Murder: True Crime Stories - UNSOLVED: Mary Phagan 2

Episode Date: December 10, 2024

After 13-year-old Mary Phagan was found dead at the National Pencil Company factory in Atlanta, her supervisor Leo Frank was charged with her murder. But Leo’s only crime was being an outsider in his community. Despite his innocence, Leo went on trial for Mary's murder...while the real killer still roamed free. Murder: True Crime Stories is a Crime House Original. For more, follow us on Tiktok and Instagram @crimehouse To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Crime House. What drives someone to commit murder? Is it passion, desperation, or something darker deep down in the soul? These were questions that the people of Atlanta asked themselves following the murder of 13-year-old Mary Fagan. They wondered what possible reason a person could have to murder an innocent girl and in such brutal fashion. But in the end, they didn't need a reason.

All they wanted was to find someone to punish. Someone had to pay for such a heinous crime, even if it meant destroying the life of an innocent man. People's lives are like a story. There's a beginning, a middle, and an end. But you don't always know which part you're on. Sometimes the final chapter arrives far too soon and we don't always get to know the real ending.

I'm Carter Roy, and this is Murder True Crime Stories, the Crime House original. Every Tuesday, I'll explore the story of a notorious murder or murders. At Crime House, we want to express our gratitude to you, our community, for making this possible. Please support us by rating, reviewing, and following Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. And to enhance your Murder True Crime Stories listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple podcasts. You'll get every episode ad free,

and instead of having to wait for each episode of a two-part series, you'll get access to both at once. Plus, exciting bonus content. This is the second and final episode on the 1913 murder of Mary Fagan, a 13-year-old girl who worked at a pencil factory in Atlanta, Georgia. After Mary was killed, her boss, Leo Frank, became the prime suspect, despite mountains of evidence that suggested he was innocent. Last week, we explored the circumstances around Mary's death,

why the police decided to target Leo Frank, and how he was indicted on murder charges after a fierce media campaign against him. This week, we'll talk about Leo's trial, its immediate aftermath, and its tragic repercussions. Hey everyone, Carter here. If you're enjoying the stories of murder true crime stories, the team here at Crime House has another show I think you'll love. It's called Money Crimes with Nicole Lapin.

Each episode dives into the darkest corners of financial crime and sometimes ends in murder. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts. Check out wherever you get your podcasts. On July 28, 1913, Leo Frank went on trial for the murder of 13-year-old Mary Fagan. Three months earlier, Mary's body had been discovered in the basement of the pencil factory where she worked. As her boss, Leo was a natural suspect and a convenient one. There was no real evidence linking Leo to the crime, but to the press and the police,

that didn't really matter. Not only was Leo a well-educated man from New York, but he was also Jewish. He was an easy target in an environment brimming with resentment and anger. At the time, the American South wasn't exactly welcoming to outsiders. Following the Civil War and the collapse of the former Confederacy's economy, people were eager to find something to blame for their misfortune. many, people were eager to find something to blame for their misfortune. Their ire found an easy target with the industrialists who had descended on the area to build factories, people like Leo Frank. Once news broke of Mary Fagan's murder, the local newspapers wasted no time stoking the public's imagination with horrible stories that made Leo out to

be a depraved monster. By the time the proceedings against him started, it seemed like the entire city wanted to see him punished. On the morning of the trial, the courtroom was packed to the gills. The case had drawn such a big crowd, they had to bring in extra seats to accommodate all the spectators, but it still wasn't enough. The crowd spilled out onto the grounds of the courthouse, with the windows open to fight the summer heat. The commentary from outside could be heard clear as day in the courtroom.

Witnesses would later recall one refrain in particular, hang that Jew or we'll hang you. Despite all this, Leo and his attorneys appeared confident when they entered the courtroom that morning. He'd assembled a strong legal team, his lead counsel, Luther Rosser, was best known for his skill with cross-examining witnesses, and his associate Ruben Arnold was regarded as one of the best criminal lawyers in the South. But according to the defendant himself, the biggest source of his calm demeanor was the

simple fact that he was innocent. With that in mind, the defense's strategy was to state the truth without any bells or whistles and let the facts speak for themselves. For starters, Leo's lawyers could definitively show that the prosecution's timeline was all wrong. Not only that, they had evidence that the investigators had ignored or mishandled key pieces of evidence and that the star witness was notoriously unreliable. Add it all up and it should result in a not guilty verdict. But the prosecution had their own plans.

Hugh M. Dorsey, the Solicitor General for Atlanta's Judicial Court, had a very specific strategy in mind to secure a conviction. He must have known that the facts of his case were flimsy at best, but he was ready to win at all costs. Dorsey was coming off of two stinging losses in high-profile cases. If he lost a third in a row, it would mean the end of his career. He was ready to play dirty if it meant getting a conviction. And Dorsey had something on his side that Leo Frank didn't.

The power of public opinion. The newspapers had spent the past few months whipping the people of Atlanta into a frenzy over the murder of a young innocent girl from the countryside. The idea that this heinous crime was committed by the ultimate outsider, a Jewish industrialist from the North, had already taken root. So while Leo's case rested on presenting what the defense saw as cold hard facts, Dorsey's case rested on something else. Telling a story to the jury that they wanted to hear. A week into the trial, the prosecution called its star witness to the stand,

Jim Conley, the pencil factory sweeper and handyman. Conley certainly seemed trustworthy. He was clean, well-dressed, and had an easy manner about him. A far cry from his usual state of disheveled drunkenness. Given his new, squeaky clean appearance and poised testimony, it suggested Conley had been coached on what to say. And what he had to say would be damning for Leo Frank.

Under oath, Conley testified that he was keeping watch of the factory floor for his employer that day. It was something he often did when Leo had girls up to his office. Conley said he saw Mary go up to the office and then a few moments later he heard a scream. When Conley was later summoned to the office, he claimed he saw Leo holding a length of cord with a wild look in his eyes. And then Conley testified that Leo confessed to murdering Mary Fagan after she fought off his attempt to molest her. Conley said he saw the girl's body lying right there in the office, before Leo gave him $200 to help drag her body to the elevator and dump it in the basement.

After that, Conley said Leo dictated the two murder notes that seemed to implicate the factory's night watchman. Finally, Conley testified that after he was too scared to burn Mary's body in the plant's furnace by himself, Leo took back the money he'd given him and told Connolly to keep his mouth shut. Whether or not Connolly's testimony was true, one thing was certain. It was compelling. At that point, Hugh Dorsey, the prosecutor, even asked Connolly to put the cord Mary had

been strangled with around his neck. Ostensibly, it was to demonstrate to the jury how Connolly had found her, but it had the added effect of conjuring the image of three days trying to break down Conley's testimony through cross-examination, but even though his story had changed before, this time it held steady. So the defense tried another strategy, asking the judge to strike Conley's testimony entirely on the basis of how often it had changed prior to the trial. But the judge said no. Their approach had totally backfired. In the words of the Atlanta, Georgia newspaper,

Leo's own lawyers had just made his journey to acquittal a thousand times harder. Having failed to break the state's star witness on the stand, the defense had to rely on undermining small, seemingly trivial details in the prosecution's version of events. For example, when a newsboy named George Epps testified that Mary was deathly afraid of her boss, Leo's lawyer pointed out that Epps had misremembered a key detail about the weather. In his testimony, Epps had said he knew what time of day it was based on the sun, but it had been dark and rainy that day. Essentially, Leo's attorneys hoped to poke so many holes in the prosecution's case that

it would collapse. It was a reasonable strategy, but it was precise, methodical, and not nearly as animating as the narrative woven by the prosecution. The defense also failed to explore multiple lines of questioning that could have proved their clients' innocence. Before the trial, an insurance agent named William Mincy had contacted Leo's lawyer with an explosive allegation. He claimed that on the day of Mary's murder, he'd had a chance encounter with Jim Conley,

and that Conley, in a fit of nearly incoherent nervousness, had confessed to killing a young girl. And yet, for some reason, Mincy was never called to testify. Another witness who claimed to have seen Connolly committing the murder could not be located. But perhaps most damning of all was an admission by Conley himself. The handyman claimed that after moving Mary's body, he had defecated in the elevator shaft in the basement. That part was true. When police arrived at the crime scene, they found a number of objects at the bottom of the shaft, including an uncrushed pile of human feces. Except that would be impossible if the night had played out like Conley claimed.

He said he'd taken the elevator down to the basement to dispose of Mary's body. If that was true, then he couldn't have gone in the empty shaft, because the elevator would have been blocking it. That meant Mary's body ended up in there a different way, maybe after someone else had lured her there. And yet, once again, the defense attorneys didn't pursue the point. But despite these setbacks, the defense still felt confident in their case. They had saved their best witness for last. Someone who could clearly and unequivocally refute the prosecution's narrative. Leo Frank himself.

Hey there, this is Carter Roy. If you're enjoying Crime House originals like Murder True Crime Stories, then you'll love our studio's newest show, Money Crimes, hosted by bestselling author and entrepreneur Nicole Lapin. Money Crimes is all about the dark side of finance and how to protect yourself from it, especially when it ends in murder. From cunning Ponzi schemes to cutthroat politics and killer con artists, you'll learn that the finance world is more dangerous than you ever imagined. Money Crimes is a CrimeHouse original powered by TAVE Studios. New episodes release every Thursday. Just search for Money Crimes. And for early access and ad-free listening,

be sure to subscribe to CrimeHouse Plus on Apple Podcasts. Plus on Apple podcasts. It may seem surprising that Leo Frank chose to take the stand. According to Jeffrey Bellin, a William & Mary Law School professor and researcher, defendants only choose to testify about half the time. But a study conducted in 1950 showed that when the defendant didn't have a criminal record, like Leo, they took the stand nine times out of ten. However, that may not have been the best decision. Another study from 2009 showed that the conviction rate for defendants who do choose to testify is about 5% higher. But in this instance, Leo probably didn't feel like he had much of a choice, and it

seemed to pay off. Leo's testimony lasted for four hours. He remained poised and calm, describing his life before coming to Atlanta and his motivations for coming to work at the factory. He wanted to show that he wasn't a greedy outsider, that he was a trustworthy, regular person. Leo was also able to fully account for his whereabouts at almost every moment on the day of the murder.

There was never a moment where he seemed to get caught in a lie or seemed inauthentic. His testimony was so successful, it even won over some members of the press. A journalist for the Atlanta Constitution remarked that he carried the ring of truth in every sentence. By the time Leo was finished testifying, and a few rebuttal witnesses by the prosecution, all that remained were the closing arguments. There was nothing left for him to do but hope. The defense went first, offering up their usual fact-based argument, but they also called attention to the poisonous environment inside

and outside of the courtroom. They argued that if Leo Frank weren't Jewish, he never would have even been charged in the first place. Then it was Dorsey's turn. The Solicitor General gave his arguments over the course of nine hours over three days, he slandered Leo's character, misrepresented earlier evidence, and painted a picture of the murder victim that left several spectators in tears. At the end of his closing arguments, his chorus of guilty, guilty, guilty coincided with the ringing bells of a nearby church.

Despite the monumental importance of the case, the jury only needed an hour and 45 minutes to reach a verdict. When they returned to the courtroom, it was nearly empty. The massive crowd inside and outside the room had been cleared out. The judge was worried that if they didn't like the verdict, there'd be a riot. Leo had also been removed over concerns about his safety, so he wasn't there when the jury announced their decision. Guilty. At 5.25 PM, the news reached Leo's prison cell where he was waiting with his wife and

some friends. The mood was light. Despite everything going against him, Leo was confident he'd be acquitted. But the atmosphere quickly changed once Leo was told he'd been found guilty. The atmosphere outside of the prison couldn't be more different. People took to the streets to celebrate the verdict. A local ballpark displayed the decision on the scoreboard. Trolley conductors left their post to join the ecstatic mob.

And men rode through the street on horseback. Meanwhile, back at the courthouse, spectators carried lead prosecutor Hugh Dorsey through an adoring crowd and back to his office. He had just saved his job, and most likely prevented a violent mob. For weeks, government officials had been preparing for the possibility of an acquittal. Georgia Governor John M. Slaton knew the people of Atlanta would be furious if Leo was found not guilty. With all the hype around the trial, he decided to put the National Guard on standby. His biggest fear was that the angry mob would overrun the

courthouse and lynch the defendant, his attorneys, and maybe even the judge. As it was, Leo was the only one who would face the gallows. The day after the trial, the judge reconvened the defense and the prosecution in secret. He worried what might happen to Leo if he was seen in public again. With all the major players assembled, the judge announced that Leo was sentenced to be hanged. Leo's attorneys immediately vowed to appeal the case, calling the proceedings a farce. The first appeal began in the fall of 1913. Leo's attorneys were intent on proving

that the deck had been stacked against him from the start. Their 115-point brief contained sworn affidavits that when Leo was first arrested, one of the eventual jurors said he ought to be lynched. Jures said he ought to be lynched, but it was no use. The judge, who had also presided over the original case, denied the appeal for a new trial. However, he did add a statement to the end of his decision, saying he wasn't convinced Leo was guilty. The only reason he didn't order a new trial was because the jury was certain and he wouldn't overrule their decision. This was the lifeline Leo's lawyers were looking for.

Six weeks later, they took their case to the Georgia Supreme Court. During the two-hour argument, they provided multiple examples of a new trial being granted after a judge expressed reservations over the verdict. A month later, they got their answer. In a 4-2 vote, the state Supreme Court had denied their request. By this point, it had been six months since Leo was found guilty. He was determined to keep fighting for his freedom, but it was looking increasingly unlikely. Even so, he and his lawyers pressed on. They made a second request to the Georgia Supreme Court and then a third. Once it became clear they had hit a dead

end, they took it a step further and submitted their case to the United States Supreme Court. It took them two tries, but eventually they were granted a hearing. The decision took only a week. In a 7-2 vote, Leo's request for a new trial was denied. The decision was final. Leo's fate would not be decided in a courtroom. There was only one option left for him to pursue, to petition the governor of Georgia for clemency. Once again, public opinion became a major factor in the decision, but this time it was in Leo's favor. Even though many people in Georgia still believed Leo was guilty, his case had gone national, and

many people in other parts of the US.S. thought Leo was innocent. Georgia Governor Slayton reviewed the facts of the case, pouring over 10,000 pages of documents, and touring the pencil factory where the murder took place. Undoubtedly, he was wrestling with the facts and with his conscience. Finally, over two years after Mary Fagan was murdered, Governor Slayton announced his conclusion. He believed that Leo Frank was innocent. But he wasn't ready to offer a full pardon just yet. He wanted Leo's innocence to be fully established in the eyes of the law. So for the time being, he only commuted the sentence to life in prison. But that didn't matter to many Georgians. The decision prompted

riots and an angry mob that marched to the governor's mansion. The National Guard was called in to prevent further violence. A few days later, Slayton's term in office expired, and he and his family had to be escorted to the train station under armed guard. They left the state of Georgia and wouldn't return for another ten years. Meanwhile, Leo was safe from execution at a prison in Milledgeville, Georgia, but that didn't mean he was safe from his fellow citizens. Just after 11 p.m. on the night of August 16th, 1915, a line of cars approached the prison in

Milledgeville where Leo Frank was being held. The cars were being driven by a group of 25 men who had taken to calling themselves the Knights of Mary Fagan. One of their leaders was Newton Morris, a local judge. Their numbers also included a former sheriff, a clergyman, and two former justices of Georgia's superior court, and they were there for what they saw as justice. One of Leo's fellow prisoners heard the cars approaching and tried to warn the two guards on duty, but they ignored him. And by the time the prison warden realized what was happening, it was too late. The approaching mob had cut the telegraph and telephone lines to the prison so the warden

couldn't call for backup. The mob easily overpowered him and his guards, then made their way to the prison infirmary. Leo had spent the last month there recovering from a knife attack by a fellow inmate. Before he even had time to get dressed, he was handcuffed and led into one of the waiting cars to be driven the hundred miles or so back to Mary Fagan's hometown of Marietta. Along the way, his abductors tried to get him to confess, even offering to let him live if he'd admit to the murder. But Leo held to his story. He was so sincere, a number of his kidnappers started to believe him and suggested that

they should return him to the prison. But they were overruled by the rest of the mob. After they got to Marietta, they proceeded to tie a hangman's knot in a length of rope and throw it over the limb of a nearby oak tree. A table was placed under the noose, and what they probably thought was an act of poetic justice, was facing the house where Mary Fagan had lived before her family moved to Atlanta. Judge Newton Morris asked Leo if he had any last requests. Leo removed his wedding ring and asked that it be returned to his wife.

He was then bound and lifted onto the table. The rope was placed around his neck and the original death sentence issued in Atlanta City Hall over two years earlier was read aloud. Then just as dawn was breaking at 7.05am, Judge Morris kicked the table out from under Leo Frank. Moments later, Leo was dead. A few hours later, Sheriff William Frey, who had been part of the lynch mob and whose land Leo Frank had died on, called in to report the crime.

His deputy, another one of Leo's murderers, was at the station to answer. Before long, people swarmed the site where Leo had died, cutting souvenirs from the meager clothes on his body, along with strands from the rope that had been used to kill him. The crowd included women, children, and one man who has worked into a frenzy. He wanted to mutilate and burn the corpse, but thankfully he was stopped before that could happen. Once Leo's body was removed by the coroner, it was returned to his family

so they could bury him back home in New York. Even though the identities of the men who killed him were widely known, none of them were ever arrested. Seventy years later, in recognition of its failure to protect him while he was in their custody, the state of Georgia posthumously pardoned Leo Frank for the murder of Mary Fagan. In other words, in the eyes of the law, both murders remain officially unsolved. The truth is, none of this should have ever happened. Mary Fagan shouldn't have been forced to leave school to help provide for her family, she should have never been in the factory that fateful night, preyed on by a vicious

killer, and Leo Frank should have never been suspected of being that monster. Reflecting on Mary and Leo's stories today, it's clear that their murders were a product of the times they lived in. If there are any positives we can take away from this case, it's that this probably never would have happened now. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act ended child labor in factories and mines, and the shock and disgust at Leo's lynching led to the founding of the Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to protecting Jewish civil rights. This organization played a vital role in the civil rights movement and continues to conduct its mission today. Surely, it's a legacy that Mary Fagan and Leo Frank would be proud of.

Thanks so much for listening. I'm Carter Roy and this is Murder True Crime Stories. Come back next week for our next story. Murder True Crime Stories is a Crime House original. Here at Crime House, we want to thank each and every one of you for your support. If you like what you heard today, reach out on social media at Crime House on TikTok and Instagram. Don't forget to rate, review, and follow Murder True Crime Stories wherever you get your podcasts. And to enhance your listening experience, subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts. You'll get every episode of Murder True Crime Stories

ad free along with early access to each thrilling two-part series and exciting bonus content. We'll be back next Tuesday. Murder True Crime Stories, a Crime House original, is executive produced by Max Cutler. This episode of Murder True Crime Stories was sound designed by Ron Shapiro, written by Greg Benson, edited by Alex Benedon, fact-checked by Katherine Barner, and included production assistance from Kristin Osevado and Sarah Carroll.

Murder True Crime Stories is hosted by Carter Roy. True Crime Stories is hosted by Carter Roy. This is Carter Roy. If you're enjoying Crime House originals like Murder True Crime Stories, then you'll love our studio's newest show, Money Crimes. Hosted by bestselling author and entrepreneur Nicole Lapin, this show is all about the dark side of finance and how to protect yourself from it, especially when it ends in murder. Money Crimes is a Crime House original powered by PAVE Studios.

New episodes release every Thursday to search for money crimes. And for early access and ad-free listening, be sure to subscribe to Crime House Plus on Apple Podcasts.