The Terrifying Axeman of New Orleans

Overview

BuzzFeed Unsolved (Ryan and Shane) covers the “Axeman” serial killer of New Orleans—an alleged nighttime attacker active mainly from May 1918 through at least October 1919, with the most notorious, letter-driven terror occurring into March 1919.

The hosts highlight an eerie pattern: victims were attacked while asleep, household tools—often an axe—were left behind at the scenes, and there was little evidence of the perpetrator being directly witnessed.

Reported attacks and timeline highlights

• May 23, 1918 (Magnolia St.): Catherine and Joseph Maggio are attacked; Catherine is nearly decapitated and Joseph is severely injured. An axe is found at the scene, and valuables are not taken.

• June 28, 1918 (Dorgenois & Leharpe): Louis Besumer is severely injured and Anna Lowe is killed later. Anna allegedly described a “large white man” with a hatchet. Another bloody axe is left behind.

• Aug 5, 1918: Mrs. Ed Schneider is attacked; her axe is reportedly missing from their shed. She survives and gives birth the following week.

• Aug 10, 1918: Joseph Romano is attacked. Witnesses describe a “dark, tall, heavy-set” man in a dark suit and slouch hat. Romano dies two days later.

• March 10, 1919 (Cortimiglia family): Rose Cortimiglia wakes to her husband fighting the attacker; her husband is killed, Rose survives, and their two-year-old daughter dies. The axe used belongs to the family—supporting the “home tool” pattern.

• Mar 13, 1919 (Axeman letter to The Times-Picayune): A taunting letter—highly religious/supernatural in tone—claims the writer is invisible and blames police incompetence. It also issues a specific threat:

  • On Tuesday night, March 19, 1919, people will be spared if they have jazz playing at the exact time.

  • The hosts note the letter later inspired the jazz song “Don’t Scare Me Papa” (“The Mysterious Axeman’s Jazz”).

  • On Mar 19, 1919, people reportedly fill homes and jazz clubs; no one is killed, which the hosts say matches the letter’s “jazz” condition.

• Aug 10, 1919: Steve Boca is attacked with an axe while in bed. He survives but loses memory due to head trauma.

• Late 1919: Sarah Laumann is attacked through an open window and can’t recall details; the house is later said to be gone.

• Oct 27, 1919 (Pepitone murder, final attack): Esther Pepitone’s husband, Mike, is killed after being struck repeatedly. Esther sees two figures fleeing and later claims related information tied to a suspect.

Theories about who the Axeman was

The episode lays out three main possibilities:

1) Not all killings were by the same person

• Mafia theory: The Pepitone death (Mike) may have been a mafia killing rather than Axeman work.
• Spy/domestic theory for Besumer–Lowe: After Besumer was charged with Anna Lowe’s murder, police concluded he was tied to espionage (a German spy ring). The video suggests this attack may not be Axeman work, though Anna reportedly implicated Besumer before dying.

2) Supernatural/cosmic explanation

Some internet speculation claims the Axeman was a supernatural entity that could “fit” through tiny entrances and become the large figure witnesses described. The hosts strongly dismiss this as unlikely.

3) A real suspect: Joseph Mumfre

The episode’s “most legitimate suspect” is Joseph Mumfre, connected to the Pepitone case later in Los Angeles.

• Esther Pepitone later remarries (Angelo Albano), but on the anniversary of Mike’s death Angelo disappears.
• Dec 5, 1921: Mumfre allegedly demands money/jewelry from Esther and threatens to kill her the same way he killed her husband. Esther shoots and kills him with a revolver.
• Esther claims Mumfre was the Axeman and that he fled from her bedroom the night Mike was killed.
• Police reportedly found Mumfre ran a blackmailing gang targeting Italians, matching a pattern that many victims were Italian.
• The hosts stress, however, that the case remains circumstantial: there’s no definitive proof directly linking Mumfre to every Axeman crime, and witness accounts could be wrong (including the possibility of multiple attackers).

Overall conclusion

The hosts conclude there are too few definitive leads for certainty. The case may involve copycats, multiple perpetrators, or a single offender whose identity remains unresolved—so the “Axeman” mystery remains officially unsolved.

Presenters / contributors

• Ryan
• Shane