The Axeman of New Orleans terrorized... well, New Orleans, in the early 20th century. This guy wrote beautiful letters and committed terrible murders during this time in American history when axe murdering seemed like the thing to do if you were homicidally inclined. Wrapping up our Man from the Train series also.
Twitter & Facebook: @macabrepedia
Instagram: @macabrepediapod
Email us at: @Macabrepediapod@gmail.com
Outro sample:
Axeman Jazz (Don't scare me papa)
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Ref:
James, B., & James, R. M. C. (2017). The man from the train: The solving of a century-old serial killer mystery. Scribner.
Davis, M. C. (2018). The Axeman of New Orleans: The True Story.
The Axeman of New Orleans terrorized... well, New Orleans, in the early 20th century. This guy wrote beautiful letters and committed terrible murders during this time in American history when axe murdering seemed like the thing to do if you were homicidally inclined. Wrapping up our Man from the Train series also.
Twitter & Facebook: @macabrepedia
Instagram: @macabrepediapod
Email us at: @Macabrepediapod@gmail.com
Outro sample:
Axeman Jazz (Don't scare me papa)
Squirrel Nut Zippers
Ref:
James, B., & James, R. M. C. (2017). The man from the train: The solving of a century-old serial killer mystery. Scribner.
Davis, M. C. (2018). The Axeman of New Orleans: The True Story.
Macabrepedia makes light of dark subject matter and may not be suitable for all audiences. Listener discretion is advised.
Matthew:December 22 1917 Anna Angelina was jostled awake by the struggle happening beside her. A man was standing over her husband raining down blows with a hatchet. The intruder noticed Anna's eyes shoot wide, he raised the hatchet into the air while also leveling a pistol at her. The sounds of her children crying panic the attacker who charged into their room and attacked the adolescent boy striking each of them across the head. He rushed back through the home and out through the kitchen door, but she had entered by way of chiseling out a panel from the door with a railroad spike. Though he suffered five or more hatchet blows Mr. Angelina would survive Was this the act of our man from the train, and unrelated personal or familial grudge, a mafia Vendetta, or a new serial killer, perhaps inspired by previous killers we've already covered in 1918 and 19, New Orleans and surrounding areas would be the scene of a string of brutal attacks, most of which would take place against Italian grocers. Join us as we add another entry into this our Macabrepedia.
Marissa:Hello, and welcome to Macabrepedia a marriage of true crime that truly bizarre we are your hosts, Matthew and Marissa. And today we continue our man from the train series, although we are about to wrap it up. And today we are talking about the X Men of New Orleans. It sounds like
Matthew:yeah, we'll be discussing some of the murders that were occasionally attributed to the man from the train. And often not, but sometimes they were some, I mean attributed to not not necessarily following. They're not necessarily attached to him, but some people do put them all together because of the timeframe and though some of these attacks are nearly top to bottom, similar to the man from the train, we have home invasions in the middle of the night, often with a hatchet, Axe, or instrument that had was readily available at or near the scene, valuables left out in the open. That would have been easily found if robbery was the intent they were left untouched. The entry, though not a method, even ever, like attributed to the man from the train involved a piece of railroad debris. So maybe those are the similarities. But comparatively, comparatively, these attacks are far less lethal. It was very rare for the man from the train to leave anyone alive during his attacks. Most of the attacks happen here in densely populated areas, and targeted primarily Italians and or grocers. These crimes are pretty well covered by other sources. And you may already kind of be familiar with the story already, but that they often pull from a book called ready to hang seven famous New Orleans murders by Robert talent that was written in 1952. The source that we are primarily leaning on, at least most heavily for this is a more recent book called The X Men of New Orleans a true story by Miriam see Davis. Davis has compiled a more complete body of evidence and presents it in something of a kind of like a story form, linking the newspaper articles and court records into an interesting and informative narrative. I think with this source, we should bring the spotlight onto pieces of information that are often left out of other tellings. So it should be a little bit new to some people. So let us delve into some of these axe attacks. Let's do it as well as some of the backstories in some stage dressing. In this week's entry, the morning of May 23 1918 Andrew Majo wakes to the sound of muffled groans coming through the wall that separate his room from the adjoining domicile of his brother Joseph and Josephs wife, Catherine majia. He listened for a few moments. A feeling of something being terribly wrong began to fill him. He rose from his bed shaking off what he could from the previous night's drink. He gathered himself and staggered down the hall to his brother's door where he knocked the terrible wall wordless groans continued. He placed his hand on the knob trying and failing to pull taught the Frank threads of his courage. His ears thudding with the fear filled pounding of his heart. He tried to Will his hand to turn the knob but couldn't find the courage. He feared what he would see once the door was open. So he fled down the street to the home of his other brother Jake Mazzeo. Together the to return to the to the door. By this time the moans were very faint. Jake rapped on the door, and when no response was immediate, he entered, he entered a hellish scene that would be described in the papers as a bloody slaughter pen. The couple had been attacked in their bed, Joseph was the source of the moans. His throat had been cut and his head split and bludgeoned. He weakly gurgled out his last few sputtering breaths as his brother stood over him. Catherine battered in similar fashion had already expired. The slash across her throat nearly decapitated her.
Marissa:Well, that'll do it. What was his last words?
Matthew:How far am I supposed to literally just said, I said, he gurgled on his last breaths.
Marissa:I thought you said your last words. Sorry, Miss heard. Go ahead.
Matthew:What were his last words?
Marissa:I was like, well, you Well, if I thought you said words what's hot, but that wasn't.
Matthew:Joseph Mazzeo and Catherine Mazzeo lay dead or dying in their bedroom. Unlike many of our previous crime scenes, the bodies here are not laying in the bed as if they had never had a chance to wake up. These two clearly arrived about in a panic trying to hold their gushing wounds shut. Catherine's throat cut so deep that she would have likely blood out in minutes, if not seconds, excruciatingly long minutes, gripped in terror of knowing that she was about to die. It may have been an unintentional mercy for the attack to strike her in the head and possibly days her enough to allow her to not understand what had transpired her last living moments, Joseph not so quick to die, he lays groaning in a pool of his his and his wife's mingling blood for upwards of two hours before Andrew went for help. Wow. Yeah, authorities came to the scene to investigate. The police and coroner determined that the throats were first slashed by a straight late razor. Before having their skulls bashed in. Andrew, the brother that
Marissa:lives then she wasn't disoriented because she would
Matthew:have had her well, she would have her throat cut and then bashed in the head. So maybe after what I'm saying is you get a throat cut hit in the head, and it might have made it so that was actually better than just sitting there.
Marissa:Well, I mean, I hope she was disoriented enough to where she had no idea what's going on. But yeah, I don't know.
Matthew:So Andrew, is the brother that lived in the adjacent apartment. He quickly became the prime suspect. Andrew was a barber and had access. Can you Todd? Sure. Except Sweeney, Matthew. Andrew, he was a barber he had access to the straight razors like the ones that were using the attacked. In fact, some accounts claimed that the razor blade found in the neighbor's yard by investigators at the scene. They say that that the razor blade was actually engraved with Andrew's initials or his name, and employee of Andrews would claim that Andrew took the razors home from the barber shop claiming that he was going to get the blade repaired and sharpened to the best of my research. I can say that the razor was found and it was almost certainly the murder weapon for sure. But it was also almost certainly Andrews razor, which is not a good start for Andrew. This razor would have been could have been picked up in the house at some point as this person was was doing the attacks. So you know, but right now not looking real good. The attacker in this story and in all of the man from the train stories often use the tools that he just had readily available around the crime at the time. So he found a straight razor he's using a straight razor he finds an axe, he's using an axe he finds both, maybe he'll use both. It is also noted and I think we've noted it a couple times and other entries. pretty unusual to use multiple weapons in an attack slicer throat and then bash the skulls in some would believe that the throat was slashed. And then the heads were bludgeoned in to try to or not even bludgeoned and but beaten with a with an axe to try to make it harder to tell what the murder weapon was. Which also lends it to possibly being Andrew. You look very confused.
Marissa:I'm just wondering, it would be fairly obvious I would think that their throat was slashed. You're trying to make it look like it was a nap
Matthew:It's like an axe wound instead. Okay, but I mean, why what? If you have both of them? Why would you if you feel like one is more damning than the other, why would you use the more damning weapon at all, if you have another perfectly good weapon, so I kind of play in both sides of the of the of the speculation, coin here. So even if it was Andrew Andrews blade, it may have just been taken at the time of the murder and then discarded during the escape. Those investigating also wanted to know how it was possible that Andrew was able to sleep through the sounds of an assault that woke up to this groaning through a wall. Andrew claims have been passed out drunk after celebrating or as may have been more likely, in the case of dreading joining the Navy. This is often reported as celebrating, but this is May of 1918. So this is towards this is World War One. Yeah. World War One won't end until November of that year. So it is very possible that he may have been drafted. And if nothing else, it is likely, if nothing else, he's at least likely to know that millions had already been killed.
Marissa:I would be very surprised if it was a celebration. That's what I'm saying like
Matthew:this. This does. I mean, that was I don't know, I don't know the guy. But like,
Marissa:like, almost like a whole generation of men was murdered were killed. And it was like crazy. Yeah.
Matthew:So they were millions of people had been debt. They're dead, crippled or maimed in the last four years this this war has been going on at this point. So he may have been drinking like it was his last night on Earth, and thusly got himself to the point where he's just pissed as drunk. If anyone has ever been that level of drunk, it is generally kind of like a series of restless hours punctuated by moments of suddenly waking up and being or being nearly comatose and going back and forth. And you know, so it makes sense, being restless that he could have woken up at some point and, and heard those.
Marissa:Sure, yeah, you got that extra factor planning.
Matthew:Also, I'm thinking these people are Sicilian, or at least Italian. And if it has been my personal experience that Sicilians and Italians, they get loud sometimes. So if you think about a stereotypical kind of Italian, you will probably think of them as being kind of the kind of loud and having a forceful presence. That's seems to be kind of a PC way of just describing a passionate type of people. Meaning that it stands to reason that hearing sudden bursts of activity in an adjacent room occupied by Sicilians might not warrant an immediate cause of suspicion, particularly if you're just like drunk off your ass, you know, so you might have been groggy heard a commotion was like, Oh, they're, they're arguing whatever. Also full, full disclosure. I am Sicilian. And I'm, you know, like my great grandparents. Yeah, my great grandparents are off the boat from Sicily at this time period. So, the if I seem to be kind of going a little free on some of the Sicilian remarks, it's it's Don't Don't ask me. Yeah. So anyways, law enforcement agents would would find a bloody clothes of the murderer at the apartment, as if he had changed clothes into a clean set of clothes before fleeing the scene. The bloody razor was found in a neighbor's yard, which means he changed his clothes picked up the razor took it with him, but left his dirty clothes. money and valuables were also left handed that a lot he had left. It was believed that he had a spare set of clothes. Because when you beat somebody to death with, excuse me, when you beat somebody to death with an x, it causes murder is messy. It makes a lot it makes him splashes. Strangely, they found the guy's clothes and he changed into other clothes. It does this this kind of seems to imply that he's the same size as at least one of the magic shows. But I don't know if he's just wearing he'll fit ill fitted clothing and running down the street or not.
Marissa:Yes, easily given.
Matthew:I'm just saying man Andrew. My dude, I don't know. This seems a little bit sketchy because and then like if you're gonna leave the bloody clothes there. Why are you going to take the razor with you? You know, like, it seems like, I don't know. Seems like it seems like Andrews got some splainin to do. The razor that was used to kill the couple was found to belong to Andrew so that's obviously not good for him. he'd took a long time to go get help. He didn't see he didn't seem to check into the room or anything. So it could go either way on that. But
Marissa:yeah, he also just might have been just, he might have just heard it and known something's really bad and got scared. Yeah, it
Matthew:was just too scared open the door. Yeah, that's kind of the way I wrote with the story there. But, you know, I don't know, it's just seems a little sketch. Andrew magico became the police chief's prime suspect in the crime. Yet he was released after investigators were unable to gather enough evidence to put against him. So I don't know the details as to why all the things that I just listed were not able to stick. But whatever. So from December 1917. Through October 1919, New Orleans was facing a string of violent assaults that seemed particularly targeted towards Italian grocers, which at this time, are admittedly common Italian grocers. In 1870s 80s 90s, there was a rapid influx flux of Italians that were primarily Sicilians that were immigrating to the United States, the southern portion of Italy was in a time of was particularly rough during this time, gangs that led to gangs that would basically be the mafia effectively. And I will touch on that a little bit in a minute. But they they had caused, they had caused enough strife that a lot of people in the southern portion of Italy and Sicily being for those who don't know, Sicily is a is the, the island that the boot of Italy looks like it's kicking. And apparently, they were all leaving for this. So they were, they were leaving Sicily and coming to the Southern, particularly the southern areas of the US, many of these people went to this region so that they could work at in cotton fields and plantations, sugar fields. Many of the recently freed slaves had left the region during the Reconstruction Era after the American Civil War, and this created this created a cheap or in case of slaves free, a cheap or free labor void suddenly became an issue. And the Sicilian immigrants filled the void offering to work for cents on the day, the Sicilians became associated with cheap, almost slave like labor, because this type of laborer is a lowest class of people. Well, then, they become the lowest class of people just adjacent to them just by the jobs that were willing to take. They were known to be very frugal, and many families over the years, were able to save up enough money to open up some kind of shop at some point. Hence the grocer. Exactly. Most often. These were grocers, grocery stores. Now a grocery store here. This is like a little corner shop. This is like the way that at least in American cities, this is almost like more convenience store ish, which I feel is still kind of an immigrant's. There's a lot of immigrants who still kind of do this, like, come to America and make a corner store kind of a thing, right? So seems to be a nice, nice avenue for advancement. So these Italian grocery shops begin to open up all around New Orleans. Eventually, the majority of grocers are Italian, like 50% of all grocery stores are Italian run grocery stores. Buy like the 1920s. So like I said, just in New Orleans, yeah. So it stands to reason that like the fact that they happen to be Italian grocers. They might just there's just so many Italian grocers there. If you if you if you have you break into somebody's house, it could be in Italian. And if they are Italian, they're probably a grocer. So maybe it's not quite so targeted, but it's pretty targeted. So why this detour down history lane? There's a few reasons. One is to say that at this time. Like Like I said, if you break into a grocery store, where the owners also live, there's a pretty high likelihood that they're going to be Sicilians. Also, there was a very negative feeling towards Italian immigrants, immigrants in general, but particularly Italian immigrants in October 1890,
Marissa:which things never change? Yeah. On that,
Matthew:which I don't really didn't cover in here on that. Somebody unrelated to this, at my work, had had told me this anecdotal story about him and his friend, arguing about Italians particularly Sicilians being white or not. And I was like, what? Like, I'm I'd never heard that before. And, and apparently that is a that is a, that was a common belief during the timeframe that we're talking about in the 1880s to 1920s, whatever in the south, because of the fact that they worked in the fields and everything, and they're darker, they we are darker skinned, to kind of people and whatnot if you have that kind of a heritage, and because they associated with all these other immigrants, particularly African Americans and, and whatnot, it made it so that they, they, they kind of became like this not quite white, white, which was really weird. I'd never heard that before. And then in doing the research for this, I was like, that's, that's still held on like this. This is this is the origins of that kind of belief thing, which is weird, but
Marissa:you're saying is we have racism at play here, for sure. Yeah.
Matthew:And also, when I found the, what was it the database of racial slurs? I was like, wow, everyone's racist all the time. Hmm. I've been called so many of these words, and I never really took it as be as being like a slur. But oh, yeah, whatever. Anyway, that's fine. Anyway, so going back a little bit before the the axe murders and stuff. October 8, October of 1890. Police Chief David Hennessy was shot and killed in the streets. His last words, do know this ones last words, were something to the effect of the day goes got me. This resulted in 11 Sicilian suspects being rounded up for questioning. There was not evidence enough to link those who were detained to the crime. And many of them were acquitted. And they were scheduled to be released. The non Sicilians in the community got wind of this and stormed the building where they were being held and lynched. At least six of them. mobs are scary, man. Yeah, mob mentality is not. So this is why, like I referenced so often and the other ones, like people are sometimes arrested for their own safety, even when you're arrested. If the mob is big enough, they're gonna get you. Yeah. And they came in there. And some some say like, there was like, nine that are, there was 11, total, nine had been attacked, six of them were lynched, and a few of them had gotten away. But some of these that were being that were being lynched in this hadn't even been on trial yet. They hadn't even been like, yeah, the mob mentality is scary, guys. Like that's, that's not stuff. So anyways, they were basically just, they were guilt by race. Their biggest crime was the fact that they were Sicilian and Sicilians were suddenly being blamed for murdering a beloved police chief. So for those who are curious, speaking of racial slurs, Daigo, Diego, that's interesting. Diego is a Rachel racial slur used on Italians and Spanish immigrants who came to work the sugar fields in postwar Louisiana. Its roots come from a combination of things. It could be in because of the fact that they were day laborers being paid by the end of each day. So they were paid as the day goes. So that's as the day goes by. Or because Diego was perceived as a common name amongst them. It, it seems that, based upon the names that we're going to be throwing around in this, it seems like they should have been called Josef's because there are a lot of people that are being attacked in here. And there's a lot of them are Josephs that you could pretty much just say that if your name was Joseph, you should have been watching out at this time. Anyways, as the Sicilian population grows, there's a belief that the establishing of Sicilian run businesses and communities are Italian run businesses and communities that there are some of the old country's traditions are also being established. That tradition being of the mafia, so some scholars, and researchers don't think that these crimes are part of a single psychopath or a group of racists but are instead mafia hits and vendettas that are being called in and extortion attempts by something. Sometimes it's the it's called the Black Hand, sometimes it's referenced as like a group, but it's I think it's actually more of like the the Black Hand is the like blackmailing and extortion. So it's actually not. It's a behavior, not a not a, not a movement. Right? It's not a group of people. It's not a gang. It's a it's a way of doing things. So which one These all kind of at this time, they may not have been like organized crime during during the era that we're speaking it kind of bloomed into it like there was definitely obviously America is very famous for their their, you know, prohibition mafia crime stuff that it has its roots here but it might not have been like as established as like a what you think of like Chicago Al Capone kind of Mafia stuff right?
Marissa:You come to me on this day of my daughter's wedding
Matthew:oh yeah all right Godfather reference we got a movie so the the the assaults that we just covered, there are the murders even were the first in a string of attacks on Italians, or and or grocery grocery owners. But it would not be the first time that this area would host a series of brutal attacks on racial lines, separate even from the crimes associated with Clementine barber net, which if you are taking place in western Louisiana, and we covered them in Entry Number three, if you want to go back to the entry. Now that's what I call murder volume three on our man from the train series that there were there was another series that took place just across the river in Gretna. Primarily, I think it was Gretna Louisiana. These attacks would later be known as the cleaver attacks of 1910 and 19 through 1912. As the name implies, most of these attacks were the perpetrator. Most of these attacks were done with a cleaver and the perpetrator was was actually identified as a short, broad shouldered white man who utilize the butcher's Cleaver, a large heavy square with the butcher's cleaver is a large heavy square bladed chopping knife used primarily for separating joints of meat and bones. So you know this, you know what a butcher's cleaver looks like. But the description of the attacker is is important here though, because almost every time that he does get seen, and even sometimes with the the axe man, which is going to be separated by six to eight years depending it it is a short, white, broad shouldered man, which it falls in line with Paul Muller. And in Valeska, the belief that the person who was swinging the axe had to be short, but they thought that Kelly was too small to be able to he was too weak to do it. So this Sam Aniol ways, but unlike the man from the train, who utilize weapons at hand, the cleaver would separately break into a butcher shop and steal the weapon beforehand, often blocks away from where he would strike. This is a risky practice as requires entry into two separate locations in a span of time where the first break in could possibly be noticed while you're doing the other crime. Perhaps that was part of the plan. If you break into one place, yeah, and all the local police force move over to there, and they're gathered blocks away and then you can do your other crime. Who knows? So this is, like I said, roughly about six to eight years, depending on what attacks you're going to actually attribute to who this was. Prior to the Angelenos Harriet kruti would be startled awake. During a home invasion. Her husband, Auguste lay sprawled alongside her. A series of head wounds bleeding profusely, the attacker grabbed a hold of Miss kruti he brandished a cleaver and demanded money, Ms. kruti Mrs. kruti produced $8 She had nearby the attacker, though mostly hidden in shadows was described as a short, broad shouldered white male. He briefly continued to threaten Mrs. kruti before leaving their residence slash grocery store and he moved through the kitchen stopped and took the crude East caged Mockingbird with him. Okay, he exited onto the back stoop through the door which he had earlier pried a window panel out of using a railroad spike. Again, this is six this is six years prior to the opening one that I said that already has some of these so this could be the same guy. He tossed the the bloody cleaver and retrieved his shoes he had removed before entering the shoes in one hand and the birdcage in the other. The attacker walked down the street and then sat down on another stoop to put on his shoes. He rolls and smokes a cigarette, all with the ease that belongs Due to the violence that he had just bestowed upon August cruelty minutes before he opened the cage and freed the bird before disappearing into the night, so strange Yeah, like a neighbor saw him walking down the street after this. So freeing the bird. Well, the part of the section that I just recounted comes from a witness who saw him walking down the street, the bird flew back home. This is cruelty gathered her children before heading down the street banging on the doors of neighbors. Within the hour, police were on the scene in August kruti was moved to Charity Hospital against odds Auguste would end up recovering from his injuries. Some sources report that he that the crude has died in this attack, but he did not. The family has a burial plot that can be found on Find A Grave where you can see that all of the cooties lived decades beyond. And they all rest together under a single headstone. The police would recover the cleaver and discover that it had been stolen from a butcher shop a few blocks away that same night, and that the item that they used to pry the panel off of the door was a railroad spike. This is reported as a railroad shoe pin. But those are those are the things that hold like the carts together. And it goes in but it like goes in and it's supposed to lock it into place. I think that's what it is. I can't find something that actually shows what the railroad shoe pin is. But the ones that are referred to as a pin are normally blunt at the end, and I don't see them using that for that. Plus, if you've ever been walking around on trail on railroads, it finding railroad spikes, the parts that actually hold the stuff to the railroad ties are there, they're everywhere. So and they have a sharp edge that looks like a chisel Can you could probably use it to pry sure I'm thinking that that's probably what, what is actually meant in there. But I don't know. I'm imagining that it's that it's a spike. The interesting piece of here is that the person was broad shouldered and had the silhouette, at least of what you would expect PAUL MULLER or from the train to have, and he's using, whether it's a pin or a tie or a spike, it doesn't matter that something from the railroad right. So he took something from the train tracks and went out to look for a little b&e or a little b and e&m Depending on how you want to look at it. A month after the kruti attacks, another Italian grocer would be attacked. This time, the attacker swiftly attacked the sleeping couple. He brought the meat cleaver down multiple times on each of them after delivering a bone splitting chop across the cheek of tati galana The attacker a slice across her neck. He then realized that he had not done a sufficient enough attack on toddies husband, Joseph Roseto. He had suffered two blows to the head Joseph managed to retrieve the pistol from his nightstand. The intruder, the intruder was able to toss away the cleaver and escape over the fence before Roseto was able to aim the pistol Adam injured and bloody, he managed to fire off two rounds into the night air alerting the neighbors the police would recover the weapon as well as signs of the perpetrator as being barefoot when he entered the groceries home. Nothing was taken or stolen other than the cleaver which had been taken from a separate store a few miles away. And the reason I keep pointing out the Barefoot thing is that's also interesting for again, going all the way back to the fours because there was a barefoot person who had who had taken off and grabbed a pair of boots as he left and stuff like that. Also, in this time, time frame. These are hard soled shoes. They didn't have like a lot of rubber soled shoes or as we call them, well as I call them sneakers in the south doesn't refer to his tennis shoes, but sneakers for a reason, right? Because you sneak around in them. But you know, so that's another interesting thing that this guy has taken his tees taken off his shoes to get in there and creep around. So interesting there. Tati, galana and Joseph Roseto would both survive this attack. That's actually why that's how it well, so that this is another attack that is vicious. It's another attempt with with this cleaver to kill some people. Both of them survived the attack as well. Again, that's that's at this timeframe. I mean, this is we're looking at 1911 We went back in a little bit. These are these are far less deadly than the man from the train would normally be at this certainly
Marissa:well because what he had is he had a very specific sort of Mo Yeah, okay. into at some point.
Matthew:So, early in the hours of morning June 27 1911. Mary Davey wakes to find a man rummaging through her dresser alarm she begins to shake her husband Joseph, Debbie. That's another Joseph. She begins to shake her husband Joseph Davey who groans but does not stir. The figure turns at the new noises and smashes her across the head with an object that he was able to get a hand up quickly. The blow rocker and she would awaken in charity hospital, fielding questions from police. She and her unborn child would survive the attack but Joseph who many assumed would die before he could be brought to the hospital lay in a separate room. His exposed brain swelling and squeezing out of the split skull, no one would allow visitors to tell Mary her husband's fate, possibly empowered by his bright future as a grocer, his young wife and their firstborn child on the way Joseph held on for nearly 24 hours. He would later die on June 28, leaving marry a 16 year old pregnant widow. God this is sad, Joseph Davy was the first of those who were attacked who would die. Another Italian family that ran a grocery store would be murdered in 1912. This time following none of the characteristics that we've become familiar with. During this double homicide, a man climbed through the window and shot the couple multiple times before escaping. This attacked helped perpetuate the belief that these crimes were linked to a vendetta or a burgeoning Sicilian Mafia at play. We are not covering the story further, because it is most likely and on an isolated and unrelated incident. mentioned you're only because the victims were a time grocers. And actually, this one, I believe that the wife was hit and killed by a stray shot. So it definitely looked like it was targeting the man. And it seems like they came in through the windows I pop up pop up. And she took one of the bolts and and died. So again, Italian grocers doesn't follow any of the other characteristics. So we're just going to leave that one as is. So from 1911 until the attack on the Angelenos in 1917. There would be a time of quiet. We can only speculate as to why it may have been because the cleaver attack were just a series of random home invasions with similar emos. Perhaps if it was just a single attacker, that attacker went to prison or hopped a train to commit crime somewhere else in the country. Maybe I don't know Kansas or Iowa, after the Matthews, but now we're back up to like 1970 1918 Louis Bessemer and his girlfriend Harry lo often reported as mistress sometimes as his wife. She actually claimed to be his wife originally, but Bessemer would deny it once he found out that his actual wife was in town. They were attacked on the morning of June 27 1918. So this is almost like a year to the day of the attack on the Davies or I'm sorry, six years, six years ago. Anyway, that that June 27 was when the Dow these were attacks so it's like an anniversary attack. Harriet Lowe and Bessemer were discovered by a bakery delivery man who entered after No one came to the door he found Bessemer staggered bleeding but conscious a large gas gash across the side of his head, and his low was unresponsive a trail of blood leading from the puddle where she lay through into an adjacent room and porch area. Though Bessemer was a grocer, he was not Italian, neither was low Bessemer was German low was Irish. The two of them would be brought to Charity Hospital, where Bessemer would claim that he was knocked out with the first and only blow that he sustained. Ms. Lowe, who was struck multiple times initially recounted that with her story that she had, that she was, uh, she was in the store when a mulatto man came in, and while she was closing up and asked for tobacco, she claims that once she told him that the store was closed, he flew into a rage and Strucker this story is clearly false, as the blood in the room was still wet when the delivery man had entered, which if Mrs. Lowe story was to be believed, that would mean that the attack would have taken place like 10 hours earlier. But if you tell the authorities that there was a marginalized person involved, then someone with darker skin is gonna get questioned at least. Yeah, usually and that's what happened. Bessemer had A black employee by the name of Louis Ober Khan, who worked at the store from time to time and he was of course questioned, and he would later be released due to lack of evidence while he was being questioned. Police were starting to to have some questions about Bessemer who often boasted about being a worldly cultured polyglot, which means he reads and writes and speaks multiple languages. What he was at, they were starting to believe that he was actually a German spy. Okay. When the living space was searched, investigators found letters written in German, Russian and Yiddish. It's unclear as to what these letters actually contained as accounts even differ as to the languages that were being that it was being written in. Bessemer was arrested and released a few days later, after finding that he was less a spy and more of a braggart in liar. Bessemer attempted to visit Miss Lowe in the hospital to deliver her a package the police who were still suspecting that Bessemer may be a German spy are up to no good did not allow him to see Harry alo but did agree to take her the package, which contains a bathrobe, which the police tore the lining out of in search for hidden messages. Did they find any? No. They also staked out Bessemer shop and house waiting to see if his actual wife, who lived in Cincinnati, Ohio and had recently appeared in the area would show up to confront him about his affairs. I don't believe she did. Ms. Lowe became more more coherent and aware as time passed. Eventually she changed her story to be that Bessemer was the one who had attacked her. Really, yep, she would provide enough evidence to lead to his arrest. She would eventually die of sepsis shortly after a botched operation. Bessemer would be acquitted, nine months later. I think she even went home to live with him. While she was after she got out of the hospital. I think she went back to the hospital for another surgery and she died during that one. But yeah, so he was he was eventually charged with it. But again, got off at some point. Now we're at August 10 1918. Pauline and Mary Bruno.
Marissa:We don't talk about burnout.
Matthew:If you look at my at my my script here, it says this is a pause for Marissa to inevitably say we don't talk about Bruno. Pauline and Mary awakened to the sound of their elderly uncle Joseph Romano, in a struggle against an intruder. When he when the ladies entered the room, the intruder left out of a window but not before splitting Mr. Romano skull with two gashes delivered by a hatchet blade. The girls would describe the dark skinned heavily built man wearing a flop hat and workers clothing Ramana would be able to walk himself to the ambulance when it arrived, but would later succumbed to his injuries while on the way to the hospital. Now this account does make the perpetrator they they a dark skinned person. But this is an that isn't a night attack. It's hard to say for sure as to whether or not it you know what the what the skin color was at that point. After the attack on Romana with the town would begin to buzz. With suspected X Men sightings. It seemed that at this time, people were catching glimpses of shadowy axe wielding figures lurking around every corner. Also, at this time, a retired detective named John Dantonio would be the first to publicly state that these attacks may be linked to the attacks of the cleaver that had happened years earlier. He would also say that he believed that the culprit would be a normal law abiding citizen most of the time, and then suddenly switch into a late night murderer, a real Jekyll and Hyde kind of character. That's his quote, not not his deathbed. March 10 1919. Charles quarter Miglia his wife Rosie and their two year old daughter were set upon in their shared bed by an axe wielding assailant. The adults were both severely injured but alive. Rosie slumped in the doorway holding her infant daughter's lifeless body. The intruder had bashed her several times with the X. Neighbors arrived on the scene hearing the anguished cries of Rosie and the commotion caused by those who had arrived to the scene already. 18 year old Frank Giordano arrived moments after his 69 year old father, or Londo, Giordano blood spatter covered the walls, floors and ceilings rivulets even ran down the painting of the Virgin Mary that hung above their bed. The room would be described again as a slaughter pen. Frank who had watched after Mary was devastated along with his father. The two families were close neighbors who often interacted pleasantly. There were also something of business rivals as they both owned grocery stores the quarter make Leo's would be brought to Charity Hospital. Investigators would find a back door panel had been chiseled, free, and on the porch rested a bloody X. Charles would be released from the hospital two days later, he was uncertain as to the identity of the order a description of the of the attackers. Rosie while in the hospital was being questioned by the police investigators the attending doctor would note the aggressiveness and kind of like the leading nature of the questioning, perhaps because they were excited by Rosie Quartermaine. Leo's ability to identify her attackers or attack attacker or attackers, as her neighbors, the Giordano's Frank in Orlando, her husband Charles would deny these accusations pointing out that Orlando was arthritic 69 years old and in failing health, it would be unlikely that he would have the ability to do any portion of that crime also that Frank was far too large to squeeze through the hole last by removing the door panel. She is eventually released from the hospital and is almost immediately brought to the police headquarters where she signs a an affidavit stating that this is her, you know, this is this is what happened. The book that we're pulling this from the truth, the one by Miriam Davis has a kind of a cool kind of recount as to the way that the trial goes here, but I'm not going to put it all in here. Go get the book. It's a cool book. It reads really well. Rosie's brought in she she signs this affidavit. The police arrested Giordano's, a trial was held and though the evidence the only real evidence against the Giordano's is the testimony of Mrs. Carter Miglia, which was shaky and refuted by everyone else except for her. Or Orlando was sentenced to life in prison while 18 year old Frank was sentenced to hang. Later, Miss quarter Miglia Mrs. Gordon Miglia would change her story. It seems that without the constant coaching of the police, that she would realize that her that the story wasn't true. Like she kind of like the pieces that just didn't seem to make sense to her anymore. So she and others who witnessed her testimonies would agree that when the police were questioning her, they would ask questions like, why would the Giordano's want to kill you? And was it Frank that had the x or,
Marissa:or Londo? Objection leading?
Matthew:Exactly. And even was it? Was it the Giordano's that did this to you or tell me what Mr. Giordano did? So these are all all these are the questions posed by post before Mrs. Carter Miglia ever even accused them so this is like their normal questions were just very, very leading. Through interrogation and investigations. The police were seemingly manipulating the traumatized woman to tell the story that they wanted her to piece together for them when Mrs. Carter Miglia attempted to recant her damning accusations that were ultimately going to put an old man in prison for the rest of his life and kill his son. She was threatened with perjury charges being brought against her that if she changed her story and the Giordano's received a retrial she would be put on stand again, where she would tell a different a different account and thusly be charged with perjury, and that in doing so, if the Giordano's if she recanted her, her accusations the Giordano's go free and she goes to jail. So she's just switching places. She says this, right. So, but she took her she took her chances, and she recanted her statement, she said on her. Good on you, when, when word of the retrial reached the Giordano's. They were obviously elated, but would remain in prison for the better part of the year due to a series of postponements, rescheduling and the prosecution not showing up on the correct trial dates. As far as the jailers were concerned the Giordano's were free men wrongfully imprisoned and as a result, they were allowed to come and go through the prison as they pleased. They had family gatherings in the courtyard and Frank was even given keys to the jail and served in some capacity as part of the staff. Like Oh, wow, you guys, I mean, we have to kind of keep here but whatever be back by nightfall. Eventually a judge would get so fed up with waiting for this trial to go through that he just he just throws it out. He just throws it out. He says, No, we're not this that forget it. And in doing so the Giordano's go free that also allows for Mrs. Quarter Miglia to avoid having to re testify. So she avoids perjury charges as well. So it all kinds of works out. Right. I think it's very shortly after they got released. Orlando still ended up passing away from the stress and living in prison and stuff, you know, so he did he did die shortly after. I'm pretty sure he did make it out. But he did die fairly fairly. Shortly thereafter, the quarter Miglia and George Donald trial and the proceedings that kept the immigrant population of New Orleans on high alert, these families would begin to stay together, the men often taking turns to stay up on watch while others had slept. It was around this time that the police would get a letter from the X man himself. Well, they got a letter from someone claiming to be the X Men. It was more likely someone who is trying to play a prank the letter is addressed from hell. Which Jack the represents Yeah, it's a nod to Jack the Ripper is no that was found this this one is without a kidney attached to it.
Marissa:Part of the kidney but yeah. I literally was just reading about this sorry
Matthew:for the episode. And here's Marissa to read you in her best master thespian accent or maybe you can do some sort of unintentionally offensive accent. At the very least the letter
Marissa:Oh, I'm just gonna spring this on me. What is what am I reading? Let me see. Well, since since you've thrown this on me, I will do my best. But
Matthew:you didn't know you're supposed to do No, go ahead.
Marissa:This is the letter. Hell March 13 1919. A steamed mortal. They have never called 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 a human being but a spirit and a demon from the hottest hill I am what your you are linens and your foolish police call the axe man. 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, the smeared with blood and brains of he whom I have sent below to keep me company. This is little poetic. If you wish you may tell the police to be careful not to rile me. Of course I am 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, Yosef, 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 axe man. I don't think there is any need of such a warning for I feel sure the police will always dodge me as they have in the past. They are wise and known know how to keep away from all harm. This is long, undoubtably you are lunians Think of me as a most horrible murderer. Wish I am. But I could be worse if I wanted to. If I wished I could pay a visit to your city every night at will I could slay 1000s of your best citizens, for I am in close relationship with the angel of death. Not to be exact at 1215 earthly time on Newton 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 a jazz band going well then so much the better for you people. One thing is certain and that is that some of you people who do not jazz it out on that specific Tuesday night if there be any, we'll get the axe well as I am cold and crave the warmth of my native Tartarus and it is about time I leave my earthly home I will cease my discourse hoping that thou wilt publish this that it may go well with the I have been am and will be the worst worst spirit that ever existed either in fact or realm of fantasy. The X man
Matthew:Bravo and jazz out they did the there
Marissa:was no it was no
Matthew:who will stat so the letter unlikely real served to inspire I would a wild night of J As music and parties, there was even music that was written called the X Men. The X man's jazz don't scare me, Papa. So yeah, and there's there's articles and stuff for that too. But this is yeah, so this wild party kicks off and nobody dies that night.
Marissa:Nice. Well.
Matthew:The final attack that is associated with the X man of New Orleans was the attack on Mike Pepitone, who was found with his head split from an axe blow. His wife entered the room in time to see someone fleeing, but was unable to make out anything of note. Mrs. Pepitone would eventually move to California, where Mr. Pepitone dies, would move to California where years later she would shoot and kill Joseph Mumphrey, who another Joseph, who was a man from New Orleans, and had allegedly approached Mrs. Pepitone on the street and made threats and demands of money stating to her, he would do the same to her as he did to her husband. This implies that Joseph Mumphrey was the man who killed Mr. Pepitone who was killed in his bed while he slept
Marissa:right? backs.
Matthew:Sure, with the chop to the face. Most most of the talents of the X Men in New Orleans attribute the killings to Joseph to Joseph Mumphrey, like all really, but I'm not sure that the truth of this it's nice to have closure and have a person you say like this is the person who did it. But it seems odd that the X Men of New Orleans would follow someone across the country and then threaten them on the street. Also pretty convenient that Mrs. Pepitone was the only person who heard these threats or implications of the murder.
Marissa:No, I think it's far more likely that somebody heard that her husband was killed by the axe man and then just kind of play with that.
Matthew:Yeah, I mean, or this is a dude that he might have done it, but I don't think he I don't think he was the axe man. You know, like, I mean, he might have killed her husband with an axe and but I mean like there's so so many of these people who are attacked by the X men survived it's not like he's getting loose ends taken care of or anything like that. Right? Then she guns him down in the street and then appreciate his industry street, but she guns him down and then she never goes to trial for it or anything. So I guess I do believe there are. Some think that these crimes were all bungled robberies, or mafia vendettas, some think that they are linked to a Jekyll and Hyde style psychopath. Some length these attacks of the man from the train? I don't think any one of these would be the single answer. But tell us what you think. Not only on the X man and cleaver of New Orleans, but on all the murders we've covered in the series, we were thinking about doing kind of like this wrap up episode separately when we compile a list of all the murder victims locations, et cetera, et cetera, and then give our final thoughts on the series. But instead of doing that as a show in, or an entry in and of itself, we're going to do that right here and Cue the music. We don't have any music, because I haven't done it yet, for Marissa has McCobb minute do to do this where you come in?
Marissa:Yeah, it turns out, making theme song is hard when you're not musically inclined, but you know,
Matthew:I am a great composer. And
Marissa:okay, so we I'm going to touch on some of these briefly. We only touched on really a smattering of these crimes, there are quite a few though.
Matthew:There's tons of them that we just didn't do just because that's you know, that's a quite quite a lot of crimes to get through. That was what like it's a between the two of the things that this this, this story of the of the man from the train and of the New Orleans axe murderer, or that would be just an audio form from the books would be like 30 hours. So that would be as many episodes as we have released for Macabrepedia dedicated just to that, so yeah, we just kind of pick or picking and choosing through that.
Marissa:So they do the author's the man from the train do put down 33 different elements, I suppose for what they use in order to try to say that this crime or that crime was possibly committed by the man from the train. I don't. I probably won't go through all of them. I'll just touch on them. There is the railroad track part of it where the victim needs to be close to railroad tracks. junction of two roadways, obviously, you're going to use the blunt side of an axe for this and they're going to take this axe from the family is going to be outside they'll leave it at the house also. But I don't think any that's out of the ordinary if you're going to use an axe worry, you know, why are you gonna take it with you, you're not gonna take it with you.
Matthew:Alright, so near train, generally around cross where the trail the tracks crossed, so that you got multiple directions that you could get out of there. happening at night, generally, generally, during a weekend. Generally, on Sunday, yeah, an attack using a weapon that is readily available at the location in which it takes place. The covering of windows
Marissa:and doors, yes. And the bodies also
Matthew:covering the bodies. Generally attacks at night between 12 and 3pm, or something, or 3am, or something.
Marissa:The lamp thing,
Matthew:having a lamp with the chimney removed, often there was a fire. Often the bodies had been posed.
Marissa:Midnight or 2am is what it was. But yes. And there was also the thing about prepubescent girls and some evidence of masturbation near them. But that didn't happen with the many that we covered ourselves. But that's one of the things.
Matthew:Yeah, they have, they have 33 elements to the MO, that they try to get as many of them as possible per, per event in order to associate it to the man on the man from the train. But I mean, they're also just very coincidental, they're things that would happen pretty much regardless, if you if you attack people at night, they're going to be asleep. If you're gonna, if you're gonna get a weapon from the location, it's probably going to be a knife or an ax. Just it's got to be the most convenient thing. Yeah. And there's probably going to have to be a whole family. You know, there's, there's, the doors are going to probably be locked because it's at night. So
Marissa:yeah, one notable thing now is that the money and valuables were not taken. That is something that
Matthew:yeah, which is interesting. And then if you can, if you take all of the aspects to those 33 and the author's from a man from the train, they they do separate out, likely, or like what they would say like definitely, possibly unlikely, and no way as far as like, which which murders or which, and the X Men of New Orleans is a no way for them. But if you take the MO and at night, on a weekend, generally in a warm, more warmer month, at least a warmer climate because Louisiana and during the summers, like the entrance is either a window or chiseling out a door panel. That's a little he doesn't do that anywhere else. But this is also towards the end too. So the end of his spree if it was the same guy, but there's just so many similarities that happen on these other attacks that are not our content, generally considered to not be connected, but they still hit a good bit of those. A good bit of those 33
Marissa:kind of seems like a lot of these things are just the way life. Yeah, at the time. I mean, if you're gonna, you're gonna have a lamp, you gotta have a lamp at the time. It was I don't, I don't know, don't say anything weird about that, you're probably going to have an x, it says something like 25 to 50% of households were heated using wood burning stoves. So those are the ones that are targeted, obviously, you're gonna have an x out there for splitting wood. So anyway, we'll all get into a few of these. The list I have on here starts in 1900 goes through 1912 does not include things like hinge or chi Feck, or, you know, the default or anything like that. Of course, they don't put that forward in there. Sure. But, you know, in
Matthew:what follows most of the 33?
Marissa:Yes, in 1900. There's the van Lew family, there's only two of them, which is not common. Typically, it's more than two. It's a whole family. But that's a couple they're killed in New Jersey. And about 200 miles later or 200 miles away. A few months later, the Allen family, three people die. And so he's traveling all over. This is why I'm putting this in here. So next he goes to Florida 1300 miles later, the Kelly or sometimes the Kaffee family in 1903. So this is actually pretty spread out. These are.
Matthew:The time and distance are pretty huge.
Marissa:Yeah, yeah. These I think are maybe related, maybe not but because there is a good bit of spaced out ness to it. And then later or you'll have the hajus family in 1904. And so it's the next one's only 100 miles away the Hughes family in December of that year, so about six months later. And then that same month, the link is family in Radford, Virginia so that we went from Trenton, South Carolina to Radford, Virginia. That's about 300 miles and back north. Yes. And then you got the Boylan family the next year, February 1905. There's three there. They are in Arkansas.
Matthew:Okay, so now moving far west. 600
Marissa:miles, yeah. And then they then he goes to Jacksonville, Florida. It's about 700 miles, but it lives again. Yep, September 1905. The y's family five people. And the next one is 300 miles away in Cottonwood, Alabama, in 1906, February, the Christmas family. Another one of these is actually killed on Christmas, but not this one. So February 7 1906, to Christmas family. They are murdered in Cottonwood, Alabama. And the next one's a really big spatial jump because it's about 2000 miles away to Nova Scotia. Oh, yeah. Yeah. But this is the same year. So this is Nova Scotia be in Canada. Yeah. This is actually the same month. This is the seventh February 7, and then February 16. And it's 2000 miles away.
Matthew:That's an endless. Yeah. And it's a different country. And it's very cold
Marissa:in February. Yeah, yeah. In Nova Scotia, yeah, then I guess he got sick of that, because he went to Florida after that. So that's another 2000 miles away, it's like almost 2200 miles away. And in Florida, it's the Ackerman family. So there, that's the one with the nine people, that's the most for one single event. And that was one family that was a parents and their seven children, they were all killed. Yeah, that's a big one. So after that, he goes back to North Carolina a little bit farther north, 600 miles away. And that is the liberty, the Liri family. And that is in July of 1906. So that's what we've got there. But then the next year 1907, there are no events. And so the people from the man from the train, the author speculate that he was in jail at this time. So he wouldn't have been able to, of course, if he's in jail, and then it starts back though, in March 1908. With the Hart family, there's only two of them there. So this is so this comes in to where the man from the train say that his MO starts to change, because he was in jail for a while perhaps that changed who he was, in some regards, you know, big events like that are gonna change who you are, in some ways. And so we stopped doing things like, like investigating beforehand and doing a little bit of research beforehand to see who he wants to go after. So that changes a little bit. And so that's why they speculate that he a few of these couples after this, were accidental, because he thought they were full families, but he got them and they were just couples. They murdered him anyway. But that was what they suspect. So his some of his behavior does change. The the buildings stopped getting burned to the ground, stuff like that they do change
Matthew:well into the burning thing. I mean, I think like the idea of burning the place down is to try to read any evidence against you, right? I mean, any any damning evidence that's there, get, you know, burn all the clues to ashes. But if you're trying to hop a train, and you don't know, pretty much exactly when that thing is going to be there, if you light a house on fire, even in a rural area, it's going to get attention, and that's going to draw the people to the location. Yeah, so if you're trying to beat feet over to a railroad, that's only, you know, a quarter mile from from where it is burning, it shortens the amount of time that you have to to escape without notice. So I think that burning the place down is it's it was smart to kind of change that also, when so. And so when in 1908. Is there a sudden bloom of rapid succession attacks?
Marissa:No, there are some in 1908 But no, actually they're kind of spread out. There's only three that year. There's one part family there in Fraser, Georgia, that was a couple and they were killed. And then in April, so the next month, it was about 800 miles away. He went to Watauga, Texas, and there he killed three people of the girl family
Matthew:800 miles away in one month. I mean, it can be done obviously. Nova Scotia thing was like a week. Yeah, it can be done by it's just this zigzagging all over the place thing. I mean, I guess you'd go with more if we were assuming that he has a job in lumber or mining and he kind of goes to seasonal locations and stuff. And obviously, it doesn't appear that he's going back to the same company every time or something because they're all over the damn place. So it's just, it's just I don't know, I, you may proceed, I will wait till the end. I think it's pretty clear. But what I'm gonna say
Marissa:there is a bit of a ramp up later. And that that changes also and I I'll touch on a bit now, but they speculate that earlier on these first few years and all that he's he's going there for work. So he's going to be staying in this community for at least a little wild in order to see you know, he'll help scope it out. But he's there for work. So he becomes not part of the community. He's still a drifter. He's in and out. But you know, he still lives there for a while. But then later on, it seems like he doesn't stay as quiet as long because a lot of these are pretty much like we do due to like a bunch of them. But yeah, all of this is speculation we should say but it's it's it's possible. Woodland Mills, Alabama, and that's about 700 miles away, and that's a November, so that's from April to November 800 miles and
Matthew:so third or fourth time we've been in Alabama,
Marissa:yes, yes.
Matthew:Texas and Alabama, Southern, the southern most southern states seem to begin getting some love.
Marissa:Well, it's just a second time for Alabama. But yeah, it's a lot of Texas to as far as southern states, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Florida again, Texas, Alabama, Alabama. So anyway, next year 1909. This is almost a full year. Again, this is that second break. That seems maybe he went back to jail. Maybe we don't we don't know. But almost a year because from November 1908 to September 1909. There are no events, but September 21, the meadows family are killed and Hurley and we did do this one. And then of course Begley with the hood family. And that was a month later, Beck was not that far as 80 miles away. And then from there, he went to Houston Heights, Texas. So that's about 1200 miles away, and that was in March. Okay, so about five months, something like that. And he gets the Schultz family, there's five of them. And from their Marshalltown, Iowa, which is about 1000 miles away. And that is the Hardy family on June 5 1910. There are three of them.
Matthew:First time in first time in that that neck of the woods, though this is where we're?
Marissa:Well, yes. And maybe he liked it because he came back. And so then he goes to Johnson County, Kansas about 300 miles away, and that's in December. That's six months is plenty of time. The Bernhart family, there's four of them, from there to San Antonio, Texas, about 800 miles away. And that's in March. So another four months, 433 ish months, the castaway family, there's five of them. And then from there to art and wild Oregon, and that's 2000 miles away. So that's a good jump. And that's from March to June. Yeah. And that's the hill family. There's four of them. From there. He goes to Rainier, Washington, not that far. It's about 100 miles away. And that's in July. So the next month and that's the Coble family. And there's two of them. It's another couple and then to Colorado Springs, which we did touch on. That's the double event. Yes. The double event. Yes. And the Wayne and Barum families on September 17 1911. There were three each of them, which made a
Matthew:total of six people for this two separate houses next door to each other. Yes,
Marissa:went to one and killed them all and then went to the next one and killed them all right next door. And then from there, he goes to Monmouth, Illinois, about 900 miles away. And that's still in September, two months, two weeks later. So September 17. And then 30th. The 30th. It's the Dawson family, three of them. And then to Ellsworth, Kansas about 500 miles away. And that's the showman family on October 5 1911.
Matthew:Yeah, this is where this is where people were really starting to be like these are all connected at this point. Because Because this little cluster from Colorado Springs all the way to Valeska are like fairly rapid fire. Yes. And fairly tightly clustered. And these Yeah, these these I think are all related. Almost certainly, but it also could be I don't I don't think good whatever, it could be a murder. Yeah, I will refrain to the end.
Marissa:Yeah. So. So then to payola, about 200 miles away payola, Kansas and that is the Hudson family. There are two of them another couple. From there to ballistic Yeah,
Matthew:we started the whole thing.
Marissa:So it's not quite 200 miles away, but Valeska and that's the more family and of course we had the two visitors also Lena. Yeah. That's challengers. Yeah. So eight there, accidentally, because Lena and I know we're only visiting, and then to Payson, Illinois with the pan Schmidt family as for them, but Valeska is the big one. And part of why Valeska was so big is because of all these murders leading up to it with all of the just media coverage and scrutiny and everything. Just
Matthew:people were starting to get it all together. Yeah, that's being all linked. And then also at the same time, this is when the cleaver is hitting New Orleans at this time, too. So home invasions and murders are on on a pretty steep rise in 1910 and 1912. Yes, it is. And that those are the attacks that are attributed to, at least from the man on the train attributed to a man from the train. In the book, Paul Mueller, which got his start, which we didn't actually put in this lesson in the 19, or 1898, when he was in Massachusetts that started the whole thing, before we hop this first train to get the started. Do we have an actual body count?
Marissa:Somewhere between somewhere around 125. But the authors do point out that they don't. They don't specify really, most of them. They think most of they, they think some of them for sure were his, but they don't go so far to say that all 125 ish were
Matthew:I think that they attributed 101 Murderers to him. But then if you also include the people who were killed by lynch mobs, which happened in North Carolina, and people who were accused and ended up getting the death penalty for for it, or
Marissa:yes, all people were, who were put to death for the crimes. Yeah, that's
Matthew:where that's where it gets to the point of like, going up to like, 120 or so. But it's a good bet over over 100 people may have been killed by this one, one man. What do you think after the series? This is the Marisa No, it's to me, not your listeners?
Marissa:No. I mean, it was it was interesting to go through this. And honestly, to see the patterns that was the most interesting thing to me is to see these patterns emerge. And it's not just Paul Mueller, it's the ones that almost certainly weren't him. But they were still so similar. And it's interesting to see that.
Matthew:So do you think there was a man from the train that was popping around doing all these killings?
Marissa:I think it's quite possible. Yes. But I won't go so far as to say definitely, I don't know some of these are hard to pin, I would say and again, the patterns for every ones, even the ones that weren't necessarily even in the book and things like that. These these patterns emerged because a lot of them were just the way of life and so I don't know, it's hard for me to say that the I don't want to say this necessarily. But the the things they're using these 33 Like, elements elements say that it was a man from the train murder. A lot of them are just things that would have happened. I don't feel like they're specific enough to I don't know, I mean, they're using them as 33 because because they are you know, so generic and understand that and they they definitely understand that also. But it was another It was another world.
Matthew:Yeah, I would say hell no. And I had one guy doing all this No, no, no, no, no. Every every story that I'm not saying that there wasn't like I said from Colorado Springs to Valeska. There are a lot of connections that would make it so those seem to be probably connect those
Marissa:seem likely connected but certainly in Beckley seem to be connected.
Matthew:Also possible, but I don't think that I don't think Hurley and Valeska are connected is what I'm saying. Like I think I think there might be a you know, a quick little spark of murderers that that that kick around for a little while. But I do not think that they're the I don't think there was a man on the train that did this. I don't think so at all. I don't think PAUL MULLER did any of it. I think maybe PAUL MULLER probably killed the the first killings in mass Jesus the name escapes me as to who was with that. But I know I don't think so. Because this, like I said, the thing that got me started on this whole thing was that the divorce followed. It was so similar to the Valeska murders very soon, but I was like, oh, hell, and that and I was like, well, that that meant that so then I found the book and I'm like, well, they're gonna connect them, they don't connect them. They don't have that connected at all. But then if you also take the deformers, where this is the Barefoot thing and the home invasion that way and all that stuff. It also fits the AX man from or the cleaver, at least from New Orleans. Could that be the same? You know what I mean? Like, you can draw so many of these connections between them, but I really don't think they're there. That's why I said, I don't think so. I it's easy
Marissa:to make these connections. That may not be there. I'm saying
Matthew:I mean, at the end of the day, we know was Ebenezer pook, rampaging through the US. But that will more than do it for us this for this entry. I know it was a bit longer than we normally do. But we will kind of just wanted to wrap it up a little bit. And we would really like to get your feedback. Like, seriously, please give us some feedback. Do you like the idea of doing series? Do you? Do you think it was the man from the train was Paul Mueller? Do you think it was somebody else? Do you what are your opinions on this particular series, both for the content that we provided, as well as, if you like the format, what you would like to see in the future, if we were to do stuff like this, because we do have aspirations, I do think we'll be doing a series on the Satanic Panic in the fairly near future, and a couple of double episodes and stuff like that. But your feedback is always welcome. As always, thank you to our patrons, who helped us out immensely by giving us a couple of bucks a couple of hard earned duckets each month to help with the costs that go into making a podcast but if you cannot share the links with your friends, reach out to us on Twitter and Facebook at Macabrepedia.
Marissa:We're also on Instagram Macabrepediapod. And of course our email is all in our show notes.
Matthew:As always, thank you for listening and join us next week as we add another entry into this our Macabrepedia