For the first time, investigators detail how they believe the crime was committed, from the midday assault to the afternoon killing in the basement
Sunday, May 11th, 1913
The Theory, in Full
Two weeks have passed since the body of 14-year-old Mary Phagan was discovered in the basement of the National Pencil Factory. For the first time, The Journal is able to present the complete theory of the city detectives and their fellow investigators as to exactly how the crime was carried out.
It is as follows.
The Attack
Mary Phagan arrived at the pencil factory sometime between noon and 12:10 on the afternoon of Saturday, April 26th. Shortly after her arrival, she was lured to the metal room on the second floor, where she had worked as an employee. The large doors of that room were pulled shut, making it nearly impossible for the two men working on the fourth floor above to hear any cries from within.
There she was overpowered and assaulted.
The assailant, understanding that discovery would cost him his life, then argued with the girl and pleaded with her to stay silent. When she refused and repeated her intention to tell what had happened, he struck her a powerful blow to the left eye. The force of the blow sent her into the handle of a lathe. The back of her head struck the handle, rendering her unconscious and opening a wound that bled freely.
The assailant then took a cord, looped it around her neck, and dragged her into one of the small dressing rooms nearby. He placed papers or an old garment beneath her head to absorb the flow of blood, closed the door, and left, believing the girl was dead or dying.
The Return
Later in the afternoon, when the factory had emptied of workers, the assailant returned. He carried or dragged the body to the elevator and brought it down to the basement.
It is the theory of the detectives that during this descent, either from the motion of the elevator or from a slackening of the cord around her neck, Mary Phagan partially regained consciousness. When the assailant realized she was still alive, he tightened the cord and dragged her by it to the far end of the darkened basement. He then tore the wide hem from the child's underskirt and knotted it around her neck as a second noose, to ensure she would not survive. Afterward, he pulled the staple from the rear door of the basement, either intending to later remove the body to the alley outside, or to make it appear that the murderer had entered and exited the building through that entrance.
The Physical Evidence
Cord of the same type found around Mary Phagan's neck, cut to the same lengths and tied with the same loop knots, exists in large quantities in the metal room where detectives believe the crime began. Blood was found on the floor of that room.
