
Wednesday, 30th April 1913 Gantt Turned Over to Sheriff of Fulton
Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 After a hearing before Judge George L. Bell of the superior court in which his attorney George T. gave a scathing denouncement of the police and detective department for what he termed the…

Wednesday, 30th April 1913 Did Murderers Plan Cremation?
Atlanta Constitution Wednesday, April 30th, 1913 Detectives Believe That They Intended to Burn Body of Little Mary Phagan in the Furnace of Factory. Did the murderers of Mary Phagan lower her body into the darkness of the pencil factory…

Tuesday, 29th April 1913 $1,000 Reward
Atlanta Constitution Tuesday, April 29th, 1913 Page 4 The assault and murder of 14-year-old Mary Phagan comprise the most revolting crime in the history of Atlanta Homicide is bad enough. Criminal assault upon woman is worse. When a…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Playful Girl With Not a Bad Thought
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 "She was just a little, playful girl, without a bad thought in her mind, and she has been made the victim of the blackest crime that can be perpetuated," was the bitter denunciation…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Mullinax Blundered in Statement, Say Police
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Mullinax was arrested by detectives late in the afternoon in Bellwood Avenue, near the viaduct, as he was on his way to his boarding house. His positive identification by E. L. Sentell,…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Negro is Not Guilty, Says Factory Head
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Superintendent Leo M. Frank Is Convinced Newt Morris Was Not Implicated. Owing to a delay in receipt of metal shipment part of the plant of the National Pencil Company had been shut down…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Neighbors of Slain Girl Cry for Vengeance
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Slaying of Mary Phagan Arouses Friends of Family to Threats of Violence. "I wouldn't have liked to be held responsible for the fate of the murderer of little Mary Phagan if the men…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Pinkertons Take Up Hunt for Slayer
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Investigate Story of Wife of Employee That She Saw Strange Negro Around Factory. The Pinkerton Detective Agency was brought into the Phagan murder mystery this afternoon when Leo Frank, superintendent of the National…

Monday, 28th April 1913 “I Could Trust Mary Anywhere,” Her Weeping Mother Says
Mary Phagan, 14-year-old daughter of Mrs. J. W. Coleman, 146 Lindsay Street, whose slain body was found in the basement of the National Pencil Factory, 37-39 South Forsyth Street. The girl left her home Saturday morning to go to…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Girl’s Grandfather Vows Vengeance
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Standing with bared head in the doorway of his Marietta home, with tears falling unheeded down his furrowed cheeks, W. J. Phagan cried to heaven for vengeance for the murder of his…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Horrible Mistake, Pleads Mullinax, Denying Crime
This youth, formerly a street car conductor, is held in connection with the investigation of the slaying of Mary Phagan in the basement of the National Pencil Factory in South Forsyth Street. He stoutly denies any connection with the…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Lifelong Friend Saw Girl and Man After Midnight
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Edgar L. Sentell, twenty-one years old, a clerk employed in C. J. Kamper's store, and whose home is at 82 Davis Street, was one of the first to give the detectives a hopeful…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Look for Negro to Break Down
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Newt Lee, the negro-night-watchman arrested in connection with the Phagan murder, practically admitted to Detective John Black this afternoon that he knows something of the circumstances surrounding the death of the little girl.…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Incoherent Notes Add to Mystery in Strangling Case
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Two mysterious notes—incoherent, misspelled and unintelligible—were found in the cellar of death; Were they written by the girl as she lay in delirium just before the end came, or Were they written by…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Chief and Sleuths Trace Steps in Slaying of Girl
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 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…

Monday, 28th April 1913 City Chemist Tests Stains For Blood
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Pieces of wood, the stains on which are believed to be those of the blood of murdered Mary Phagan, are undergoing a chemical examination this afternoon by the city chemist. The discovery of…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Gantt Was Infatuated With Girl; at Factory Saturday
At the right is Miss Ruth Phagan, aunt of Mary Phagan, and in her arms is Miss Ollie Phagan, sister of the victim, whom she is trying to comfort. Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Gantt was arrested…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Girl and His Landlady Defend Mullinax
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Declaring her belief in the absolute innocence of her sweetheart, Arthur Mullinax, in the murder of Mary Phagan, pretty 16-year-old Pearl Robinson made a pathetic figure as she appeared before Chief of…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Girl to Be Buried in Marietta To-morrow
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 Stepfather and Sister to Accompany Body, But Mother May Not Be Able to Go. The body of murdered Mary Phagan, which has been at the Bloomfield morgue since she was found strangled to…

Monday, 28th April 1913 3 Youths Seen Leading Along a Reeling Girl
Edgar L. Sentell, lifelong friend of Mary Phagan, says he saw a man answering this description, walking with the girl after midnight Sunday, a few hours before the body was found. He has identified the man as Arthur Mullinax,…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Body Dragged by Deadly Cord After Terrific Fight
Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 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…

Monday, 28th April 1913 Arrested as Girl’s Slayer
Photograph of Mary Phagan showing her in street dress. JOHN M. GANTT ACCUSED OF THE CRIME; FORMER BOOKKEEPER TAKEN BY POLICE Atlanta Georgian Monday, April 28th, 1913 J. M. Gantt, arrested in Marietta for the murder of Mary Phagan,…

Saturday, 12th July 1913 Chief Beavers Orders Sleuths to Find Vice
The Atlanta Journal Saturday, July 12, 1913 Hattie Smith Reluctant Before Judge—Says She Was Just Talking Friday For the first time since he has been at the head of the police force, Chief James L. Beavers addressed the assembled members…

Saturday, 12th July 1913 More Affidavits to Support Mincey Claimed
The Atlanta Journal Saturday, July 12, 1913 Frank's Attorneys Said to Have Corroborating Evidence, Newt Lee Denied Freedom Joseph H. Leavitt, an attorney, with offices at 422 Grant building, the man who secured the affidavit of W.H. Mincey, who alleges…

Saturday, 12th July 1913 Conley Again Quizzed by Prosecutor Dorsey
The Atlanta Journal Saturday, July 12, 1913 Solicitor and Hooper Grill Negro at Police Headquarters for Three Hours For two hours and a half Solicitor Dorsey did practically all of the ques- Phagan case, Frank A. Hooper, quizzed Conley at…

Tuesday, 8th July 1913 Girl to Tell Her Story of Vice to Recorder
The Atlanta Journal Tuesday, July 8, 1913 Hattie Smith, Now Penitent, Will Make Confessions in Open Court Resolved to quit the life into which she so recently drifted, Hattie Smith, the Atlanta young woman whose revelations of vice "from the…

Tuesday, 8th July 1913 Newt Lee’s Attorneys Seeking His Freedom
The Atlanta Journal Tuesday, July 8, 1913 Habeas Corpus Proceedings May Bring Frank and Conley Face to Face Petition for a writ of habeas corpus in behalf of Newt Lee, the negro night watchman at the National Pencil factory who…

Wednesday, 9th July 1913 Mary Phagan Pay Envelope Found
The Atlanta Journal Wednesday, July 9, 1913 MYSTERY'S LOST LINK IS FOUND NEAR WHERE CONLEY SAYS HE SAT Finding of Portion of Salary Envelope Bearing Victim's Name Expected to Strengthen Defense's Contention CONTENTS OF ENVELOPE HAVE NEVER BEEN FOUND Find…

Thursday, 10th July 1913 Chief Traces Vice Conditions to Men; Promises Arrests
The Atlanta Journal Thursday, July 10, 1913 Beavers Puts Police on Trail of Men Blamed By Girl Guests for Situation in Downtown Hotels GIRL VICTIM BARES HOTEL CONDITIONS TO RECORDER Judge Broyles Hears Sensational Expose of Vice Situation Said to…

Thursday, 10th July 1913 No Finger Prints Found by Expert on Phagan Envelope
The Atlanta Journal Thursday, July 10, 1913 Examination of Portion of Slain Girl's Pay Envelope Fails to Throw Any Light on the Murder Mystery FLETCHER, AT FEDERAL PEN MAKES EXAMINATION Fight for Release of Newt Lee on Habeas Corpus Resumed…