On Monday, April 28, 1913, J M Gantt, arrested in Marietta on suspicion of the murder of Mary Phagan, told a reporter from The Georgian that he was innocent and had been home in bed at the time the crime was believed to have occurred. He said he had spent the earlier part of the day in Atlanta, attending the Memorial Day parade and going to a ball game, before returning to the National Pencil Company at about six o’clock to pick up a pair of old shoes he had left there. He claimed that Superintendent Frank let him into the building, that the Black watchman helped him look for the shoes, and that both men saw him leave the factory.
Gantt said that later that evening he met Arthur White, O G Bagley, and Bagley’s brother, and that the four of them played pool at the Globe Pool Parlor on Broad Street until about 10:30 p.m. before he boarded a streetcar and rode home. He said he knew Mary Phagan well, but had not seen her since he had left the factory three weeks before, and insisted that as the investigation continued, the truth would show he was not involved.
His story was sharply contradicted by Mrs F C Terrell of 284 East Linden Street, who told police she had not seen Gantt in three weeks, directly challenging his claim that he had slept at her home on Saturday night. Officers also noted that Gantt matched the description of the man Edgar L Sentell said he had seen with Mary Phagan shortly after midnight—a man about six feet tall, slender, with a dark complexion, dark curling hair, a blue suit, and a straw hat.
Gantt was taken into custody by Deputy Sheriff Hicks on the one o’clock streetcar. He appeared calm and confident, and even asked the officers to give him a chance to clear his name. Detectives, however, told the press they believed they had finally captured the man responsible for Mary’s death.
At that stage of the case, the widening investigation included the murder of Mary Phagan, the arrest of night watchman Newt Lee, the detention and alibi of Arthur Mullinax, the questioning of Superintendent Leo M Frank, the discovery of hair and other physical evidence in the factory, the arrest of elevator man Geron Bailey, the eyewitness account of E S Skipper, the shock and fear among the factory girls, and now Gantt’s own arrest and the alibi he had put forward.
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