Los Angeles herald., 1891-12-29
Leah Dies in the Faith in Which She
Lived.
A Second Death at the Ramona Ends q
Story of Misery-rhe Couple
Not Buried In the
Same Grave.

The MacGregor tragedy has been
played to the bitter end. At O'Clock
last evening, Leah, the child-wife OF w.
Bert MacGregor, also passed over tn e
mysterious boundary between life and
death, and perhaps, as one of the last
messages declared, this unfortunate
young pair will watch over the interests
of the loved ones-they left behind.
Leah MacGregor, born Leah Ben
jarnin, died at 6 O'Clock last evening in
room 81, Hotel Ramona, the room
where the discovery of the horrible
suicide was made. That her young life
should have been sacrificed under such
circumstances is to be deplored,
for she was hardly old enough to realize
the step she was taking; yet, since
she had allowed her life to merge by
marriage into that OF her lover, and
since she might have been incurably
unhappy had she lived, it may be best
to look upon her death calmly and with
out tear.
At 10 O'Clock Sunday night Doctors
Westlake, Boyd and Weldon thought
the young woman out of danger. They
had made every endeavor which human
strength is capable of, and the results
seemed satisfactory. At midnight, when
the young girls mother sat at the bed
side, Leah spoke few words in answer
to questions, and was even able to ex-
plain, in fragmentary way, the method
OF their taking the poison. Yesterday
morning affairs still seemed hopeful, but
as the afternoon waned, so waned the
life OF the child-bride, and few min
utes before g. o'clock, all was over.
Mrs. Benjamin, the mother of the
unfortunate young girl. her brother
Barney, and the faithful Doctors West
lake and Boyd were present at the
death-bed. The grief-stricken mother
lost her self-control when her daugh-
ter's last gasp was heard, and lay in a
swoon on the floor of the death chamber
for some time. She was then, in the
care OF sympathizing friends, taken to
her home.
The body OF young Mrs. MacGregor
was taken to the morgue soon after her
death. That Leah Benjamin was Bert
MacGregor's wife has been most thor
oughly demonstrated. On September
11th, MacGregor secured license for
their marriage from Deputy County
Clerk J. j. O'Neill. He gave his age
then as twenty-three, and that of Leah
as eighteen. At the same time he got a
letter of introduction from an official
here to O.. F.. Smith, justice of the
peace at Redondo.
Chas. d. Willard, the brother-inlaw
of Bert received telegram from the
suicides father yesterday afternoon,
stating that it would probably be better
to bury the body here. MacGregor's
funeral will accordingly take
place this afternoon from Orr
& Such's undertaking rooms on
Spring street, where the young unfor-
tunate's remains were taken. 1t is de-
plorable, and seems entirely unjustiia
BILE, that his body was placed there, open
to the gaze of curioslty-seekers after it's
Identification had been established as
soon as the suicide was reported. In no
place in this country has it been deemed
necessary to display the remains of
coroner's subject, after Identification has
been complete.
Owing to peculiar developments in
the case, beyond the fact that charm
ing young girl has been led to death
without her fault, the Benjamin family
have decided to ignore the request OF
MacGregor, that he and his bride be
buried in the same grave. Leah Benja-
min will be buried in the Jewish ceme-
terry, probably Wednesday.
w. Bert MacGregor, the deceased, was
in no way related to Robert E. Mac
Gregor whJ has been connected with
the business department of the HERALD
for some years past.