Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-03-15
SOLUTION OF DEATH
OF FRED THOMPSON
MATTER OF TIME

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| body had been dragged there. said
| the witness. The earth was Slightly
SCARED about the feet, as if the dead
man had struggled little in his last
agony. There was no evidence Of q
struggle in South Pryor road, but
| the pavement might not have record
ed it, anyway.
DR.. Hancock said the visible
slash across the face, severing the
cartilage of the mouth, and the left
forearm literally hacked almost to
pieces. He said they did not look for
further wounds under the clothing.
Lowndes Calhoun, Thomas law
ination of the first witness anc
asked several questions, had his
client brought into the room after
DR.. Hancock's testimony was con.
cluded. Thomas was handcuffed and
shown to a seat in d corner of the
table. His lawyers sat beside him
and made copious notes of the tes-
timony of the next witness, who was
H. j. Norton, of All Stewart ave-
nue., who went after DR.. Hancock
and took him to the scene of the
killing.
w. S. Coburn, lawyer for Norton
also took q seat near the coroner
Both he and Mr.. Calhoun asked the
time. Thomas watched Norton very
closely as he delivered his testi-
mony.
"Tell us what you know of the
finding Of Thompson's body" the
coroner directed.
After stating that he had been in
town at a meeting until about 8:3C
o'clock, possibly quarter of nine, the
witness went on to tell how he ar
8 o'clock, looked over the newspaper,
and had just gone to bed and was
about asleep when he was called
to the telephone.
"A voice att the other end of the
phone began to tell me that there
was a man sitting on the side OF the
road leading from Lakewood avenue
the park, and bleeding like the
devil He told me to get doctor
and go down there, and | asked him
who was the man, and he sald
nothing. Then I asked who he was
and I heard the phone hung UP Al
the other end.
Not Sure OF Blood
Norton said his first idea was
there had been an automobile accl-
l..
doctor. He told of going to a drug
store which was closed and then tic
the office of DIR. Hancock, and then
to the latter's home, where he touno
him. Dr. Hancock, he said, accom-
panied him, and they drove through
Lakewood Heights toward the place
described by the mysterious voice on
the telephone. On the way there
they picked up Mr.. Brown.
1--WE got to the place, or what we
thought was the place, and looked
around by the automobile lights, and
then went back to Lakewood Heights
to see if the police had heard any
thing"
Did you find traces of blood on
the first trip asked the coroner.
I'm not sure" said the witness.
"You mean to say you don't know
whether you saw blood traces or
lnot?"
"well, I was pretty ratified and it
was very dark"
"You certainly would have heard
your companions say something If
they had seen blood traces?"
eyes, / believe they did say some
thing about it"
Norton then stated that they re-
turned to the place and found a big
pool of blood with the trail leading
from 1t toward where the body was
found in the path.
1.-THE pool of blood looked just like
where somebody's radiator might
have leaked" said the witness.
Voice on Phone
Mr.. Norton's story Of the actual
finding of the body was in corrobora-
ton Of that of the preceding witness,
and then the coroner and Mr.. Cal
houn, the latter prompted at times
by Thomas, began to go into the mat
ter of the mysterious voice on the
telephone.
Did you recognize this voice." the
witness was asked.
mo, did not. Whoever called me
seemed to be scared, or something"
you never heard that voice be-
fore over the telephone?"
mot to my knowledge"
"Was it explained why you were
called?"
HE said he was sent to call me-"
The witness said he had known
Thompson for some time, that they
were in the same business, and rath-
er frequently had dealings with each
other in the way of exchanging tires
or purchasing tires for one another
Have you ever heard Mr.. Thomas
voice."
mo"
DO you think you have ever seen
him before?"
The witness looked at Thomas
closely, and said: I'm general way
his face looks slightly familiar, as
If [ might have seen him around
town.
Here Mr.. Calhoun asked the wit
ness: Have you pistol?"
yes"
"What kind is it?"
"NiCkel-plated 80 caIiber"
At this juncture Thomas whispered
asked Norton: Did you have on an
overcoat Friday night?'
mo"
Both lawyers asked the witness
questions concerning why he had
gone after a doctor Immediately in
explanation was that his impression
after getting the telephone message
that d man had been dangerously
hurt, probably in an automobile ac-
, cident, and he believed the best thing
to do was to get doctor to him.
"You wouldn't go after a policeman
for a. man in an auto accident, would
your" asked Mr.. Coburn.
The witness replied in the negative,
and his lawyer added: You wouldn't
, call a doctor in case of a murder,
either"
Replying to questions about the
car in which DR.. Hancock and Brown
rode with him, Norton said it was a
seven-passenger Buick. He gave the
number from memory as 64647. The
coroner desired this ratified. and Nor
ton went to telephone and called up
his place of business and checked the
mum Der, asking that Che car be
brought down to Poole's at once.
Thompson's funeral was held
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