Woman, 84, Suspected of Bludgeoning Sister, 86, to Death

They were two little old ladies living together. One sister was 86, the other 84. Now one is dead.

Police said Sunday that Edna Lamont, a piano teacher and widow with two children, is suspected of bludgeoning her older sister, Mary McBride, to death. No charges have been filed, pending the results of an autopsy, said Los Angeles Police Cmdr. William Booth. No motive is known.

Lamont told police that she found the bleeding body of her sister on the floor about 5 a.m. Saturday, according to Booth. But Lamont did not call police or paramedics. They were called about four hours later by Lamont’s son, Dr. Herbert Barry Lamont, Booth said.

Edna Lamont later told detectives that her sister had Alzheimer’s disease and often fell while walking around in the middle of the night.

“A preliminary investigation of McBride’s injuries suggests that she may have been struck with an object rather than injured by a fall,” Booth said.

Police will decide whether they will arrest Lamont when more evidence is gathered--including the autopsy results. “In the meantime, Edna Lamont is in the care of her son. There is no likelihood that Edna will harm herself or others or not be available for further investigation,” Booth said.

On Sunday, Lamont remained in her house behind closed blinds, not answering her door or telephone, while a lawn sprinkler sent arcs of water over her neatly trimmed front yard, and neighbors across the street quietly talked about the incident.

Herbert Barry Lamont emerged once from the house to move the sprinkler. In a brief conversation, he said that he and his mother did not want to make any statements. “We don’t know what happened,” he said.

Neighbors said the two sisters--both thin and frail--did not get along well in the small house they shared at 11922 Tennessee Ave. in West Los Angeles. But none of the neighbors interviewed Sunday heard or saw anything that they thought could have been a death struggle.

Five neighbors recounted incidents of tension between Lamont and McBride that started soon after McBride moved in, sometime within the last two years, apparently because old age was robbing McBride of the ability to take care of herself.

“Lamont used to slap her a lot. They would yell at each other. The one with Alzheimer’s disease would just sit there and take it. . . . It was a real mean slap. She would turn around and do it back again,” Jenkins said.

He said the reason usually was that McBride had not properly walked the dog.

Peter Johnson, another neighbor who lives across the street, also said that McBride’s inability to walk the dog the way Lamont wanted led to physical abuse.

“I would hear her say, ‘You’re not doing it right! You’re not doing it right! Take him to this corner!’ Big deal. What is there to walking a dog?

“About a month ago, (Lamont) was pushing the old lady around. She pulled her by the hair a couple of times. She slapped her. The poor old woman, I don’t think she understood. She could have been on the planet Mars. She got feeble in the brain and the other woman got upset.”

“I saw her push her once,” said Jenkins’ mother, Jill.

Toni Nakamura, who has lived next to Lamont for more than 20 years, said the two sisters argued frequently.

“I’d be out in the back and I’d hear loud voices,” she said.

About six months ago, Lamont took a hose and sprayed her sister, according to Nakamura and her son Jay.

“It was not in fun,” he said. “They do a lot of shouting.”

Aurora Harrington said that Lamont once told her she had locked up her sister. Harrington said she interpreted the remark to mean it was to prevent McBride from becoming disoriented on a walk.

Anna Schwartz said she believed both women were senile. While McBride’s incapacity was evident, Lamont also began to forget things lately, she said.

“She would ask me my name, which she knew for 20 years,” she said.