"The Axeman of New Orleans": the story of one maniac who killed for the glory of jazz

At the beginning of the 20th century, jazz was rapidly gaining popularity. By 1918, New Orleans in the state of Louisiana in the southern United States had become the world capital of this musical genre. The multinational port city, where the French, African Americans, Jews, Creoles and even Chinese lived side by side, imbued with the spirit of freedom, turned into a real cradle of jazz. It was at this time that a ruthless killer appeared there, who was later nicknamed the "Axeman from New Orleans".

In the summer of 1918, a serial killer armed with a huge axe appeared in New Orleans. He broke down the doors of houses, killed everyone who was inside, and disappeared as suddenly as he appeared. The maniac made no distinction between his victims: he did not care about gender, age or condition. Among the dead were women, old people and even infants. Particularly shocking was the murder of a pregnant woman and a baby, whom the killer cut in half right in the mother's arms.

The police soon noticed that most of the maniac's victims were Italian immigrants or Americans with Italian roots. However, there were also representatives of other nationalities among the dead, so a feeling of fear gripped the entire city. No one felt safe.

The first victims of the "New Orleans Woodsman," as journalists dubbed the killer, were the Maggios. On May 22, 1918, their bodies were discovered in their home. Apparently, the assailant had broken down the front door with an axe late at night and attacked the owners. Joseph and Catherine Maggio were hacked to death with an axe, and then, to make sure they were dead, their throats were slit. Even the most seasoned cops felt ill in the room where the bloody massacre took place.

Investigators quickly realized that they were dealing with a man of enormous physical strength. He easily wielded a heavy axe and without hesitation broke into houses where there were two or three people. This behavior was extremely unusual for a serial killer, since most prefer to act secretly and prudently.

The maniac was distinguished by his deliberate theatricality and self-love. He sent letters to the editors of city newspapers, introducing himself as a "demon from the very depths of hell." Each message began with an arrogant address: "Dear mortal." The killer's most famous letter was published by several city newspapers on March 13, 1919.

"The Woodcutter" wrote that the next massacre would take place on March 19, 15 minutes after midnight. But the maniac generously suggested how to avoid death:

It is not hard to guess that on the evening of March 19, the already noisy and cheerful New Orleans became even more lively. The city's clubs and cafes with live music were overflowing with people, jazz was blaring from gramophones in homes, and those who had a piano were furiously pounding the keys. It remains to add that on this "jazz" night in the huge city no one died from the blows of an ax.

But later the murders continued. The maniac dealt with four more victims, committing his last attack on October 27, 1919. After this crime, the "Axeman of New Orleans" suddenly disappeared and was never seen again. The police continued to investigate, but were unable to make any progress. The criminal acted incredibly carefully: he did not leave a single piece of evidence at the scenes of his atrocities. He always worked with gloves, and therefore even a poor fingerprint did not fall into the hands of investigators.

The maniac was never caught, and years later his story became one of the most famous urban legends. Disputes about his identity have not subsided for more than a hundred years. During this time, many hypotheses have emerged trying to explain the mysterious murders.

One of the versions considered by the police was revenge by the Italian mafia. It was assumed that the victims could have been debtors, traitors or people who had somehow crossed over to criminal groups. However, the only connection between the victims was their nationality - almost all of them were Italian. However, no evidence was found linking the victims to organized crime.

There was also a version that there could have been several killers. Perhaps someone started a series of crimes, and then imitators appeared. The diverse "creativity" of the murders spoke in favor of this hypothesis: in some cases, the maniac acted carefully and prudently, in others - inconsistently and chaotically, as if his style changed.

As for the famous letter, few investigators seriously believed that it was written by the killer himself. Although this possibility was not completely ruled out, it seemed more likely that it was a cheeky joke by one of the devoted jazz fans. Historian Miriam Davis even suggested that the author of the letter could have been musician and composer John Joseph Davila. Immediately after the "jazz night", he published the sheet music for the composition "Mystery Axe Jazz (Don't Scare Me, Daddy)" and made a good profit from it.

Crime writer Colin Wilson put forward a version according to which the killer was called Joseph Momfre. In his opinion, this man could have been the author of the mysterious letter. According to the hypothesis, Joseph was killed in 1920 by the widow of his last victim, Mike Pepitone. It was assumed that the brave woman, who survived the attack of the maniac, managed to track him down and shot him in an act of revenge.

However, other experts cast serious doubt on this version. Firstly, there is no record in police records of Joseph Momfra's death in 1920. And secondly, Pepitone's widow was never arrested or even suspected of murder.

A man named Joseph Momfre was indeed involved in the murder of an Italian couple, who were shot in the bedroom with a revolver. The woman died and the husband survived, but the crime could never be linked to Momfre. Even if he was involved in the shooting, his connection to the Axeman was based only on his supposed hatred of Italian immigrants.

The "New Orleans Woodsman" has taken a prominent place in popular culture. Jazz compositions and rock ballads have been dedicated to him, films have been made about his crimes, comics have been drawn and novels have been written. In the television series "American Horror Story" in season 3, episode 6, this character is dedicated.

This case shows how crimes can become urban legends. Do you think that if this were the case today, the police would be able to solve the case? Share your opinion!