February 25, 2020 ▸ History, True Crime

Episode 458: The Axeman of New Orleans: Nuff Said!

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On this episode of the Sofa King Podcast, we look into the True Crime vault, back to a series of murders in New Orleans at the turn of the century. The killer? The infamous Axeman of New Orleans. This figure is still unidentified to this day. He killed six people with an axe and razor and injured six others. He may have continued killing outside of New Orleans with his axy ways, but we’ll never know for sure. What we will know is this story is as New Orleans as it gets, involving immigrants, jazz music, and an alleged devil walking the streets and taunting police offers.

The backdrop is New Orleans of 1918. The city is famous for its fusion of African-American and Creole influences in the deep south. However, another culture that dominated the Crescent City was Italian immigrants. Over 20,000 had moved there, mostly from Sicily. They started as share croppers making hardly any money, but many of them saved and started selling produce at corner stores or markets. By 1918, almost half the grocers in the city were Italian, and many people didn’t like this. The traditional racist Southern White thought they were no better than blacks and called them dirty “dagoes.”

And these dagoes fought back. They brought with them not only a tireless work ethic, but also the Sicilian Mob and the ideas of Black Hand Crime. So, in 1918, a series of violent crimes hit Italian grocery owners. The attacks were brutal, even killing a two year old. Various arrests were made, but none ever stuck, and the crimes kept happening.

So who was this Axeman? Was he a member of the Mafia, following up on extortion rackets? Was it a demon from hell, as an infamous letter sent to the police and media suggested? Was it jealous competitors who wanted to shut down other grocers? Was it a serial killer with a particular fetish and MO? How did these murders get all of New Orleans to listen to jazz music on the same night? What happened in Los Angeles that may have let a widow of one of the Axeman’s victims may ultimately shoot and kill the actual murderer? Listen, laugh, learn.

Visit Our Sources:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/axeman-new-orleans-preyed-italian-immigrants-180968037/

http://www.the13thfloor.tv/2016/05/24/does-this-1919-photograph-reveal-an-infamous-new-orleans-serial-killer/

http://www.openculture.com/2018/10/story-axeman-new-orleans-serial-killer-loved-jazz.html

https://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/article/the-axeman-of-new-orleans

https://medium.com/@hlemonroe/unsolved-the-axeman-murderer-of-new-orleans-2580c0fa59b

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axeman_of_New_Orleans