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

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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.

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