So who could it be? Well, as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus, and it is about time I leave your earthly home, I will cease my discourse. Tags American serial killer Crime modern mysteries Murder mysterious deaths mysterious murders Strange Intruders unsolved crime. Some he left wounded; four people he left dead. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman. . Een andere theorie, maar minder aannemelijk, is dat de dader de moorden pleegde om jazzmuziek te promoten. Given that Besumer was with his mistress and the axe was his, police assumed that he did it. Maggio will sit up tonight just like Mrs. Toney.” It was unclear just why the couple had been targeted or what the strange message meant. This was seen as the reason why he was able to allude authorities and fit into houses through small openings despite his imposing figure. Hell, March 13, 1919 – Esteemed Mortal of New Orleans: The Axeman. Mooney believed this was the work of their “degenerate.” The Gretna authorities – Police Chief Peter Leson and Sheriff Louis Marrero – however, settled on the Cortimiglia’s next door neighbors, elderly Iorlando Jordano and his 17-year-old son Frank, as the culprits. No one felt safe, and it was common for citizens to essentially barricade themselves into their houses at night, not sure if they would be the next to awake to the glinting blade of an axe arching down towards their heads. The man’s wife came to investigate the commotion along with their 2-year-old daughter Mary, and were confronted with the sight of Mr. Cortimiglia being struck down by an axe to lay upon the floor in a slumped, bloody heap. Andrew would claim that he had had the razor at the house in order to hone a nick out of the blade, as he was a barber by trade. In this scenario, the victims could have either been direct targets of organized crime or simply caught in the crossfire between two warring factions of the mob struggling for power. This, however, has been difficult to find information for or on and is believed to be an urban legend. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. When Pauline screamed, the figure then made a hasty retreat that was so nimble and effortless that the two sisters would later emphasize that the intruder had been “awfully light on his feet.” The two sisters would then find their uncle in his room covered in blood, with a series of vicious gashes scrawled across his face. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens (and the worst), for I am in close relationship with the Angel of Death.

Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to.

But local songwriter J.J. Davilla first helped popularize his crimes way back in 1919 when he penned the song "The Mysterious Axeman's Jazz (Don't Scare Me Papa)." In Ready to Hang, Robert Tallant said that night "in New Orleans seems to have been the loudest and most hilarious of any on record." Besumer was charged with murder and spent time in prison, but was eventually acquitted and released. While attacks on immigrants and their descendants weren't exactly unusual at this time in American life, the Axeman's brutality quickly became the stuff of legend. You make a case in the book that it was tough to untangle the Axeman's killings from organized crime. Oh no, much like Jack the Ripper and the Zodiac, the Axeman had a letter with an odd request. Although he was subsequently put on trial for the crime and Besumer even served some time in prison for it, he was ultimately acquitted and released, with the true identity of the culprit still a mystery.