The Axeman Who Loved Jazz
Nighttime comforting them as they slumber, yet suppressing the very thing they fear most. The most paralyzing figure watching them as they sleep. A man looming over them and watching every move they make. A “real-life” boogeyman; the Axeman of New Orleans. While the residents were content in their homes, he would beat them insensible until their life slipped away from their own eyes. From May 1918 to October 1919, the Axeman of New Orleans tormented the residents that lived there. His weapon was no other than an axe, but never the same exact one. “Often, the Axeman of Orleans would use whatever was available, …show more content…
The Axeman troubled households night after night causing Italian men to stay up all night guarding their wife and children. Racial biases seemed to have provoked him. One theory states that the attacks were racially motivated, considering that most of the victims were Italian-American immigrants. “Furthermore, because of the Italian perspective, investigators also questioned whether the attacks were Mafia-related or not” (Engelke). However, these accusations could never be proven true. Colin Wilson, true Crime writer, claimed that the Axeman was a man named Joseph Momfre, who was later murdered in Los Angeles by Mike Pepitone’s window who was also a victim. However, another true crime writer, Michael Newton, searched New Orleans and Los Angeles records and found no trace of Momfre. But scholar Richard Warner stated in 2009 that “the chief suspect at the time was a man named Frank Mumphrey, who used the alias Joseph Monfre/Manfre”