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Nobody got their dinner


At noon, butcher William F. Mosher, 53, left his shop at 1703 East Washington Street and drove his horse-drawn rig, a sort of open carriage, home to 232 ½ Winston Street, to dine with his family. His wife and adult children were waiting for him to come to the table when they heard a loud rattle as of a malfunctioning wagon, and ran outside to find Mosher lying half a block away, his rig on top of his crushed chest. He died moments later.


Later still, his horse was found at Winston and Wall, and it was presumed that Mosher had removed the bridle and been about to feed the animal when it was unaccountably spooked and took off running, dragging its master beneath the deadly wheels. The body was taken to Bresee Brothers on Mortuary Row at 855 South Figueroa, with a coroner’s inquest to precede burial.
Bresee Brothers detail

Map detail from the 1909 city map compiled by Worthington Gates, Western Litho Co.

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Kim Cooper

Kim Cooper is the creator of 1947project, the crime-a-day time travel blog that spawned Esotouric’s popular crime bus tours, including The Real Black Dahlia. She is the author of The Kept Girl, the acclaimed historical mystery starring the young Raymond Chandler and the real-life Philip Marlowe, and of The Raymond Chandler Map of Los Angeles. With husband Richard Schave, Kim curates the Salons and forensic science seminars of LAVA- The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. When the third generation Angeleno isn’t combing old newspapers for forgotten scandals, she is a passionate advocate for historic preservation of signage, vernacular architecture and writer’s homes. Kim was for many years the editrix of Scram, a journal of unpopular culture. Her books include Fall in Love For Life, Bubblegum Music is the Naked Truth, Lost in the Grooves and an oral history of Neutral Milk Hotel.

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