H J HINCHEY, Sworn In For The Defendant, 59th To Testify

H. J. Hinchey, 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)
Mechanical engineer H. J. Hinchey of the South Atlantic Blow Pipe Co., a four-to-five-year business acquaintance of Leo Frank, testified that on April 26 he was driving past the Capitol on Washington Street when he nearly collided with a streetcar.

Time: Between 2:00 and 2:15 p.m.
Location: Opposite the Capitol’s main entrance
Sighting: Frank sat in the front of the inbound car, clearly visible as it rolled up.

Hinchey recreated the drive three times post-murder:

2:05 p.m.
2:08 p.m.
Exactly 2:00 p.m.

On cross-examination, Hinchey confirmed:

Brief glance—too busy avoiding traffic.
Visited Frank once in jail; mentioned the sighting.
Business-only relationship—pleasant deals and disputes; no personal friendship.
Interest stemmed from long acquaintance and case implications.

Hinchey’s stopwatch-verified, traffic-dodging glimpse placed Frank miles from the factory at the exact hour the State claimed he was murdering Mary Phagan.
An engineer’s precision turned a near-accident into ironclad alibi.