MISS DEWEY HEWELL, Sworn In For The State, 159th To Testify

Miss Dewey Hewell, 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)
Miss Dewey Hewell, a former metal-department worker who left the factory in March 1913 and was then residing at the Home of the Good Shepherd in Cincinnati, testified that she saw Leo Frank speak to Mary Phagan two or three times a day. She observed him place his hand on Phagan’s shoulder, call her “Mary,” stand very close, and lean into her face.
On cross-examination, Hewell admitted that all the other girls were present during these interactions and she did not know what Frank and Phagan discussed.
This testimony was offered to establish a pattern of overly familiar, possibly inappropriate behavior by Frank toward Phagan—supporting the State’s motive of sexual impropriety—though cross-examination weakened its impact by confirming the encounters were public and non-secretive.