THE AXEMAN COMETH!

Happy Halloween fans! Keeping in line with my scary October theme, today I'm writing about The Axeman!

 

 

Everyone knows who Jack the Ripper was, but far less know the story of the Axeman of New Orleans. Despite the fact that The Axeman had more victims than Jack, and the murders took place at a different time, and in different countries, there are several similarities between the two killers.

 

Both chose a certain type of victim. Jack killed only women while most of the Axeman’s victims were of the both sexes and they were all Italian Americans. Whoa! Now

that really made me sit up and take notice!

Both killers used a blade of some kind and both wrote letters to newspapers. There are so many similarities between the two that police wondered if the Axeman was a “copycat killer,” or maybe it was Jack himself.  I tried to find pictures of these men, but had no luck. I guess they weren't photogenic. :-)

Here's a photograph of the map showing where the murders took place in New Orleans.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The story of the Axeman begins in May 1900 when Joseph Maggio and his wife Catherine were killed while sleeping. Their throats cut, and their hands disfigured by an axe. Catherine’s cut was so severe, her head was barely hanging on.

 

The bodies were found the next morning by Joseph’s brother, Andrew. Joseph was apparently still alive, but he died before help could arrive. Police found bloody clothes on the scene and determined that the killer had changed his clothing after murdering the couple. They also found a bloody razor that Maggio had removed from his store two days previously to hone. Due to the blood found on the knife, police concluded that this was the murder weapon. Robbery was quickly discounted as a motive in the killings, as no valuables were taken.

Police suspected Andrew because he find the couple and he also lived next door. The brutal nature of the attacks should have been loud enough to wake Andrew, but he claimed not to have heard anything until the next morning when he checked on a suspicious groaning noise. When questioned, Andrew told the police he was sleeping off a drunken stupor, but he was able to describe a man he saw across the street when he came home. Unable to find any evidence, Andrew was released from custody.

A second attack with all the same markings happened again on June 27th, when Louis Besumer and his lover, Harriet Lowe were attacked in Louis’ bedroom located in the back of his grocery store. Despite being struck by a hatchet in the face, both initially survived and were found by the driver of a delivery truck lying in a pool of blood. Once again, the weapon used in the attack was a hatchet found in Louis’ bathroom. And just like the Maggio case, the weapon belonged to the victim. Robbery was again suspected, but nothing was missing indicating the killer was killing for the sport of it.

Louis survived the attack but Harriet died on August 5th. Before her death, she made several accusations, most of which were contradictory. At first, she claimed that her attacker had been black, and police arrested an employee named Lewis Oubicon. Eventually, he was released because of a lack of evidence. The second claim from Harriet regarding Lewis was she suspected him of being a German spy. This was a highly suspect claim until police found letters in German and other Eastern European countries in his belongings. They arrested him immediately. They wondered if Harriet had somehow found out about his “espionage” and threatened to expose him, at which time he attacked her. After a lengthy trial, Louis was acquitted of murder and espionage, leaving the case unsolved.

On the day Harriet died, Anna Schneider’s husband Edward returned home from work to find her with a scalp wound and several missing teeth. Anna, who was pregnant, survived the attack and was well enough to deliver a baby a week later. She told police that all she remembered was waking from a nap to find a dark figure standing above her.

Edward had an airtight alibi. A few days after the attack, police arrested an ex-con named James Gleason. The only thing Gleason was arrested was because he ran away from police when they tried to question him. He was eventually released. Without any leads, the police began to lean more toward it being a serial killer.

On August 10th, Pauline and Mary Bruno awoke to suspicious sounds coming from their uncle Joseph Romano’s bedroom. Pauline saw a dark figure in the hallway, but could recount no other details The girls found Joseph in his bedroom, covered in blood from two head wounds.  An axe was found in Joseph’s back yard, and although he remained conscious for two days before succumbing to his wounds, Joseph was unable to provide police with any helpful information. Again, nothing had been stolen from the home, although Joseph’s room was in disarray.

 After this attack, a retired police detective, John Dantonio, compared the Axeman killings to a series of murders he investigated in 1911. He told reporters that he suspected that the killer was a normal person with a “Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde” type personality. When combined with the already sensationalized media coverage, Dantonio’s statements terrified all of New Orleans. People began setting up night watches, and several people claimed to have seen the Axeman, although he was described as everything from tall and thin to short and fat; some even claimed that “he” was actually a woman. Other people suggested that the Axeman was actually the Devil or a demon, while others claimed that he was a ghost.

Six months went by with no killings and the city slowly began to relax. This illusion of safety was shattered on March 10th, 1919, when three immigrants, Charles Cortimiglia, his wife Rosie, and their two-year old daughter Mary, were attacked in the suburbs of New Orleans. All had been attacked by an axe and suffered wounds similar to those found in previous attacks. An axe was also found in the Cortimiglia’s back yard. Nothing was stolen and the couple survived the attacks.

 Rosie and Charles survived the attack, but Mary died at the scene. Rosie publicly accused their landlord, Lorlando Jordano, and his son Frank. Charles did not corroborate the story, and despite the fact that Lorlando was 69 years old and in poor health, he and Frank were convicted of murder. Frank was sentenced to death by hanging and Lorlando was sentenced to life in prison. Luckily for them, Rosie recanted her statement a year later and the two were released. Horrified by the false charges that put these men through hell, Charles divorced Rosie. Police were again left without a suspect.

 On March 13th, three days after the attack on the Cortimiglias,  a letter from someone claiming to be the Axeman was printed in the New Orleans Times-Picayune. The letter was addressed to  the readers as “Dear Esteemed Mortal(s),” and went on to explain that the Axeman was in fact a demon, bragging that he would never be caught and not to be surprised about him taking more victims because his work wasn't done. Apparently jealous by the false allegations that appeared in the newspaper, he addresses those taking credit for all of murders and warns the police not to investigate any further.

 

It seemed odd that he would profess his love of jazz, until he promised that anyone playing jazz the next time he flew over the city would be spared. To create fear within the city, he gave the date of his next visit- the following Tuesday at 12:15. 

 

 

Tuesday became a legendary day in New Orleans. The night was filled with upbeat melodies of jazz as every home, restaurant, and club blasted jazz music. One composer even wrote a piece called the The Mysterious Axeman Jazz, which was played throughout the night.

The Axeman appeared appeased by this, because no one was killed that night. In fact, the attacks stopped completely and the city moved on.

 

But all that changed again on August 10th when grocer Steve Boca was attacked by an axe wielding dark figure as he slept. He survived the attack, although he couldn't remember anything beyond vague details. Like with the other attacks, an axe was found, and nothing was taken.

No suspects were named.

On September 3rd, Sarah Laumann, a 19-year-old woman living alone, was found in bed bleeding from a severe head injury and missing several teeth. No axe was found in her back yard, however this time the attack occurred with a blunt object. In addition, Sarah’s attacker entered her room through an open window. Since the M.O. was similar, but not the same as the previous attacks, the police began to suspect it was a “copycat” killer. Unfortunately, when Sarah woke up, she was unable to remember anything about the attack-including what the killer looked like. With no suspects to point to, police attributed the attack to the Axeman.

 The final Axeman attack occurred on October 27th, when Esther Peptitone investigated strange sounds in her husband Mike’s office only to find dead. His wounds were very similar to other killings. What was so interesting to the police was that Esther was strangely calm over the ordeal. When police arrived, Esther told them, “It looks like the Axeman was here and murdered Mike.” She told police she hadn't seen the killer, but an axe was found in her yard pointed toward the Axeman.

 Since the majority of victims were Italian-Americans, police initially suspected that they were mob related, but this was never proven. Police interviewed literally hundreds of people, but aside from those mentioned above, no arrests were ever made. It seemed as if the Axeman truly a demon and able to move at will through New Orleans, killing as he pleased.

 About a year after the attack, however, a posthumous suspect emerged. On December 2nd, 1920, New Orleans’ resident Joseph Mumfre was shot and killed in Los Angeles by none other than Esther Pepitone. She made no attempt to escape and told police that Mumfre was the man responsible for Mike’s death. She was sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was paroled after three and disappeared from the public eye.

 Several things about Joseph Mumfre pointed toward him as being the Axeman. He'd already served time in prison for another murder. His time in jail and his release coincided with the exact time frame of all the murders and he left New Orleans shortly after Mike Pepitone’s murder. Police wondered if Esther saw him leaving the scene and was calm because she knew what she was going to do to avenge her husband's death.

This story was never proven, however, and there is no record of Esther’s trial or Mumfre’s death. Of course, the records may have been lost over the years since the murders or reported to make people feel better.

To this day, it's never been confirmed who the actual killer was.  Some believed he was actually a demon, but whether you choose to believe this or not is your choice.

 

Thank God we've advance with modern to help  our law enforcement to solve crimes!

 

If you enjoy reading about serial killers/copy cats, you'll enjoy reading Deadly Obsessions available through Amazon.

 

 

To finish out the Halloween theme, next week my post will be about The Little House of Horrors! Thanks for stopping by.