CHARLIE LEE, Sworn In For The Defendant, 85th To Testify

Charlie Lee, 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)
Charlie Lee, machinist with two years and four months at the National Pencil Company, testified that on October 4, 1912, J. E. Duffy severely cut his finger on the eyelet machine opposite Mary Phagan’s workstation.

Blood spurted freely, soaking the floor.
Duffy walked down the hall past the ladies’ dressing room to Frank’s office.
He paused three steps from the water cooler for 8–10 seconds, hand dripping.
A puddle formed exactly where Barrett later chipped “blood spots.”
Gilbert was also injured in the metal room and bandaged in the office—same path.

Lee stated the metal-room floor was swept only once a week—never washed. The October blood would still be visible six months later.
On cross-examination, Lee confirmed:

His pay was raised 21¢/hour two weeks earlier by Darley.
He signed a statement for the company to block Duffy’s lawsuit.
Never told anyone what he would swear.
Duffy bled “all over the floor”; puddle right at the chipped spot.

Lee’s October blood trail turned Barrett’s “murder discovery” into six-month-old accident residue.
One machinist’s memory painted the crime scene red—with Duffy, not Phagan.