65-509: (Redirected from Axemen ) [REDACTED] Look up axeman in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Axeman or Axemen may refer to: People [ edit ] Axeman of New Orleans , a serial killer in New Orleans circa 1918 – 1920 John Axford , a Canadian professional baseball pitcher Nicholas Walters , Jamaican boxer whose nickname
130-428: A lever allowing the user to increase the force at the cutting edge—not using the full length of the handle is known as choking the axe. For fine chopping using a side axe this sometimes is a positive effect, but for felling with a double bitted axe it reduces efficiency. Generally, cutting axes have a shallow wedge angle, whereas splitting axes have a deeper angle. Most axes are double bevelled (i.e. symmetrical about
195-403: A media circus as she continually made scandalous and often false statements relating to both the attacks and the character of Besumer. After Besumer fell under suspicion of espionage following the discovery of foreign-written letters in his possession, Lowe told police that she thought he was a German spy, resulting in his immediate arrest; he was released two days later. In August 1918, Besumer
260-500: A straight razor . The crimes were not motivated by robbery , and the perpetrator never removed items from his victims' homes. The majority of the Axeman's victims were Italian immigrants or Italian-Americans , leading many to believe that the crimes were ethnically motivated. Many media outlets sensationalized this aspect of the crimes, even suggesting Mafia involvement despite lack of evidence. Some crime analysts have suggested that
325-468: A weapon , and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol . The axe has many forms and specialised uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle , also called a haft or a helve. Before the modern axe, the stone-age hand axe without a handle was used from 1.5 million years BP . Hafted axes (those with a handle) date only from 6,000 BC. The earliest examples of handled axes have heads of stone with some form of wooden handle attached ( hafted ) in
390-485: A woodchopping competition Film, television, music [ edit ] Axeman (film) , a 2013 horror film Ax Men , an American reality television series The Axeman, a fictional character in American Horror Story: Coven , based on the Axeman of New Orleans The Axemen , a New Zealand band The Axe Man , a 1996 album by Smokin' Joe Kubek See also [ edit ] Axmann ,
455-477: A biconical drilled hole and is fastened by wedges of antler and by birch-tar. It belongs to the early Cortaillod culture . The coat of arms of Norway features a lion rampant carrying an axe which represents King Olaf II of Norway , who was honoured as the Eternal King of Norway . In folklore , stone axes were sometimes believed to be thunderbolts and were used to guard buildings against lightning , as it
520-426: A human being, but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hell. I am what you Orleanians and your foolish police call the Axeman. When I see fit, I shall come and claim other victims. I alone know whom they shall be. I shall leave no clue except my bloody axe, besmeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company. If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course, I am
585-449: A jazz band going, well, then, so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of your people who do not jazz it out on that specific Tuesday night (if there be any) will get the axe. 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. Hoping that thou wilt publish this, that it may go well with thee, I have been, am and will be
650-408: A jazz band was playing. That night all of the city's dance halls were filled to capacity, and professional and amateur bands played jazz at parties at hundreds of houses around town. There were no murders that night. Hell, March 13, 1919 Esteemed Mortal: They have never caught me and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible, even as the ether that surrounds your earth. I am not
715-517: A man shot to death in Los Angeles in December 1920 by the widow of Mike Pepitone, the Axeman's last known victim. Wilson's theory has been widely repeated in other true crime books and websites. However, true crime writer Michael Newton searched public, police and court records in New Orleans and Los Angeles, as well as newspaper archives, and failed to find any evidence of a man named "Joseph Monfre" (or
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#1732854583428780-409: A method to suit the available materials and use. Axes made of copper , bronze , iron and steel appeared as these technologies developed. The axe is an example of a simple machine , as it is a type of wedge , or dual inclined plane . This reduces the effort needed by the wood chopper. It splits the wood into two parts by the pressure concentration at the blade. The handle of the axe also acts as
845-413: A neighboring property. Police ruled out robbery as motivation for the attacks, as money and valuables left in plain sight were not stolen by the intruder. The razor was found to belong to Joseph's brother Andrew, who owned a barber shop on Camp Street. His employee, Esteban Torres, told police that Andrew had removed the razor from his shop two days prior to the murder, explaining that he had wanted to have
910-416: A nick honed from the blade. Andrew, who lived in an adjoining apartment, reported hearing groaning noises through the wall on the night of the murders. Andrew blamed his failure to hear any noise related to the attack itself on his intoxicated state; police, however, were nonetheless surprised that he failed to hear the intruder's forced entry into the home. Andrew became the police chief's prime suspect in
975-404: A reasonable spirit. I take no offense at the way they have conducted their investigations in the past. In fact, they have been so utterly stupid as to not only amuse me, but His Satanic Majesty, Francis Josef, etc. But tell them to beware. Let them not try to discover what I am, for it were better that they were never born than to incur the wrath of the Axeman. I don't think there is any need of such
1040-401: A reference to Anthony and Joanna Sciambra, Italian greengrocers who were attacked (Johanna fatally) in 1911. Police found the bloody clothes of the murderer in the apartment, as he had obviously changed into a clean set of clothes before fleeing the scene. A complete search of the premises was not performed after the bodies were removed, yet the bloodstained razor was later found on the lawn of
1105-515: A similar name) having been assaulted or killed in Los Angeles. Newton was also not able to find any information that Mrs. Pepitone (identified in some sources as Esther Albano, and in others simply as a "woman who claimed to be Pepitone's widow") was arrested, tried or convicted for such a crime, or indeed had been in California . Newton notes that "Momfre" was not an unusual surname in New Orleans at
1170-400: A slew of reports in which citizens claimed to have seen the killer lurking in local neighborhoods. A few men even called to report that they had found axes in their backyards. John Dantonio, a then-retired Italian detective, made public statements in which he hypothesized that the man who had committed the recent murders was the same who had killed several individuals in 1911. Dantonio described
1235-454: A special significance, used by priestesses in religious ceremonies. In 1998, a labrys, complete with an elaborately embellished haft, was found at Cham-Eslen, Canton of Zug , Switzerland . The haft was 120 cm (47 in) long and wrapped in ornamented birch-bark . The axe blade is 17.4 cm (6.9 in) long and made of antigorite , mined in the Gotthard -area. The haft goes through
1300-440: A straight razor; Catherine's throat was cut so deeply that her head was nearly severed from her shoulders. The killer then struck both victims with an axe, perhaps in order to conceal the cause of death . Joseph survived the attack, but died minutes after being discovered by his brothers, Jake and Andrew. The killer wrote a message on the nearby pavement reading, "Mrs. Maggio will sit up tonight just like Mrs. Toney", theorized to be
1365-477: A surname Hatchet man (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Axeman . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Axeman&oldid=1060412607 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
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#17328545834281430-414: A warning, for I feel sure the police will always dodge me, as they have in the past. They are wise and know how to keep away from all harm. Undoubtedly, you Orleanians think of me as a most horrible murderer, which I am, but I could be much worse if I wanted to. If I wished, I could pay a visit to your city every night. At will I could slay thousands of your best citizens, for I am in close relationship with
1495-588: Is "The Axe Man" Axemen, members of Black Axe (organized crime group) , a criminal organisation that originated in Nigeria Sports [ edit ] Acadia Axemen of Acadia University Ajax Axemen , Canadian hockey team now known as the Ajax Attack Bemidji Axemen , American professional indoor football team Jacksonville Axemen , American semi-professional rugby league team Three Oaks Senior High School Axemen A participant in
1560-484: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Axeman of New Orleans The Axeman of New Orleans was an unidentified American serial killer who was active in and around New Orleans , Louisiana , between May 1918 and October 1919. Press reports during the height of public panic over the killings mentioned similar crimes as early as 1911, but recent researchers have called these reports into question. The attacker
1625-403: Is no more evidence now on the identity of the killer than there was at the time of the crimes. Two of the alleged "early" victims of the Axeman, an Italian couple named Schiambra, were shot by an intruder in their Lower Ninth Ward home during the early morning hours of May 16, 1912. The male Schiambra survived while his wife did not. In newspaper accounts, the prime suspect was referred to by
1690-545: Is one of humanity's oldest melee weapons. Hand axes , of stone , and used without handles (hafts) were the first axes. They had knapped (chipped) cutting edges of flint or other stone. Early examples of hand axes date back to 1.6 mya in the later Oldowan, in Southern Ethiopia around 1.4 mya, and in 1.2 mya deposits in Olduvai Gorge . Stone axes made with ground cutting edges were first developed sometime in
1755-549: Is said to represent swift and balanced justice. Shango altars often contain a carved figure of a woman holding a gift to the god with a double-bladed axe sticking up from her head. The Hurrian and Hittite weather god Teshub is depicted on a bas-relief at Ivriz wielding a thunderbolt and an axe. The Arkalochori Axe is a bronze, Minoan, axe from the second millennium BC thought to be used for religious purposes. Inscriptions on this axe have been compared with other ancient writing systems. The axe has two primary components:
1820-440: Is traditionally made of a resilient hardwood like hickory or ash , but modern axes often have hafts made of durable synthetic materials. Antique axes and their modern reproductions, like the tomahawk , often had a simple, straight haft with a circular cross-section that wedged onto the axe-head without the aid of wedges or pins. Modern hafts are curved for better grip and to aid in the swinging motion, and are mounted securely to
1885-448: The bed would assure male offspring . Basques , Australians and New Zealanders have developed variants of rural sports that perpetuate the traditions of log cutting with axe. The Basque variants, splitting horizontally or vertically disposed logs, are generically called aizkolaritza (from aizkora : axe). In Yorùbá mythology , the oshe (double-headed axe) symbolises Shango , Orisha (god) of thunder and lightning. It
1950-470: The Angel of Death. Now, to be exact, at 12:15 (earthly time) on next Tuesday night, I am going to pass over New Orleans. In my infinite mercy, I am going to make a little proposition to you people. Here it is: I am very fond of jazz music, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose home a jazz band is in full swing at the time I have just mentioned. If everyone has
2015-554: The US and ash in Europe and Asia, although plastic or fibreglass handles are also common. Modern axes are specialised by use, size and form. Hafted axes with short handles designed for use with one hand are often called hand axes but the term hand axe refers to axes without handles as well. Hatchets tend to be small hafted axes often with a hammer on the back side (the poll). As easy-to-make weapons, axes have frequently been used in combat, and
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2080-421: The axe head , and the haft . The axe head is typically bounded by the bit (or blade) at one end, and the poll (or butt) at the other, though some designs feature two bits opposite each other. The top corner of the bit where the cutting edge begins is called the toe , and the bottom corner is known as the heel . Either side of the head is called the cheek , which is sometimes supplemented by lugs where
2145-529: The axe was normally hafted by wedging . Birch-tar and rawhide lashings were used to fix the blade. The distribution of stone axes is an important indication of prehistoric trade . Thin sectioning is used to determine the provenance of the stone blades. In Europe , Neolithic "axe factories", where thousands of ground stone axes were roughed out, are known from many places, such as: Metal axes are still produced and in use today in parts of Papua , Indonesia . The Mount Hagen area of Papua New Guinea
2210-462: The axis of the blade), but some specialist broadaxes have a single bevel blade, and usually an offset handle that allows them to be used for finishing work without putting the user's knuckles at risk of injury. Less common today, they were once an integral part of a joiner and carpenter's tool kit, not just a tool for use in forestry. A tool of similar origin is the billhook . Most modern axes have steel heads and wooden handles, typically hickory in
2275-514: The corner of Jefferson Avenue and Second Street in Gretna, Louisiana , a New Orleans suburb. Upon hearing screams from the Cortimiglia residence, grocer Iorlando Jordano rushed across the street to investigate. He discovered that Cortimiglia's family had all been attacked by the Axeman. Charles and Rosie had both suffered skull fractures from blows caused by an axe, which was found on their back porch; Mary
2340-406: The couple's apartment appeared to have not been forced open, and authorities came to the conclusion that the woman was most likely attacked with a lamp that had been on a nearby table. James Gleason, who police said was an ex-convict, was arrested shortly after Anna was found. He was later released due to lack of evidence. Lead investigators began to publicly speculate that the attack was related to
2405-430: The crime, yet was released after investigators were unable to break down his statement, as well as his account of an unknown man who was supposedly seen lurking near the apartment prior to the murders. During the early morning hours of June 27, 1918, Louis Besumer and his mistress Harriet Lowe were attacked in private quarters at the back of Besumer's grocery, located at the corner of Dorgenois and Laharpe Streets. Besumer
2470-402: The front lawn of the building. Laumann recovered from her injuries yet couldn't recall any details from the attack. On the night of October 27, 1919, the wife of Mike Pepitone was awakened by a noise and arrived at the door of her husband's bedroom just as a large, axe-wielding man was fleeing the scene. Pepitone had been struck in the head and was covered in his own blood. Blood spatter covered
2535-403: The head by wedging. The shoulder is where the head mounts onto the haft, and this is either a long oval or rectangular cross-section of the haft that is secured to the axe head with small metal or wooden wedges. The belly of the haft is the longest part, where it bows in gently, and the throat is where it curves sharply down to the short grip , just before the end of the haft, which is known as
2600-403: The head meets the haft, and the hole where the haft is mounted is called the eye . The part of the bit that descends below the rest of the axe-head is called the beard , and a bearded axe is an antiquated axe head with an exaggerated beard that can sometimes extend the cutting edge twice the height of the rest of the head. The axe haft , sometimes called the handle or the helve ,
2665-405: The home of his neighbor, Frank Genusa, where he lost consciousness and collapsed. Nothing had been taken from the home yet, once again, a panel on the backdoor of the home had been chiseled away. Boca recovered from his injuries but could not remember any details of the attack. This attack took place after the emergence of the infamous Axeman letter. On the night of September 3, 1919, Sarah Laumann
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2730-411: The killings were sexually motivated, and that the murderer was perhaps a sexual sadist specifically seeking female victims. Criminologists Colin and Damon Wilson hypothesize that the Axeman killed male victims only when they obstructed his attempts to murder women, supported by cases in which the woman of the household was murdered but not the man. A less plausible theory is that the Axeman committed
2795-512: The late Neolithic , elaborate axes (battle-axes, T-axes, etc.) had a religious significance and probably indicated the exalted status of their owner. Certain types almost never show traces of wear ; deposits of unshafted axe blades from the middle Neolithic (such as at the Somerset Levels in Britain) may have been gifts to the deities . In Minoan Crete , the double axe ( labrys ) had
2860-658: The late Pleistocene in Australia , where grind-edge axe fragments from sites in Arnhem Land date back at least 44,000 years; grind-edge axes were later present in Japan some time around 38,000 BP, and are known from several Upper Palaeolithic sites on the islands of Honshu and Kyushu . Hafted axes are first known from the Mesolithic period ( c. 6000 BC ). Few wooden hafts have been found from this period, but it seems that
2925-600: The majority of the room, including a painting of the Virgin Mary . Pepitone's wife, the mother of six children, was unable to describe any characteristics of the killer other than "large". The Pepitone murder was the last of the alleged Axeman attacks. Axe An axe ( / æ k s / ; sometimes spelled ax in American English ; see spelling differences ) is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape , split , and cut wood , to harvest timber , as
2990-412: The morning of the attack. Oubicon was later released, however, as police were unable to gather sufficient evidence to hold him. Lowe recalled her assailant having been a mulatto man, yet her statement was discounted by police due to her disoriented state. Robbery was said to be the only possible explanation for the attacks, yet no money or valuables were removed from the scene. Lowe became the center of
3055-431: The murders in an attempt to promote jazz music , suggested by written correspondence attributed to the killer in which he stated that he would spare the lives of those who played jazz in their homes. On March 13, 1919, a letter purporting to be from the Axeman was published in newspapers, saying that he would kill again at fifteen minutes past midnight on the night of March 19 but would spare the occupants of any place where
3120-500: The name of "Momfre" more than once. While radically different than the Axeman's usual modus operandi , if Joseph Momfre was indeed the Axeman, the Schiambras may well have been early victims of the future serial killer. According to scholar Richard Warner, the chief suspect in the crimes was Frank "Doc" Mumphrey (1875–1921), who used the alias Leon Joseph Monfre/Manfre. Mumphrey's Garden District jazz business, previously struggling,
3185-494: The potential killer as an individual of dual personalities, who killed without motive. This type of individual, Dantonio stated, could very likely have been a normal, law-abiding citizen, who was often overcome by an overwhelming desire to kill. He later went on to describe the killer as a real-life " Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ". On the night of March 10, 1919, Italian immigrant Charles Cortimiglia and his family – wife Rosie and infant daughter Mary – were attacked in their residence on
3250-420: The previous Besumer and Maggio incidents. On August 10, 1918, Pauline and Mary Bruno awoke to the sound of a commotion in the adjoining room where their elderly uncle, Joseph Romano, resided. Upon entering the room, the sisters discovered Romano had taken a serious blow to his head, which resulted in two open cuts. The assailant was fleeing the scene as they arrived, yet the girls were able to distinguish that he
3315-400: The time of the crimes. It appears that there actually may have been an individual named Joseph Momfre or Mumfre in New Orleans who had a criminal history, and who may have been connected with organized crime ; however, local records for the period are not extensive enough to allow confirmation of this, or to positively identify the individual. Wilson's explanation is an urban legend , and there
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#17328545834283380-524: The trial. Almost a year later, Rosie admitted that she had falsely accused the Jordanos out of jealousy and spite, resulting in their release. On August 10, 1919, grocer Steve Boca was attacked as he slept in his bedroom by an axe-wielding intruder. Boca awoke during the night to find a dark figure looming over his bed. Upon regaining consciousness, Boca ran to the street to investigate the intrusion, and found that his head had been cracked open. The grocer ran to
3445-451: The worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fantasy. -The Axeman The Axeman was never caught or identified, and his crime spree stopped as mysteriously as it had started. The murderer's identity remains unknown, although various possible identifications of varying plausibility have been proposed. Crime writer Colin Wilson speculates the Axeman could have been Joseph Monfre,
3510-491: Was a dark-skinned, heavy-set man who wore a dark suit and slouched hat. Romano was able to walk to the ambulance once it arrived yet died two days later due to severe head trauma . His home had been ransacked, yet no items were stolen. Authorities found a bloody axe in the backyard and discovered that a panel on the backdoor had been chiseled away. The murder created a state of extreme chaos in New Orleans, with residents living in constant fear of an Axeman attack. Police received
3575-465: Was an important production centre. From the late Neolithic / Chalcolithic onwards, axes were made of copper or copper mixed with arsenic . These axes were flat and hafted much like their stone predecessors. Axes continued to be made in this manner with the introduction of Bronze metallurgy . Eventually the hafting method changed and the flat axe developed into the "flanged axe", then palstaves , and later winged and socketed axes. At least since
3640-416: Was arrested again after Lowe, by then on her deathbed following failed surgery, named him as her assailant. Besumer was charged with murder, and served nine months in prison, before being acquitted on May 1, 1919, after a ten-minute jury deliberation. During the early morning hours of August 5, 1918, 28-year-old Anna Schneider, who was eight months pregnant, awoke to find a dark figure standing over her and
3705-408: Was attacked in her apartment. Neighbors came to check on the young woman, who had lived alone, and broke into the home when Laumann did not answer. They discovered the 19-year-old lying unconscious on her bed, suffering from a severe head injury and missing several teeth. The intruder had entered the apartment through an open window and attacked Laumann with a blunt object. A bloody axe was discovered on
3770-435: Was bashed in the face repeatedly; her scalp was cut open, and her face was covered in blood. Anna was discovered after midnight by her husband, Ed Schneider, as he returned late from work. Anna claimed that she remembered nothing of the attack and gave birth to a healthy baby girl two days later. Ed told police that nothing was stolen from the home besides six or seven dollars that had been in his wallet. The windows and doors of
3835-451: Was believed ( mythically ) that lightning never struck the same place twice. This has caused some skewing of axe distributions. Steel axes were important in superstition as well. A thrown axe could keep off a hailstorm , sometimes an axe was placed in the crops , with the cutting edge to the skies to protect the harvest against bad weather . An upright axe buried under the sill of a house would keep off witches , while an axe under
3900-460: Was found in an adjacent bathroom. Besumer stated to investigators that he had been sleeping when he was attacked with the hatchet. Almost immediately, police arrested Lewis Oubicon, a 41-year-old African American man who had been employed in the grocery just a week before the attacks. No evidence existed which could have proved Oubicon guilty, yet police arrested him nonetheless, stating that he had offered conflicting accounts of his whereabouts on
3965-436: Was in too poor of health to have done so. Frank, more than six feet tall and weighing over 200 pounds, would have been too large to have fit through the panel on the backdoor. Charles vehemently denied his wife's claims, yet police nonetheless arrested the Jordanos and charged them with the murder. The men would later be found guilty. Frank was sentenced to hang , and his father to life in prison . Charles divorced his wife after
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#17328545834284030-412: Was killed in her mother's arms from a blow to the back of the neck. Nothing was stolen from the house, but a panel on the backdoor had been chiseled away. Charles was released two days after the attack while his wife remained in the care of doctors. Upon gaining full consciousness, Rosie made claims that Jordano and his 18-year-old son, Frank, were responsible for the attacks. Iorlando, a 69-year-old man,
4095-411: Was never identified, and the murders remain unsolved. As the killer's epithet implies, the victims usually were attacked with an axe , which often belonged to the victims themselves. In most cases, a panel on the backdoor of a home was removed by a chisel , which, along with the panel, was left on the floor near the door. The intruder then attacked one or more of the inhabitants with either an axe or
4160-416: Was noted by many in the community as seeming to do unusually good business once the city was compelled by threat of violence to hire jazz bands and play jazz records. On May 23, 1918, Joseph Maggio, an Italian grocer , and his wife Catherine were attacked while sleeping inside their apartment on the corner of Upperline and Magnolia Streets. The killer broke into the residence and cut the couple's throats with
4225-413: Was struck with a hatchet above his right temple, which resulted in a possible skull fracture . Lowe was hacked over the left ear and left with one side of her face permanently paralyzed . The couple were discovered the following morning, alive but critically injured, by bakery wagon driver John Zanca, who had come to the grocery to make a routine delivery. The axe, which had belonged to Besumer himself,
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