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The Axeman: The Brutal History of the Axeman of New Orleans
Between 1918 to 1919 a serial killer ran rampant throughout New Orleans. His weapon of choice? The axe. He didn't spare women. Or children. Or even men. There was only one kind of person who could be sparred from the blade of his axe: the home of a person playing jazz music. At least eight people were brutally murdered. Who could have been responsible for this crime, and how was the Mafia connected? Did a corrupt police department intentionally leave this case unsolved?
Come, if you dare, as Absolute Crime takes you on the hunt for one of the most brutal killers who ever lived.
Come, if you dare, as Absolute Crime takes you on the hunt for one of the most brutal killers who ever lived.
- GenresNonfiction
Unknown Binding
First published April 23, 2013
3 people are currently reading
13 people want to read
About the author
Wallace Edwards
44 books24 followersWallace Edwards was a Canadian children’s author and illustrator whose imagination transformed the world of animals and strange creatures for a generation of children. His illustrations don’t condescend to children, they engage the imagination on multiple levels, blending childhood whimsy with adult sophistication.
A Canadian illustrator and writer who won the 2002 Governor General's Award for his first children's book Alphabeasts., Edwards was also the recipient of a multitude of awards and short lists, the Gold Medal from ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award, and the Children’s Choice Award from the International Reading Association for Alphabeasts; the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award, the Children’s Choice Award from the International Reading Association for Monkey Business; the Canadian Library Association’s Honour for Mixed Beasts; and the Junior Library Guild Award for The Cat’s Pajamas.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Edwards was a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, and his work can be found in numerous public and private collections. He has also worked widely with Metro Toronto Zoo, the City of Toronto, the B.C. Ministry of the Environment, the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, and various magazines.
On October 16, 2007, Wallace Edwards was nominated for the Governor General's Award for illustrating The Painted Circus. To date, Edwards has both written and illustrated fifteen published books, of which three have been nominated for this, Canada's most prestigious literary award.
His art has been described as “Curious and witty, sophisticated and highly original in approach…” resulting in work which is “visually pleasing as well as mentally stimulating” (taken from the Canada Council for the Arts web site). His children’s books have been reviewed in the Quill and Quire, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Macleans, the Christian Science Monitor, the National Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, the Washington Post, and the School Library Journal, among others.
Edwards was also a pioneering artist in virtual and augmented reality. In 2013 he was the Canada Council supported Artist-in-Residence at York University's Future Cinema Lab where he first began to create augmented and immersive materials. He has since gone on to create work in virtual and augmented reality exhibited at the international Electronic Literature Organization conferences in Portugal, Canada and Italy.
Edwards lived in Yarker, Ontario, Canada, and died on December 25, 2022, in Kingston, Ontario, at the age of 65.
A Canadian illustrator and writer who won the 2002 Governor General's Award for his first children's book Alphabeasts., Edwards was also the recipient of a multitude of awards and short lists, the Gold Medal from ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year Award, and the Children’s Choice Award from the International Reading Association for Alphabeasts; the Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Children’s Book Award, The Amelia Frances Howard-Gibbon Illustrator’s Award, the Children’s Choice Award from the International Reading Association for Monkey Business; the Canadian Library Association’s Honour for Mixed Beasts; and the Junior Library Guild Award for The Cat’s Pajamas.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Edwards was a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, and his work can be found in numerous public and private collections. He has also worked widely with Metro Toronto Zoo, the City of Toronto, the B.C. Ministry of the Environment, the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, the Canadian Wildlife Federation, and various magazines.
On October 16, 2007, Wallace Edwards was nominated for the Governor General's Award for illustrating The Painted Circus. To date, Edwards has both written and illustrated fifteen published books, of which three have been nominated for this, Canada's most prestigious literary award.
His art has been described as “Curious and witty, sophisticated and highly original in approach…” resulting in work which is “visually pleasing as well as mentally stimulating” (taken from the Canada Council for the Arts web site). His children’s books have been reviewed in the Quill and Quire, the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Macleans, the Christian Science Monitor, the National Post, the Detroit Free Press, the Chicago Tribune, the LA Times, the Washington Post, and the School Library Journal, among others.
Edwards was also a pioneering artist in virtual and augmented reality. In 2013 he was the Canada Council supported Artist-in-Residence at York University's Future Cinema Lab where he first began to create augmented and immersive materials. He has since gone on to create work in virtual and augmented reality exhibited at the international Electronic Literature Organization conferences in Portugal, Canada and Italy.
Edwards lived in Yarker, Ontario, Canada, and died on December 25, 2022, in Kingston, Ontario, at the age of 65.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
May 21, 2018
This book was too short. I felt like it was missing information about the investigation(s) at the time. Info on the victims? Those involved? I also really could not get a handle on how the Black Hand may/may not have fit in it all. It felt... incomplete
April 22, 2021
I’m research an old killer for a new story, and I recommend reading this before any other axe murder text. It’s a nice review of the information that you will need to look up and based on some other books I have read some the information is not accurate according to some other research I have done.
October 21, 2024
This is a very brief introduction to the axe murders in New Orleans in 1918-1919. The text is stretched to 100 pages by strange page layout spacing, repeating the same information, adding in seemingly extraneous information, and adding in more fluff. That said, the quick overview of the murders and the basic attempt to identify Joseph Monfre as the killer are solid and clear. In fact, the arguments against Monfre are also clear. So, thank you, Mr. Edwards.
The axe murders clearly targeted Italian grocers. The Maggio, Romano, and Cortimiglia Families were butchered. Edwards shows the same modus operandi in threse three crimes. Although he (and other sources) include other axe murders and assaults, these three incidents are almost certainly connected. Edwards questions how three families slept through a man chiseled away part of a door to enter the home, locate a weapon, and murder multiple people without alerting anyone. It is a valid question, especially if people were hyper vigilant with the murders.
Edwards includes a lot of additional axe assaults in the period although there is no clear connection. to the Italian victims. Edwards seems hesitant to include them because many of these victims are non-Italian, and there were other disparities between those crimes and the three Italian families. Edwards points out that axes were very common in the ear, and axe murders were common across the country. So, Edwards breaks canon in some sense in that he raises the briefest question on whether to include these crimes with the Italian slayer.
The book rests on the theory that the murderer was an Italian criminal named Joseph Monfre, whose name is frequently corrupted in press accounts. In order to advance this theory, Edwards has to include the murder of Mike Pepitone in the list of axe murders. That is not certain; and Edwards acknowledges distinct differences between the Pepitone Murder and the earlier murders in 1918. Edwards continues to connect Monfre to Black Hand / Mafia crimes ca. 1908-1921. But none of those crimes line up with the axe murders. Yes, the Mafia preyed upon grocers. The axe man's victims were probably extortion victims of the criminals. They may have balked at paying them off. But it is totally unknown. The Black Hand was famous for using various warnings to get their demands. The most famous warnings were bombings and kidnappings. Even they knew that a dead grocer cannot pay extortion.
Overall, it is good for its introduction to the murders. As a quick reference guide it is comparable to Wikipedia. However, Wikipedia offers some other tangents readers could pursue. The Black Hand explanation is the most common, but it is far from proven. Monfre makes a good villain, but there is very little evidence, in this book anyway, that he was the killer. It is very unusual for a mob killer to be active in only one year. Monfre was an active hoodlum for 20 years before his own murder. The principal murders are glossed over in this work and mixed in with other murders and assaults from the era which makes it harder to understand.
The axe murders clearly targeted Italian grocers. The Maggio, Romano, and Cortimiglia Families were butchered. Edwards shows the same modus operandi in threse three crimes. Although he (and other sources) include other axe murders and assaults, these three incidents are almost certainly connected. Edwards questions how three families slept through a man chiseled away part of a door to enter the home, locate a weapon, and murder multiple people without alerting anyone. It is a valid question, especially if people were hyper vigilant with the murders.
Edwards includes a lot of additional axe assaults in the period although there is no clear connection. to the Italian victims. Edwards seems hesitant to include them because many of these victims are non-Italian, and there were other disparities between those crimes and the three Italian families. Edwards points out that axes were very common in the ear, and axe murders were common across the country. So, Edwards breaks canon in some sense in that he raises the briefest question on whether to include these crimes with the Italian slayer.
The book rests on the theory that the murderer was an Italian criminal named Joseph Monfre, whose name is frequently corrupted in press accounts. In order to advance this theory, Edwards has to include the murder of Mike Pepitone in the list of axe murders. That is not certain; and Edwards acknowledges distinct differences between the Pepitone Murder and the earlier murders in 1918. Edwards continues to connect Monfre to Black Hand / Mafia crimes ca. 1908-1921. But none of those crimes line up with the axe murders. Yes, the Mafia preyed upon grocers. The axe man's victims were probably extortion victims of the criminals. They may have balked at paying them off. But it is totally unknown. The Black Hand was famous for using various warnings to get their demands. The most famous warnings were bombings and kidnappings. Even they knew that a dead grocer cannot pay extortion.
Overall, it is good for its introduction to the murders. As a quick reference guide it is comparable to Wikipedia. However, Wikipedia offers some other tangents readers could pursue. The Black Hand explanation is the most common, but it is far from proven. Monfre makes a good villain, but there is very little evidence, in this book anyway, that he was the killer. It is very unusual for a mob killer to be active in only one year. Monfre was an active hoodlum for 20 years before his own murder. The principal murders are glossed over in this work and mixed in with other murders and assaults from the era which makes it harder to understand.
September 17, 2020
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review. It was very interesting. However I think there was quite a few backroom deals done to prevent justice. While they blame Monfre, it wasn't proven. It was odd that playing jazz apparently kept the killer away. Monfre wasn't a good man by any measure. The other odd thing is the axe wasn't the only weapon used in the murders. I have to wonder if the true killer got away.
October 12, 2020
This is a well written quick look at a true crime that occurred in New Orleans. I hadn’t heard about this case and I found it a fascinating read.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
October 2, 2020
This was an intriguing read. I'd never heard of it. I received a free arc of the book. And am voluntarily leaving my honest opinion.
October 13, 2020
Watch buzzfeed unsolved
November 26, 2024
Not bad, like crib notes for true crime.
November 26, 2013
It scratched the itch I had to learn more about The Axeman but I had hoped for something a little meatier. It contains the pertinent facts of the case, and a few theories but little more.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews