12-Year-Old Girl Vera Epps Wails for Slain Mary Phagan, Atlanta Georgian, Mon, Apr 28, 1913, Atlanta, GA captures the anguished cries of 12-year-old Vera Epps, a playmate of 13-year-old Mary Phagan, murdered on April 26, 1913, at the National Pencil Company. Living at 246 Fox Street, adjacent to Phagan’s, Vera’s tearful fury emerged in the Atlanta Georgian as she stated, “I’d help lynch the man that killed poor Mary,” wishing to “hold the rope” in vengeance. The horrific sight of Phagan’s bruised, swollen face, barely recognizable, left her in hysterics, her childish mind reeling from the violence. She lauded Phagan’s goodness, their daily games, and her avoidance of men, a detail that intrigued investigators. Vera’s racial note, “It’s a heap worse for a white man,” reflected 1913 Atlanta’s biases. Recalling their Thursday play with Lillian Waignel, carving “M. P.,” her wails underscored their bond. Her testimony, as the Leo Frank case unfolded, voiced a community’s outrage.
