Caught Frank with Girl in Park, He Says

Special policeman identifies suspect in jail cell after recalling year-old incident; sealed affidavits said to form core of state's grand jury case; drug rumor surrounds second examination of victim's body

Sunday, May 11th, 1913

The Most Important Evidence Yet

Of all the evidence gathered Saturday in the Mary Phagan investigation, city detectives say the most significant piece concerns the alleged conduct of Superintendent Leo M. Frank in the company of a young girl at Druid Hills Park more than a year ago.

The witness is Robert F. House, a special policeman employed by the Druid Hills Land Company as a park guard. House told detectives he had once ejected a man from the park after obtaining damaging admissions from him, and that upon visiting Frank's cell at the county jail, he identified Frank without hesitation as that same man.

House said the connection came to him after reading newspaper accounts of the Phagan murder. He recalled that the man he had removed from the park stated at the time that he was superintendent of the National Pencil Company. House went at once to the detective department, and was escorted to the jail to make a formal identification.

What House Says He Witnessed

According to House, the incident took place one afternoon shortly after 2 o'clock, more than a year ago. He had noticed the man visiting the park frequently with a young female companion. On this particular occasion he resolved to follow them, trailing the pair into the grounds before stepping suddenly into view.

The man House identified as Frank came forward immediately and appealed to the officer not to reveal the girl's identity or place either of them under arrest. House said the man was profusely grateful when assured that no arrest would be made.

House has since provided a sworn statement detailing the encounter and will be called as a character witness against Frank when the case proceeds.

Sealed Affidavits to Drive the Prosecution

A collection of sealed affidavits, submitted to Solicitor General Hugh M. Dorsey by Chief of Detectives Lanford, is expected to form the backbone of the state's presentation to the grand jury later this week.

Among those affidavits is the signed statement of Monteen Stover, the 14-year-old former factory employee who says she found Frank's office empty at 12:05 on the afternoon of the murder, directly contradicting Frank's own inquest testimony. Also among them is a statement from a witness whose identity police have refused to disclose, described only as a person who was in close proximity to the pencil factory on the afternoon of the tragedy and heard screams coming from within the building.

Dorsey confirmed Sunday that the sealed documents have not been seen by anyone beyond himself and the single private detective he has retained, whom he described as the greatest in America.