During the years of 1918 to 1919 the city of New Orleans was terrorized by a serial killer called the Axeman. The Axeman was known for breaking into houses late at night and attacking people while they slept often using weapons that were already in the house, this weapon was more often than not an axe. May 23,1918 the house of the Maggio’s was broken in into. Joseph and Catherine Maggio were both asleep when the Axeman killed them both with an axe and slit both of their throats. June 28,1918 the couple, Louis Besumer and Anna Lowe were asleep in their home when a man they described as “tall, white, and bulky” attacked both of them with an Axe ,Louis survived but Lowe passed after a few weeks due to injuries. August 5,1918 Mrs.Ed Schneider was brutally attacked by a man who had stolen her axe from the shed. Schnieder survived and even gave birth to a baby a few days later.After his third murder of Joseph Romano, the Axeman and no reported accidents occurred from August 10,1918- March 10,1919. That day in March a family three were assailed by a man with an axe, the parents survived but their daughter did not.
March 13,1919 a letter was sent into the local newspapers written by the Axeman. The letter explained that The Axeman loved Jazz and that on Tuesday night at 12:15 he wanted to hear every house in New Orleans to be blasting jazz and if they did they would be spared from getting the axe that night. Sure enough the whole city played jazz music and nobody was killed. This letter also led to Joseph John Davilla creating the song “The mysterious Axeman’s Jazz (Don’t scare me Papa)” August 10 through September 3 three separate axe attacks were reported but none of the victims were killed. His final attack was October 27,1919, that night the axeman broke into the Pepitone household late at night and struck Mike Pepitone in the head with an axe killing him instantly. After this night the killings stopped. The murderer was never caught and there was never any evidence that could even bring in a suspect. To this day the Axeman remains one of the most legendary killers ever known to New Orleans and still considered the city’s scariest boogyman.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_iSLK74ZI4&ab_channel=RagtimeDorianHenry