Obssessed With Grocers, 'Axeman' Killer Never Caught

For over a year, from May 1918 to October 1919, the City of New Orleans was in a frenzied panic over a roaming serial killer dubbed the “Axeman”. The first to succumb to the sharp blade of the Axeman were an Italian grocer named Joseph Maggio and his wife, Catherine on May 23, 1918. As they lay sleeping in their apartment above the Maggio grocery store the killer cut the couple's throats with a straight razor before bashing in their heads with an axe. When law enforcement began to investigate they found the bloody clothes of the murderer, as he had obviously changed into a clean set of clothes before fleeing the scene. Police ruled out robbery as motivation for the attacks, as money and valuables left in plain sight were not stolen by the intruder. Near the couples home, a message written in chalk read: “Mrs. Joseph Maggio will sit up tonight. Just write Mrs. Toney”. Investigators immediately questioned several people but all were released for lack of evidence.