The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1916-01-06
The MacGregor
Case
It Indicates the Danger Of Accept.
ing Circumstantial Evidence.
By ETHEL HOLMES

| nelSQDOr uVeO ABOUT QudECcE OI
mile distant The MacGregors appear
ed to live happily together till on,
evening their neighbor. Alexandel
Tweedy, heard excited voices coming
from the direction Of their home
Tweedy's wife thought she heard Q
|, third voice once or twice take part In
what was going on trying to calm the
others. but her husband failed to bear
her out In this, and she was not sure
Finally the quarreling stopped. and
nothing more was heard.
The next morning Tweedy on his
way to Edinburgh, where he worked,
passed the MacGregor home and no.
ticed that 1t seemed to be deserted. A
window pane on the ground floor was
broken. which he had noticed before
and at which he wondered. because the
MacGregors were tidy persons and
kept their home In good order. He
continued his way, not attaching much
Importance to what he had seen or
what he had heard the night before.
But when the next morning he pass
ed the house again and saw no one
about he became curious and, going to
the window. looked In. He was shock
ed to see evidences Of q struggle.
Everything was in disorder. A table
that had stood In the center of the
room had been overturned. and the
fragments of lamp that had stood
on 1t were scattered over the floor.
Clothing lay about, both mems and
wOmen's.
Tweedy was astonlshed. He had
heard no sounds that would Indicate
anything more than a war Of words.
True. his wife had awakened him In
the middle Of the night and said that
the MacGregors were quarreling again.
he had listened but. hearing nothing.
told her that 1t was due to her imagi-
nation and she had better go to sleep
and think no more about the matter.
But now appearances tended to prove
that the quarrel had been more serious
than he supposed. Putting his arm
through the aperture left by the
broken pane. he raised the window and
entered the house.
There was nothing OF value left in
- S~A>Spl thC IL lOOhGu I'D
Tweedy as If either MacGregor had
killed his wife or the wife had killed |
her husband and whichever was the |
murderer had made of with what |
ever could be carried away hastily. |
But this was only theory and did
not account for what had been done
with the body of the victim.
TwoQdv Vvc0 a Ov,f f~ vooy~ <bo ,,,ox~, |
fses when he noticed on the floor q
strand of red hair. The hair was long
and evidently woman's. The finder
shuddered. Mrs. MacGregor's hair
was red.
Tweedy dropped the strand on the
floor. where he had found 1t. got out
through the window and went on to
Edinburgh to his work. In the even.
ing when he returned to his home he
told his wife that he had seen ex-
,elient evidence that their neighbor
had murdered his wife. disposed In
some way of the baby and fed with
III the valuables. Mrs. Tweedy listen.
I'd to his recital with horror.
I'm going to the sheriff to tell him
II the MURDER" said Tweedy.
"Ye'n dinna do ony such thing. San.
~" was the reply. "Dinna mix yer.
vel up with it. They'll think you had
'ummat to do with It Let somebody I
Use find 1t oot."
Sandy took his wife's advice. Every
morning he passed the deserted home
N his way to his work and every
'vening on his return. His conscience q
mote him for not making the tragedy I
'nown, and on several occasions he (
old his wife that he would report It,
ut she always dissuaded him. d
But one day the horror came out {
nrough another source. A man pass. c
ne q thicket back of the MacGregor Il
ome smelled an offensive odor and q
nought the dead body Of some animal Il
7as there. Prompted by curiosity. he G
lade an examination and found the
ecaying corpse Of woman. Going Y
traight into the city. he reported his b
nd. and persons were sent out to bring b
the body. The face had been mutt.
tied besides being decayed, so that g
was beyond recognition. The hair L
as red. The dress was the MacGrep.
+ tartan. re
An examination was made of the T
lacGregor home, and what Alexander in
weedy had found was carefully noted q
YEN to the strand Of hair which was ST
cked up and preserved There being
doubt on the part Of the authorities m
lat MacGregor had quarreled with his tb
lie. murdered her and made Off with ev
e family valuables. search was in. q,
ftuted for him. He could not he TN
und. and the search was about to he ",
ven up when some one suggested that at
time murderer will visit the scene 81,
his crime. A watch was set and. a,
ne enough. one day MacGregor was Of
ptured standing before his house to
'king at 1t strangely. He was i'm. tn,
ediately arrested.
what are We takin' me for?" he ed
ked.
'Niver mind what we're takin. We int