W H GREESLING, Sworn In For The State, 28th To Testify

W. H. Greesling, witness for the State, 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)
Funeral director & embalmer W. H. Greesling moved Mary Phagan’s body at 3:50 a.m., April 27.
Observations

Cord: Around neck, ⅛-inch indent—loosened by then.
Rag: Over face/hair.
Tongue: 1¼ inches out—strangulation.
Rigor mortis: Full—10–15+ hours dead (~6:00 p.m. Saturday or earlier).
Blood: Settled in face, dry everywhere; scalp wound bled freely (pre-death).
Eye: Swollen, black—pre-death blow.
Underclothes: Urine + dry blood; right leg split.
Nails: Dirt/dust.
Vagina: No mutilation; discharge dry.

Embalming

½ gallon blood drained; 1 gallon formaldehyde formula injected.

Cross-examination

Rigor: Begins pre-death; highly variable—no exact timeline.
Blood: All dry; strangulation = minimal loss.
Frank visit: Rogers + Black escorted; Greesling pulled sheet, left room—Frank near right side.

Greesling’s “10–15+ hours”, “dry blood”, and “pre-death swelling” shredded Harris’s 30-minute rape-murder.
His “no mutilation” and variable rigor turned State’s “fresh crime” into basement disposal hours later.