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- Cover
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Between May 1918 and October,
a serial killer terrorised
the citizens of New Orleans,
this killer was nicknamed the
“AXEMAN”. The first murder to
shake the city took place on
the 23rd of May; the killer
took the lives of an Italian
Grocer, Joseph Maggio, and
his wife Catherine in their
apartment above their grocery
store. The attacker broke in
with an axe and a straight
razor, the tools they used in
the attack were never their own
and would always be left at
the scene. While the couple
slept the killer slit their
throats with the straight razor
before bashing their heads in
with the axe. When the police
investigate the crime, they
found that the killer had left
his bloody clothes, meaning
that he changed before leaving
the scene; they were also able
to rule at robbery because
anything valuable was left in
plain sight. Also, nearby the
killer left a message written
in chalk that read, “Mrs.
Joseph Maggio will sit up
tonight. Just write Mrs. Toney”.
The next attack took place a
month later the 27th of June,
both Louis Besumer, a grocer and
his mistress Harriet Lowe were
attacked in their quarters at
the back of the store. An axe
to the head struck both; Besumer
was struck over the right temple
whilst Lowe was hacked over the
left ear, however both survived
the initial attack. Although
Lowes face was partially
paralysed, she was operated
on to try and correct he face,
she would die two days later.
In the two days however, she
told the police that it was
Louis Besumer that attacked
her, he was then charged with
murder and spent 9 months in
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prison before being acquitted
on May 1st, 1919 due to a
10-minute jury deliberation.
Another similar attack took
place on August 5th, the victim
was Mrs. Edward Schneider who
was 28 years old but more
importantly was 8 months
pregnant. As she lay in bed
she woke to find a dark looming
figure stood over her with an
axe, the attacker then used
the axe to bash in her face.
Her husband who was returning
from work later found her just
after 12 O’clock. He found
her in bed with her scalp
cut and her face covered in
blood. However even after
this, two days later she gave
birth to a healthy baby. One
person did get arrested but
was released shortly after
due to a lack of evidence.
5 Days later the 10th of
august another grocer was
attacked, Joseph Romano. He
lived with his two nieces who
slept in the adjoining room to
his. The two nieces woke to
hear a commotion coming from
their uncle’s room, when they
entered his room they saw he
had taken a serious blow to
the head; they also saw the
assailant fleeing from the
scene. Even though Joseph was
able to walk to the ambulance
he would later pass away due to
a head trauma. The girls were
however able to give a brief
description of the attacker;
he was a dark-skinned
heavyset man, who wore a large
black jacket and a slouched
hat. The scene was also very
similar to the others; it was
ransacked but nothing was
taken, and all murder weapons
were left at the scene.
4. Page 11Page 4After this the policed increased
the amount of manpower they
had working, whilst men sat
with loaded weapons at night to
protect their families. People
reported seeing the Axeman in
their neighbourhood, people found
axes and chisels in their back
garden and people reported that
they doors and windows had been
tampered with over the next few
months. The extra effort appeared
to work, until March 10th,
1919 in a town called Grenta,
just across the river from New
Orleans, the Axeman attacked
Charles Cortmigillia and his wife
and daughter. Their screams were
heard in early morning hours by
the neighbouring grocer, Lorlando
Jordan, who when investigating
found the three had been attacked.
Rosie had woken to find her
husband struggling with the
attacker, after her husband fell
to the floor the Axeman turned and
slammed his axe into her and her
child. When Lorlando arrived, he
found Charles in a pool of blood
and Rosie in the doorway with a
head wound and clutching her dead
daughter. Charles was released
from hospital after two days
whilst his wife stayed in care.
When Rosie became conscious she
accused her neighbour Lorlando
and his son frank of the attack.
However, Lorlando was 69 years
old and too weak to carry out
the attack and his son was too
large to fit through the panel
in the back door. However, both
were tried and found guilty of
the murder even though Charles
had stated his wife was not
telling the truth, after the
trial he divorced her because
of this. Frank was sentenced to
hang and Lorlando was sentenced
to life in prison, however a year
later she reversed her claim,
and both were released, as the
only evidence was her testimony.
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The next act of the Axeman would shake the whole city of
New Orleans. The Axeman sent a message to Times-Picayune:
Hell, March 13, 1919
Esteemed Mortal:
They have never caught me, and they never will. They have never seen me, for
I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not a human
being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians
and your foolish police call the Axeman.
When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they
shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and
brains of the whom I have sent below to keep me company.
If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I
am a reasonable spirit. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their
investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid as to not
only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to be:
ware. Let them not try to discover what I am, for it were better that they were
never born than to incur the wrath of the Axeman. I don ‘t think there is any
need of such a warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as
they have in the past. They are wise and know how to keep away from all harm.
Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I
am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit
to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citi:
zens, for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death.
Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to
pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little prop:
osition to you people. Here it is:
I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether re:
gions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full
swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has a jazz band going,
well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is
that some of your people who do not jazz it on Tuesday night (if there be any)
will get the axe.
Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is about
time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Hoping that thou
wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am and will be
the worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fancy.
The Axeman
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Cover of 1919 sheet music
named “The Mysterious
Axman’s Jazz (Don’t Scare
Me Papa)” by local musician
Joseph John Davilla.
On that night not, a single person
was attacked, this mostly likely down
to everyone in the city partying.
Jazz music flowed from people’s
houses, people filled dance halls and
armature jazz bands played at people’s
parties. After this there were several
weeks where there were no attacks.
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August 10th, 1919 Steve Boca was
attacked, he woke up to find the
Axeman looking over him, he was
then struck over the head like
the other attacks that had taken
place. After the attack however,
he was able to stumble to a
friend’s house before he passed
out, when he awoke he was unable
to recall the events of the
evening due to his head trauma.
Then on the 2nd of September a
druggist called William Carson
escaped an attack from the Axeman
by firing several shots at an
intruder, it is believed to be
the Axeman because an axe and a
broken door was left behind at
the scene. On the 3rd a young
girl called Sarah Laumann who
lived alone in a shuttered off
house was attacked, she was found
unconscious with a serious head
trauma and missing teeth, she did
however survive from the attack.
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The last attack was a grocer
by the name of Mike Pepitone
on October 27th; he would not
survive the attack. When the
Axeman carried out the attack
he smashed Pepitone over the
head a total of 18 times. When
his wife heard the commotion,
she ran into the room she saw
the attacker fleeing the scene,
however she recalled seeing two
figures in the room. Another
abnormality in the situation
was a bloody Heavy-duty bolt and
nut, much like one used to secure
a circus tent, used as a murder
weapon. This however wasn’t too
suspicious as there was a circus
on a nearby two-lane avenue.
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The first theory is that it wasn’t
just one killer carrying out the
attack. One attack believed not
to be the Axeman is that of Mike
Pepitone who many believe to have
been a mafia hit, this is due to his
father murdering someone in the past.
Another suspicious
attack was the attack of
Louis Besumer and Anna
Lowe, as one was killed,
and one was injured
along Besumer being
charged in suspicious
c i r c u m s t a n c e s .
It was found that
Besumer wrote letters
back and forth in
Yiddish and Russian, and
investigators concluded
that he was part of a spy
ring or was a spymaster
for the Kaiser.
However, in this theory
he would have had to bash
in his own head, there
are also lots of things
to suggest it was the
Axeman such as evidence
of a break in, Pepitone
was also acquitted and
case was closed as
a domestic dispute.
Many people believe
that many of the murders
were copycats, this is
supported by different
eyewitness statements.
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The second theory is the most outlandish with a few people
believe that the letter from the Axeman he is some form of
supernatural being that can shrink down to get underneath
doors and then regrow to the size people saw him to be.
However, the Chisel marks on the doors and him leaving his
bloody clothes at the crime scene prove this to be rubbish.
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The third theory, the only theory
to focus on an actual suspect, is
that the Axeman was a man named
Joseph Mumfre. He is linked to Mike
Peptones wife ester, Mike
Pepitone was the last person to
be murdered by the Axeman. After
Ester survived the attack she
moved to LA where she married her
second husband Angelo Albano,
however mysteriously on the second
anniversary of Mike Pepitones
murder Albano disappeared and
wasn’t seen again. Ester told
investigators that before they
got married Albano had ended
business relations with a man who
went by many names, one of which
was James Mumfre. On December
5th, 1921 Mumfre visited Esters
house on 554 east 66th street
La and demanded $500 and her
Jewellery. More importantly
however he threatened to kill her
like he had killed her husband,
ester after this threat shot him
revolver in her door way. When
she was arrested she claimed
that Mumfre was the Axeman as
she had seen him when he killed
her husband. She was eventually
acquitted. There is also other
evidence that implicates Mumfre,
the police found that he ran
a blackmailing gang in New
Orleans, that would primarily
target Italians and almost
all the Axeman’s were Italian
grocers. He had also been in and
out of prison over the previous
10 years, and his time out of
prison coincided with all the
Axeman’s attacks. However, if
it was him, Esters first report
of seeing two intruders in her
house would be false, calling
her legitimacy into question.
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- Back Cover
Now that you have heard of the Axeman of New Orleans I would
like to know what your opinion on the three theories is,
we will start with the first theory. Do you believe that
it could have been multiple copycat attackers involved?
I do believe that there is obviously a strong chance that it wasn’t just
one person, especially like if in the final attack the dead guys wife saw
multiple people inside of her house, it would make that far more easily
explained. Also just the threat of a whole city would be much easier if
there was a lot of people involved wouldnt it, but you know the chance of
that threat not just being some d**k who wrote a note to a news outlet, maybe
some guy who likes jazz, like a lot of jazz just wanted everyone to have
a party. Because I call Bull on the idea that everyone in New Orleans had
jazz on like really, no everyone would have been that scared surely.
Ok and what do you think about it being a ghost or ghoul?
Don’t even get me started, what an absolute load of rubbish, who genuinely
believes that some random ghost is going under peoples doors and killing
them, not to mention the fact that there is evidence that he forced his entry
through windows using a chisel or whatever it was. And back to that note
right why on earth would a ghost write a note like why, a ghost would just
do it or would shout it or summet you know.
Ok and finally do you believe it could be the theory, which I am
personally more inclined to believe, that it could be James Mumfree?
Yeah like the guy clearly existed or whatever but like it just doesnt
really make sense to me, but like I think the guy was probably just a bit of
a t**t. Because think about it really if the guys making money off Italians
why would he kill them thats just not economical, wouldnt it be better to
just batter them so that word of mouth spreads, rather than outright killing
them. Also the guy doesnt seem like the kinda guy who would write a letter
like that its just a bit dodgy, although he does take many names so he could
have just changed his name to “the devil” or whatever it was for a laugh.
