, May 1, 1913
Newt Lee Takes the Stand: Night Watchman's Testimony Raises New Questions in Phagan Murder Case
A troubling question emerged from Wednesday's coroner's inquest: was Mary Phagan's killer still hiding in the basement of the National Pencil Company when night watchman Newt Lee descended the stairs and discovered her body in the early hours of Sunday morning?
The question gained traction following Lee's testimony, which stood in direct conflict with that of every police officer who had visited the scene. Lee maintained that he found the body lying face up, with the head toward the wall. The officers, however, were uniform in their account that the body was face down, head pointing toward the front of the building.
Despite aggressive cross-examination, Lee did not waver. His composure and consistency left many observers with the impression that the killer may indeed have been lurking in the cellar at that moment, intending to destroy evidence, and that Lee's arrival had driven him away.
Lee also testified that on the afternoon before the murder, his employer, Leo Frank, sent him home early and told him to return at 6 o'clock. He described Frank as appearing nervous and agitated at the time. He added that Frank telephoned later that night to check that everything was in order, something he had never done before.
One aspect of Lee's account that initially raised suspicion, his claim that he immediately recognized the victim as a white girl, was clarified when he explained that he identified her by her straight brown hair, which was distinctly different from that of a Black woman.
The Inquest Reconvenes
The same jury assembled by Coroner Donehoo earlier in the week was reconvened at 9 o'clock Wednesday morning at police headquarters. The first witness, Officer W. F. Anderson, described the scene as he had found it after Lee led him and fellow officers to the body. He confirmed that the head was pointing toward the front of the building and that the body was face down.
Anderson painted a grim picture of the girl's condition. Her face was bruised and discolored, a stocking was torn, one shoe was missing, and twine along with a strip of cloth torn from her undergarment was knotted around her neck. The door to the basement had been forced open, its staple drawn from the frame. Anderson noted that her condition was so severe he could not initially determine her race.
Responding to a question from Dr. J. W. Hurt, Anderson confirmed that the light from Lee's lantern would not have reached beyond twelve to fifteen feet, making it impossible for the watchman to have seen the body from where he stood.
Sergeant R. J. Brown, who also responded to the scene, supported this assessment. He stated that even with standard police flashlights, visibility was poor, and that Lee's dim lamp could not have illuminated anything at a distance of twenty-five feet. Brown also recalled saying upon seeing the body, "This is nothing but a child." He said he could not confirm the girl's race until he examined her knee. He further noted that dirt had been found in her mouth, and that Lee had mentioned coming to the basement that night for a particular reason, though he rarely did so otherwise.
Brown's testimony took on added weight when the subject of notifying Leo Frank arose. He stated that officers attempted to reach Frank almost immediately after discovering the body, informing the telephone operator that a murder had occurred and that the matter was urgent. Despite this, they were unable to reach Frank until much later in the day.
A Moment of Grief
The most affecting moment of the session came when a blood-stained purple silk dress and a single gunmetal slipper, the clothes Mary Phagan had worn on the night of her death, were brought before the jury. Ben Phagan, the dead girl's brother, a sailor, rose from his seat and stood in silence over the small pile of clothing. Then, his head lowered and his hands over his eyes, he walked out of the room.
Further Testimony
Officer Anderson, recalled to the stand, confirmed that the girl's body had still been warm upon his arrival and that blood was actively flowing from some of her wounds.
Sergeant L. S. Dobbs testified that the notes found near the body had been carefully examined, and that physical evidence suggested the body had been dragged and placed in the corner. He stated that he had confronted Lee at the scene, accusing him of either committing the crime or concealing knowledge of it. Lee denied any involvement. Dobbs then read aloud to Lee the note found near the body, in which the victim allegedly wrote that a tall, thin Black man had attacked her. Lee responded, "That means me, the night watchman."
Lee's Own Account
Newt Lee took the stand at 11:45 in the morning. He testified that Frank had specifically asked him to come in two hours earlier than usual that Saturday, given that it was a holiday. When Lee arrived at 4 o'clock, Frank dismissed him and told him to go out and enjoy himself a while longer.
Lee described making rounds of the building every half hour, only going to the basement when he had extra time. He recounted an incident involving a former bookkeeper named Gantt, who came to the door asking to retrieve a pair of shoes he had left inside. Lee said he relayed the request to Frank, who appeared visibly frightened upon hearing Gantt's name, possibly because the two men had recently had a falling out. Gantt was allowed in, collected his shoes, made a telephone call to arrange a 9 o'clock meeting with a woman, and left.
Lee said he went down to the basement around 7 o'clock and noticed that a gas jet he had left burning was dimmer than before. Shortly afterward, Frank called to check on things and Lee told him all seemed well.
When Lee told the jury that the body had been face up when he found it, Coroner Donehoo asked him directly whether he had turned it over. Lee firmly denied doing so. He also insisted that his lantern had been cleaned the previous day and was in proper working order, directly contradicting the police officers' descriptions of a dim, dirty lamp.
Lee said that when he first glimpsed the form in the basement, he assumed boys had placed something there to frighten him. It was only when he saw the bloodied face and straight hair up close that he understood he was looking at the body of a white woman. He immediately called the police.
A Witness from Cartersville
J. G. Spier of Cartersville testified that around 4 o'clock on Saturday afternoon he walked past the factory and observed a young woman of about seventeen and a man of roughly twenty-five standing outside, both appearing visibly agitated. When he passed again nearly an hour later, the same pair were still there. After viewing the body at Bloomfield's undertaking establishment, Spier said he was confident the young woman he had seen was Mary Phagan. He noted that the man's build resembled Frank's but declined to make a positive identification. His testimony brought the morning session to a close.
Friends of Frank Offer Alternative Theory
Associates of Leo Frank, superintendent of the National Pencil Company, came forward Wednesday with their own account of how the crime may have unfolded. Having inspected the factory themselves, they argued that Frank had been unfairly targeted by investigators and that the murder could easily have been carried out by an outsider without anyone connected to the factory having any knowledge of it.
They pointed to the base of the staircase the girl would have used to exit the building, noting that the railing was fully boarded up and could easily have concealed a person waiting in the shadows. Their theory held that an intruder, aware it was both payday and a holiday when the factory would close early, hid at the foot of the stairs. When Mary Phagan descended with her wages, he seized her and threw her through the opening that led down to the basement beside the elevator shaft. A strong man, they suggested, could have done this so quickly that the girl would have had no opportunity to cry out. The attacker could then have followed her down by ladder, carried out the assault, and exited through routes that had already been reported in the press.
Samuel Selig, one of those who conducted the inspection, emphasized that the group was not offering a formal defense of Frank, whom he said needed none. Rather, he described the theory as fitting naturally with the physical evidence already gathered. He pointed to the girl's parasol, found at the foot of the ladder, as consistent with it having fallen there when she was thrown into the opening. The absence of her purse and money, he added, pointed to robbery as a clear motive alongside the assault.