J N STARNES, Sworn In For The State, 5th To Testify

J. N. STARNES, Sworn for the State.

I am a city officer. Went to the pencil Company's place of business between five and six o'clock, April 27th 1913. The pencil company is located in Fulton County, Georgia, and that's where the body was found. The staple to the back door looked as if it had been prized out with a pipe pressed against the wood. There was a pipe there that fitted the indentation on the wood. I called Mr. Frank on the telephone, and told him I wanted him to come to the pencil factory right away. He said he hadn't had any breakfast. He asked where the night watchman was. I told him it was very necessary for him to come and if he would come I would send an automobile for hi, and I asked Boots Roger to for him. I didn't tell him what had happened, and he didn't ask me. Mr. Frank appeared to be nervous. This was indicated by his manner of speaking to Mr. Darley, he was in a trembling situation. I was guarded with him in my conversation over the phone. About a week afterwards I went to the factory and had the night watchman, Mr. Hendricks, to show me about the clock. He took a new slip and put it in the clock and punched the slip all the way around in less than five minutes (State's Exhibit P). I got some cord on the second floor of the pencil factory, the knots in those cords were similar to the knots in this cord (State's Exhibit C). On the floor right at the opposite corner, what might be called the Northwest corner of the dressing room, on Monday morning, April 28th, I saw splotches that looked like blood about a foot and a half, or two feet, from the end of the dressing room, some of which I chipped up. It looked like splotches of blood and something had been thrown there and in throwing it hand spread out and splattered. There was no great amount of it. I should judge that the area around these spots was a foot and a half. The splotch looked as if something had been swept over it, some white substance. There is a lot of that white stuff in the metal department. It looked like blood. I found a nail fifty feet this side of the metal room, toward the elevator on the second floor that looked like it had blood on the top of it. It was between the office and the double doors. I chipped two places off on the back door which looked like they had bloody finger prints. I don't know when Frank was arrested. I don't think he was arrested on Monday. He was asked to come to the station house on Monday. It takes not over three minutes to walk from Marietta Street at the corner of Forsyth across the viaduct and through Forsyth Street down to the pencil factory. Lee was composed at the factory; he never tried to get away. The door to the stairs from the office floor to the third floor was barred when I first went up there.

Number 11 on diagram (State's Exhibit A) is the toilets.

CROSS-EXAMINATION.

I am guessing about the time. It wouldn't take over five minutes to get off the car, walk to the pencil factory, walk in, walk up the stairs and back into Mr. Frank's office. The hasp is bent a little. I heard Boots Rogers testify at the coroner's inquest and I testified twice. I did not correct any statement at the coroner's inquest that Boots Rogers made. I am the prosecutor in this case. I cannot give the words of the conversation of the telephone message between myself and Mr. Frank. I could be mistaken as to the very words he used. It was just a casual telephone conversation. I don't know that the splotches that I saw there were blood. The floor at the ladies' dressing room is a very dark color. I saw cord like that in the basement, but it was cut up in pieces. I saw a good many cords like that all over the factory. I never found the purse, or the flowers or the ribbon on the little girl's hat. This diagram (State's Exhibit A) is a correct diagram of second floor and basement of pencil company and other places. Number 11 on diagram (State's Exhibit A) is the toilets.

RE-DIRECT EXAMINATION.

I was guarded in what I said over the phone to Mr. Frank though it was just a conversation between two gentlemen. These pieces of wood look like what I chipped off the floor. I turned them over to Chief Lanford. (Referring to State's Exhibit E).

RECALLED FOR THE STATE.

I saw Mr. Rosser at the coroner's inquest. I never heard him say anything throughout the hearing.