JOHN M MINAR, Sworn In For The Defendant, 98th To Testify

John M. Minar, witness for the Defendant 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)
Atlanta Georgian reporter John M. Minar testified that on Sunday night, April 27, he interviewed George Epps and his sister at their home hours after the body was found.

Minar asked both children who had seen Mary Phagan last.
Vera Epps answered she had seen Mary Thursday.
George Epps, standing right beside her, said nothing about Saturday or riding the streetcar with Mary.
George only admitted knowing her and occasionally riding in with her mornings—no mention of April 26.

On cross-examination, Minar confirmed:

He was not seeking evidence for any defendant—no suspect existed Sunday.
He worked under city editor Clofein, who later visited Frank in jail.
Both children and their father were present; the father escorted Minar to the house.

Minar’s same-night interview eviscerated George Epps’s later claim that he rode with Mary on the fatal Saturday morning and last saw her near the factory at noon.
Epps’s silence when directly asked—with his sister answering “Thursday”—proved he invented the streetcar story after the murder became public.
Minar’s notebook turned the State’s star timeline witness into a documented fabricator.