W E TURNER, Sworn In For The State, 162nd To Testify

W. E. Turner, witness for the State in rebuttal, at the Trial of Leo Frank in the Fulton County Superior Court of Atlanta, Georgia, in 1913 (Testimony Portion From July 28 - August 21, 1913; Closing Arguments August 21-25, 1913)
Former pencil-factory employee W. E. Turner testified that in mid-March 1913, just before the noon whistle, he saw Leo Frank speaking to Mary Phagan on the second floor. No one else was in the room initially. Phagan was heading to her workstation; Frank approached from the opposite direction. She told him she had to go to work; Frank replied he was the superintendent and wanted to speak with her. She backed away as he continued talking. The last words Turner heard were Frank insisting he wanted to talk to her.
During the exchange, several girls entered to give Turner instructions about pencils. Lemmie Quinn’s office was nearby. Turner could not confirm if the girls witnessed the interaction.
On cross-examination, Turner admitted:

He could not describe Mary Phagan or any other girl in the factory.
He did not know if other girls were still working.
He learned her name from an unidentified young man on the fourth floor.
He knew no one at the factory and recognized no one.

This testimony was offered to suggest Frank had a prior, unwanted interaction with Phagan—implying improper interest—but cross-examination severely undermined Turner’s credibility due to his vague memory, lack of detail, and inability to identify anyone.