The “Axeman” of New Orleans

On this day in history, October 27, 1919, the “Axeman” of New Orleans claimed his last victim. From May 1918 to October 1919, New Orleans lived through the terrifying reign of America’s “Jack the Ripper.” The city was held hostage by an unknown assailant. He would break into people’s homes at night and use their axes to slaughter them. Most of his victims were Italians which caused people to consider that the attacks were ethnically motivated.

In less than a year, the Axeman managed to victimize twelve people, of whom five died. His first victims were an Italian grocer Joseph Maggio and his wife, Catherine. They were attacked on May 22, 1918, while sleeping at home. The killer broke into the house and cut the couple’s throat with a straight razor. He smashed their heads in with an axe, perhaps to conceal the real cause of death.

Next were Louis Besumer and his mistress, Harriet Lowe. They were attacked similarly and left to die in their home. Both initially survived the attack. However, Harriet died seven weeks later.

In August 1918, an 8-month-old pregnant woman, Anna Schneider, was attacked at home. She incurred multiple head injuries but survived the assault and was taken to a hospital. Luckily, Anna gave birth two days later to a healthy baby girl. Given the traumatic attack the mother had survived, the baby was labeled a miracle baby.

Within less than a week, an elderly man, Joseph Romano, was attacked in his home under similar conditions. His two nieces, who were home when the attack happened, heard the commotion and saw their uncle bleeding to death while the attacker escaped. The girls described him as: “Dark, tall, heavy-set, wearing a dark suit and a black slouch hat.”

The attack on Joseph Romano disturbed the city of New Orleans. People became fearful of the person attacking people inside their homes. As media outlets preyed on panic and fear, people armed themselves in preparation for another attack. Nobody felt safe. A broken panel in a door or window was the only sign of a break-in into the victims’ homes. There were no forceful entries, no loot taken; what was it that the Axeman was after, and how had he managed to get away so many times?

The attacks ceased as the “Axeman” became the media’s focus. Just as the citizens of New Orleans were returning to everyday life, the killer struck again. In March 1919, shrieks were heard from inside the Cortimiglia residence. Husband Charles Cortimiglia fought with a tall, dark man sporting an ax to protect his wife and 2-year-old daughter. The Axeman attacked all three. The husband and wife lived, but the 2-year-old died.

Five days after the attack, The Times-Picayune received a letter from the Axeman. The serial killer made national headlines. A part of the letter read:

            “Hell, March 13, 1919

Esteemed Mortal of New Orleans:

They have never caught me, and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether surrounding 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. Now, at 12:15 (earthly time) next Tuesday night, I will pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I will make a little proposition to you people. Here it is:

I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions 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 sure: some of your people who do not jazz it out on that specific Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe.”

On Tuesday, March 18, 1919, at 12:15 a.m., New Orleans came to life with jazz music playing in every household. The doomed ones who didn’t own a record player filled local bars to escape their untimely deaths.

The Axeman did not kill that evening. Every person in New Orleans went to bed that night, assuming they had placated the devil and avoided his fury.

On August 10, 1919, the Axeman injured Steve Boca five months after his last attack. Boca survived but lost his memory due to head injuries. The next victim, Sarah Laumann, was attacked in her home. Like Boca, she survived but could not recall the attack due to a devastating brain injury. Mike Pepitone, the last known victim of the Axeman, was attacked on October 27. His wife found him covered in blood with his head smashed in.

The Axeman managed to evade the police despite eyewitnesses to his terrible crimes. The attacker disappeared on his own, ending his one-year killing spree. Since his disappearance, many theories have been advanced regarding the killer’s identity.

One theory stated that he did not execute all the killings ascribed to the Axeman. Some noted that the murders were not linked, and there was more than one killer.

One weird hypothesis was that the Axeman was a ghostly figure who could slip under the doors of his victims and attack them. The satanic contents of his letter and the eerie language used were associated with this theory.

The only known suspect in the killings was Joseph Mumfre. After Mike Pepitone’s death, the Axeman’s last victim, his wife Esther, married Angelo Albano. A few years after their marriage, Angelo disappeared under strange conditions. Esther claimed that Angelo had contentious business dealings with Joseph Mumfre. On December 5, 1921, Mumfre visited Esther and blackmailed her for money. Esther shot Mumfre and killed him. Esther claimed that Mumfre killed her first husband, Mike Pepitone, and her second husband, Angelo.

Upon analyses, police found proof linking Mumfre to the Axeman murders. He was leading a gang that blackmailed Italians. He had a criminal record, but it was never determined whether he was the Axeman or not due to his death. This was a secret he took with him to the grave.

The Axeman murders remain unsolved to this day. Was it the work of a single crazy man or a gang, or as some suspected, a supernatural entity? The mystery perished with the doomed victims of the Axeman.

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