Thursday, May 1, 1913 Transit Official Confident He Spotted the Victim

Thursday, May 1, 1913

Terminal Station Official Believes He Saw Mary Phagan

O. H. Clark, who manages the check room at Terminal Station, has come forward with an account he believes places Mary Phagan at the station shortly before her death.

Clark says a young woman caused a disturbance at the station when the man accompanying her attempted to board a departing train and she refused to let him go. His account broadly aligns with testimony previously given by two station guards who had observed the couple behaving strangely, though Clark places the incident on Saturday rather than Friday.

According to Clark, after the man gave up on his travel plans following the girl's protests, he came to the check room and deposited his traveling bag. Clark says he remembers clearly that the identification tag attached to the bag bore the name of the National Pencil Company.

New Development Weakens Case Against Mullinax

Separately, fresh evidence emerged Wednesday that may further clear Arthur Mullinax, one of the suspects being held in connection with the murder.

Street car conductor D. W. Adams stated that E. L. Sentell, whose identification of Mullinax had formed a key basis for holding him, privately admitted after the inquest that he was not entirely certain of what he had seen. Adams said Sentell expressed doubt as to whether the girl he had observed with Mullinax that Saturday night was Mary Phagan or Pearl Robinson, Mullinax's girlfriend.

The confusion is understandable, investigators noted, as Pearl Robinson had been dressed in a manner remarkably similar to Mary Phagan on the same evening.