Monday, 28th April 1913 - Apprehended as the Maiden’s Murderer [JOHN M. GANTT], Atlanta Georgian reports the detention of J. M. Gantt, a former National Pencil Company bookkeeper, accused of murdering 14-year-old Mary Phagan, found strangled on April 26, 1913, in the factory basement. Arrested in Marietta, Gantt told a Georgian reporter he was innocent, claiming he was home at 284 East Linden Street after a parade, ball game, getting shoes with Leo Frank and Newt Lee, and pool with Arthur White and O.G. Bagley until 10:30 p.m. His landlady, Mrs. F. C. Terrell, denied seeing him for three weeks. Gantt’s appearance matched Edgar L. Sentell’s midnight observation with Phagan. The Atlanta Georgian detailed the case—Lee’s discovery, Mullinax’s custody, Skipper’s account of three men with a dazed girl—leading to factory closure and the Leo Frank investigation’s escalation, amid 1913 Atlanta’s racial tensions.
