4 – The Axeman of New Orleans (6+ victims)
This serial killer operated in the city of New Orleans from May 1918 until October 1919. He is believed to have killed 6-7 people and injured another 6-7. Most of the victims were Italian-American including the first two who were killed on 22 May 1918. It appears as if his targets were women as men were only attacked if they got in the way of his plans.
Grocer Joseph Maggio and his wife were slaughtered in their apartment. The police found a blood-stained axe at the scene and noticed that a panel on the rear door had been chiseled out. They later learned that there had been more murders of Italian grocers from 1911 including cases where a door had been chiseled out and an axe used as the weapon.
Harriet Lowe and Louis Besumer were the next victims but survived a brutal axe attack. The next victims also survived but Joseph Romano was not so lucky and his body was discovered on 10 August 1918. An attack on the Cortimiglia family on 10 March 1919 resulted in the death of 2-year-old Mary Cortimiglia. Her parents, Rosie and Charles survived. As an aside, Rosie falsely accused two men of the crime but later backtracked and the men were released after being found guilty!
Panic spread when details of a letter sent to local newspapers was released. The letter began with “Hell, March 13, 1919” and “Esteemed Mortal.” The writer said he was fond of jazz music and was planning to “pass over New Orleans” on 19 March. He announced that he would stay away from any establishments that played jazz music but people who did not play jazz would “get the axe.” The city resonated with jazz on the night of the 19th and there were no attacks.
However, the Axeman did strike several more times. Steve Boca and Sarah Laumann survived separate attacks but Mike Pepitone was found dead by his wife on 27 October 1919 in what was apparently the last of the attacks.
No one knows for sure why the attacks suddenly stopped but according to crime writer, Colin Wilson, it could be because the killer was Joseph Momfre who was shot dead by Pepitone’s widow in December 1920 in Los Angeles. However, there are no records supporting this version of events although it could be a case of a misspelled surname. Momfre could be ‘Mumre’ or ‘Mumfre’.
Intriguingly, there is evidence that the prime suspect in a 1912 murder was called ‘Mumfre’. The thing is, while this individual attacked an Italian couple (just like the Axeman), he used a gun which is a very different modus operandi.