Name:
Nickname: Axeman of New Orleans
Location (of Kills): New Orleans, Louisiana
Number of Kills: 13
Gender of Victims: Men and Women
Sexual Contact: None
Types of Murder: Bludgeoning (with an axe)
The murders began in 1911. Three Italian grocers and their wives were attacked by a man with an axe on separate occasions. The M.O. was always the same; the murderer would chisel out part of a door to gain entry, he would then attack the sleeping couple inside with an axe. The three couples that were attacked were the Crutis, Rossetti, and Schiambra. After these three attacks the murders stopped.
In May of 1918 it seems that the Axeman had returned. An Italian couple named Maggio was attacked. The murderer chiseled out a panel of the door. When inside he slit the sleeping couples throats with a razor. The murderer’s axe lay on the steps in the backyard. The next month another grocer was attacked, as was his mistress. Louis Besumer (the grocer) was found in his home with a split skull caused by an axe. His mistress died soon after the attack due to her tremendous injuries. Mr. Besumer was suspected but was later acquitted. Another grocer, Ed Schneider, returned to his home one evening to find his pregnant wife laying in a pool of her own blood. She survived the attack but was never able to recall any relevant details. In August of the same year Joseph Romano was attacked by the Axeman. Joseph suffered to axe wounds to the head, he died two days after the attack.
In March of 1919 the Axeman attacked Charles Cortimiglia, his wife, and his infant daughter. Both of the adults survived the attack, however, the infant was killed instantly. Mrs. Cortimiglia later described the attack to the police. She was awakened by sounds of a struggle. She saw her husband fighting with a large white man in dark clothing, the intruder was brandishing an axe. After knocking out Mr. Cortimiglia the Axeman attacked Mrs. Cortimiglia and the infant.
Mrs. Cortimiglia suspected her two neighbors as being the murderers. The two brothers were arrested and tried. After forty-five minutes of deliberation, the jury sentenced one brother to life imprisonment and the other to death.
The Axeman struck again in August. Steve Boca had his skull split open by an axe in his sleep. He survived but was unable to remember the attack. In September a young woman was found with several wounds, a bloody axe was found near her bed (she survived the attack). This time, the Axeman used the window rather than the door. October brought another Axeman murder. Mike Pepitone had been murdered with an axe, the murderer gained entry through a chiseled panel in the door.
In December of 1920 Mrs. Cortimiglia confessed that she had lied about her neighbors. They were released in 1921.
A man named Joseph Mumfre was murdered in Los Angeles in December of 1920. A woman claiming to be the widow of Mike Pepitone had shot Mumfre. She stated that she saw Mumfre murder her husband and then flee the scene. However, no proof has ever surfaced.
The Axeman murders remain unsolved.