HARLEE BRANCH, Sworn In For The Defendant, 97th To Testify

Reading Time: 4 minutes [592 words]

HARLEE BRANCH, sworn for the Defendant.

I work for the Atlanta Journal.

I had an interview with Jim Conley on two occasions.

On May 31st, he told me he didn't see the purse of this little girl.

He said that it took about thirty-five minutes after going upstairs until he got out of the factory.

He said he finished about 1:30 and then went out.

He said that Lemmie Quinn got into the factory about 12 o'clock and remained about 8 or 9 minutes.

CROSS EXAMINATION.

I am sure about his saying he saw Lemmie Quinn at the factory at that interview.

He was in jail when I had that interview.

It was a few days after he went through the factory.

As to Conley's movements at the factory, I was there a few minutes after twelve.

Conley arrived there about 12:10 or 12:15.

The detectives told him what he was there for.

After a few minutes brief conversation, Conley started telling his story.

When he reached the point at the rear left side of the factory, he described the position of the body, and described what he did with the body, and how Mr. Frank helped him.

He enacted the whole story and talking all the time.

After he had reached the point of disposing of the body, and writing the notes, I found it was time for me to go back to the office and I left.

Conley began the enactment of the story a few minutes after he got there, which was a quarter past twelve, and he went through very rapidly.

We had to sort of trot to keep behind him.

I left the factory at 1:10.

In estimating the time Conley devoted to acting and how much to telling the story would be a guess.

There is no way of disassociating the time between the two.

I didn't attempt to do that.

It would be a pure guess because I see no way of dividing the time.

I should say that perhaps he was talking and not acting for about fifteen minutes.

Of course he was talking all the time that he was acting.

I did not say that I thought he was talking half of the time.

RE-DIRECT EXAMINATION.

In going through his performance he walked very rapidly.

We were almost on a trot behind him.

I was at the factory fifty minutes while he enacted his story.

I left him after he had written one note in Mr. Frank's office.

He wrote the note very rapidly.

It took him about two minutes.

He didn't stay in the wardrobe over a minute.

He just got in, closed the door and got right out.

In approximating the time of his performance I gave a minute to his staying in the wardrobe and two minutes to writing the one note.

If you add six minutes to writing the other notes and eight minutes to the time he said he stayed in the wardrobe, that would be fourteen minutes added to the fifty minutes, which would be sixty-four minutes for the time of the performance.

If you deduct the fifteen minutes which I say he was taking, would leave forty minutes net which he took to enact the story.

RE-ROSS EXAMINATION.

That is just an estimate.

The only time I had was the time I left my office and the time I got back.

Conley got to the factory at 12:15 and I left there between 1:05 and 1:10.

I saw Conley pick up a paper in the newspaper room and he looked like he was reading it.

It had pictures on the front page and I judge he looked at them first, because afterwards he folded it.

He had several minutes while I was telephoning.