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- [00:00]
Jed Lipinski
I've noticed there's a point where healthcare stops feeling like just appointments and starts feeling like constant admin work. That's why I'm glad I came across Solace. It's a platform that connects you with a dedicated healthcare advocate who steps into that process with you. A Solace advocate can find the right doctors and schedule appointments, fight denied insurance claims to help get care approved and make sure your doctors are actually staying in sync so you're not repeating yourself everywhere you go. They can also join your appointments remotely, translate medical jargon into plain language, and break down test results and treatment plans so you actually understand your care. You connect with your advocate by phone, text, email or video call through the platform and instead of handing you more to manage, they take on the work patients usually end up doing alone. These are experienced healthcare professionals on often nurses with an average of 16 years in the field and they've already helped tens of thousands of patients. Go to Solishhealth.com to see if you qualify. It takes about two minutes and it's covered by insurance. That's Solishhealth.com must be 18 or older. Advocates do not provide medical or legal advice. You're probably not drinking enough water. I'm probably not either. We all mean to and then we don't. That's where ELLO comes in. They make the viral water bottles and tumblers you've seen all over Instagram and TikTok. But they're not just cute, they're designed to make daily routines easier. Their Oasis tumbler has a lid that twists to tuck the straw away so it stays clean and totally leak proof. And the pop and fill bottle has a push button lid so you can refill it without unscrewing the top. If you're into meal prepping or love leftovers, their leak proof glass containers are made for life on the go, not leaks in your bag. Elo's mission is replacing single use plastics with reusable products that look good, work well and last. Plus they're backed by a limited lifetime warranty. Visit eloproducts.com and use code TRYLO20 for 20% off your first purchase. That's E L L O products.com code TRYLO20 for 20 percent off your first Elo purchase. The Times Picayune newspaper in New Orleans was founded in 1837. When I showed up there around 2013, it had just celebrated its 175th anniversary. In honor of that milestone, reporters would occasionally publish stories about interesting events from the city's past. There were A lot of good ones. But the ones I remember most were by a young editor named James Karst. Like me, James was from the North. He'd grown up on a farm in Indiana, and he was working at a newspaper in Fairbanks, Alaska, when he was hired by the Times Pick.
- [03:07]
James Karst
And I'll never forget, when I came down to interview at the Pic un, one of the managing editors joked that the other managing editor had gone to new lengths to bring Yankees into the newspaper as I was visiting from Alaska.
- [03:24]
Jed Lipinski
By 2014, James had been at the newspaper for over a decade. He lived through Hurricane Katrina, and he'd developed a deep interest in New Orleans history. He wrote more anniversary stories than anyone else, starting with events that occurred in the mid-1800s. But it was an episode from the early 20th century that really captured his attention.
- [03:46]
James Karst
And as I got into, I guess, the 1910s, I was probably combing through old newspapers and came across these stories about the Axeman, this supposed serial killer who was indiscriminately butchering people in their homes as they were asleep and who was officially never caught, never punished.
- [04:12]
Jed Lipinski
James was vaguely familiar with the Axeman. There were a bunch of articles, books, and TV shows about it, including an episode of FX's American Horror Story. But these versions often stretch the truth. In American Horror Story, the Axeman is a jazz musician who plays saxophone in local clubs, which was never proven. He's also a supernatural spirit created by witches. So James decided to take a deep dive into the Axeman legend. He spent days in the Times Pick's digital archives. He tracked down old arrest logs, coroner's reports, and transcripts of police interviews. He wrote half a dozen stories in an effort to understand who or what the Axeman really was. In the end, he got as close as anyone else has gotten to the truth. I'm Jed Lipinski. This is Gone South. In the early morning hours of December 6, 1907, residents at the corner of Claiborne Avenue and Palmyra street saw a few blocks west of the French Quarter, woke to the sound of a bomb exploding at a nearby grocery store. The bomb blasted a hole in the sidewalk and blew out the windows in the front of the building. The owner of the store, an Italian immigrant named Carmelo Graffanini, survived unscathed. So did his wife and four kids, all of whom were asleep in the bedroom behind the store. In the wake of the blast, a bartender at a nearby saloon told the cops that shortly before the explosion, he'd seen what he called a burly Italian sprinting down Claiborne Avenue Graffanini believed that burly Italian may well have been the same guy who'd threatened to extort him over the past few weeks. The man in question was a local pharmacist named Joseph Mumfrey, though the Times Picayune would spell his last name a few different ways. Mumfrey was believed to be a member of the Black Hand, a kind of precursor to the Mafia that preyed on Italian immigrant communities. In cities like New Orleans, a person
- [06:30]
James Karst
might be kidnapped or they might be threatened. A fairly affluent business owner, a grocery store owner, somebody who had a job and had a business, would receive a letter, you know, slapped on their desk or slipped under the door, and it would say something like, you better give me $1,000 or else something bad is going to happen.
- [06:51]
Jed Lipinski
Just six months earlier, Mumfre and other suspected Black Hand extortionists were blamed for the murder of an eight year old Italian boy who'd been lured from his home, held for a $6,000 ransom, and later found murdered in a swamp outside New Orleans. But Mumfre was never charged with the crime. In the lead up to the explosion, Graffanini told the cops he'd received two awkwardly written letters, both in Italian, that demanded money in exchange for protection. The first read, dear friend, according to certain affairs, we need $1,000. Therefore, it is better for you to apply to some friends and send it to us. Otherwise you will pass a bad moment. Don't sleep and try to think about it. Graffanini didn't reply. A few days later, Joseph Mumfre wandered into the store, greeted him with the words dear friend and asked how business was going. Graffanini said it was pretty good. Mumfre asked if he had anything for him, and Graffanini said no, though according to his statement to the cops, he did give him a cigar. Mumfre walked out, shaking his head in disgust. A few days later, Graffanini got a second letter. This one was more pointed. Dear Friend, it began, don't delay more than November 15th current. Otherwise your family will fare badly. Think in time, otherwise your $1,000 will save your life. $1,000 in 1907 is the equivalent of around 35 grand today. Once again, Graffanini didn't respond. And once again, after a few days passed, Joseph Mumphrey, the pharmacist, walked back through the door. He asked if the grocer had anything for him. Graffanini again said no. This time he didn't give him a cigar. A few days later, the bomb went off. To New Orleans police detectives, it seemed Pretty obvious who the culprit was. Two days after the attack, they arrested Joseph Mumfrey. The news made the front page of the Times Picayune, which described him as the leader of a local gang. As the reporter wrote, joseph L. Mumfrey is above the usual order of Italians in appearance and manners and is without doubt cunning and intelligent. He assumes superiority over the other Italians. And last Friday night, while being examined in the police inspector's office, frequently slapped himself on the breast, threw his shoulders back, and exclaimed, I'm a gentleman. And challenged anyone to gainsay him. But the evidence against Mumfrey was substantial. As James Karst later wrote, Mumfre admitted he'd been at the store the night before the explosion. Multiple witnesses placed him at the scene in its immediate aftermath, and his alibi that he'd been at home when the bomb went off fell apart. When the defense witnesses gave conflicting testimony. At Mumfre's trial the following year, a jury deliberated for just 15 minutes before finding him guilty. He was sentenced to 20 years at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for the crime of blowing up a house. Mumfre was appalled. In an interview with the Times Picayune, he insisted he'd been framed.
- [10:16]
James Karst
At some point in this process. He wrote this letter, you know, just lamenting the fact that he was not going to be able to parent his daughter. He describes himself as a widower, and he has this child, and here he is, sent to Angola.
- [10:32]
Jed Lipinski
Two years later, in a letter to his attorney from Angola, Mumfrey was still proclaiming his innocence and hoping his conviction would be overturned. A reporter got a hold of the letter, an excerpt of which was published in the Times Pick. Remember that I have my little girl, her future to consider at all times, mumfre wrote, And I will never believe that justice will operate so inefficiently as to deprive an innocent father from his motherless child. Local reporters were clearly taken with Joseph Mumfre, and they didn't have to wait long for more copy. He was paroled in 1915 after just seven years and was soon back to committing crimes. It was around this time that New Orleans was gripped by a string of nighttime attacks that the city would come to blame on a single figure, the axeman. You know that feeling when you're at the grocery store, just staring at all the meat options, trying to figure out what's actually good? I used to overthink it every single time, and it made grocery shopping feel exhausting. It made me procrastinate when it's such an important task. That's honestly why I recently switched to Good Ranchers. I'm a subscriber now, and it takes that whole decision off my plate. I know I'm getting high quality 100% American meat from local farms and ranches and it shows up right at my door. It's simple, it's reliable, and it makes cooking at home feel a lot less overwhelming. Start your plan today and you'll get free meat for life and $100 off your first three orders. Or if you just want to give it a try, you can get $40 off your first order. Instead, just go to goodranchers.com and use my code SOUTH at checkout. That's $100 off your first three orders or $40 off your first order. With my code SOUTH this month only goodranchers.com American meat delivered as part of the Gone south community. You know that reexamining stories we inherit can change the way we see both the past and the present. And the same is true for the stories passed down in our families. That's where the new podcast Family Lore begins. Each episode opens with a family legend. A grandfather who claimed to have flown before the Wright brothers. A great uncle tied to the killing of a Texas ranching heir. Stories passed down through generations long believed, rarely questioned. Family Lore gently pulls at the edges, not to tear those stories apart, but to understand them and to uncover the histories that may have been lost along the way. Family Lore is available now wherever you get your podcasts, and if you're curious, stay with us. There's a preview waiting at the end of this episode. Lately I've been thinking a lot about how much easier life feels when your wardrobe just works. When you've got pieces that are comfortable, versatile and still make you feel pulled together without having to plan it out too much. That's where Quints has really been a game changer for me. Their spring staples make getting dressed feel simple again. I'm talking about 100% European linen shorts and shirts starting around $34. Their 100% Pima cotton tees are another favorite. Super soft, really clean and fit and just an instant upgrade from basic basics. And even their pants have that same feel. Relaxed comfort but still tailored enough to wear out and about without thinking twice. What really surprised me is the quality for the price. Everything is typically 50 to 80% less than similar brands because they work directly with ethical factories and skip the middlemen. I recently added a linen shirt to my rotation and it's become one of those items I keep reaching for. It just looks good every time. Refresh your everyday with luxury you'll actually use. Head to quints.com GoneSouth for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's quince.com GoneSouth for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com GoneSouth. After his initial story about Joseph Mumfrey, Times Picayune editor James Karst kept digging in to the idiosyncratic Italian's background. Combing through old articles and police reports, James found that Mumfrey had repeated run ins with the law. After his release from Angola, he was
- [15:23]
James Karst
accused of trying to threaten people to vote for a certain person in an election. He's like arrested with another man and they're heavily armed.
- [15:33]
Jed Lipinski
Less than six months later, he was ID'd as a suspect in the fatal shooting of an Italian man who'd managed banana haulers for the United Fruit Company. The following year he was booked for carrying a police revolver that somebody had pawned at a local saloon he frequented. This period coincided with the years of the Axeman, and while Joseph Mumfrey was never arrested or charged for any of the attacks, he would later be identified as a prime suspect for reasons we'll get to later. The Axeman is commonly believed to have operated between 1918 and 1919, but James Karst argues that he was active before that. In the archives he found that in the year 1911, New Orleans saw three separate axe related murders of Italian grocers and their wives. James also found mention of an axe attack in 1917, just a few days before Christmas. That night, another Italian grocery store owner was asleep with his wife while his teenage sons and daughters slept in adjoining rooms. Around 3am Someone knocked out the panel of the store's front door, crept into the bedroom and swung a hatchet at the grocer's head, slicing him severely. On his way out, the intruder passed through the room where the boys slept and dealt two of them blows with the hatchet before escaping. The girls were untouched. The hatchet itself had been taken from inside the home and was later found on a chair in the kitchen.
- [17:04]
James Karst
It was clear that the killer did not travel with an axe, so it's not like he was walking around with a violin case with his weapon in it. He simply grabbed what was handy and used that to kill the person inside.
- [17:17]
Jed Lipinski
Remarkably, the grocer and his two sons survived, but while fingerprints were already in use by the NOPD back then, their methods failed to pull prints off wooden blood slick axe handles. Beyond the hatchet at the scene. There were few clues, nothing was stolen and the crime went unsolved. Six months later, yet another Italian grocery store owner and his wife had their heads bashed in and their throats cut by an intruder in the middle of the night. The New Orleans item put it this the story of a wholly murderous intent was told by the fact that of the dozen blows struck, all but one or two would have been sufficient to kill. But the murderer had wanted to be sure. Later that summer, the axeman struck again. A 31 year old Italian barber was attacked in his home at Tony and gravier streets around 3am the coroner noted the cause of death as a fracture of the vault of his skull. The cops could now see a pattern. The majority of the victims were Italian businessmen. In each incident, the attacker had gained access to the home by chiseling out a panel in the front door. Nothing was stolen and every time an axe had been used. One prevailing theory was that the attacks were part of the Black Hand's effort to extort money from successful business owners like Carmelo Graffagnini, the store owner we mentioned at the start of the episode. The victims were reported to have received threatening letters in the days and weeks before the attacks, but this theory didn't account for their brutality. Another question is if it was just an extortion scheme or these were the results of extortion, why were the murders themselves like so over the top violent?
- [19:10]
James Karst
And why would you commit murder in the first place? Like if you're trying to get a person to give you money and you know, maybe money that you'll collect once every month or something like that or well, why would you kill them?
- [19:22]
Jed Lipinski
In the summer of 1918, a retired New Orleans detective was questioned by a local reporter from the New Orleans states. He said it was a mistake to blame the Mafia because the Mafia never attacks women. Instead, he described the killer as a modern day Jekyll and Hyde with a bit of Jack the Ripper thrown in. This sadist may go on with his periodic outbreaks until his death, the detective explained. For months, even for years, he may be normal, then go on another rampage. Such statements didn't exactly put locals at ease. Neighbors of the slain victims were staying up all night, locking their doors and arming themselves for a late night encounter with the Axeman. Just days after the attack on the local barber, an Italian saloon owner a few blocks away was keeping an all night vigilant when he heard rustling outside his home. He dashed outside to find a discarded hatchet covered in grease, a screwdriver and a.38 caliber cartridge. When he spoke to his neighbors the next morning, they told him that they too had heard the commotion outside. They'd thrown open their windows to get a look at him. The intruder fled before they could. It was around this time that the New Orleans police superintendent, a man named Frank Mooney, informed the public that for the past few weeks he'd been receiving some unusual letters. The letters were from an anonymous man offering advice on how to catch the axeman. Mooney was impressed by the man's insight and urged him to come forward and assist with the case. In a letter published in the Times Picayune, Mooney wrote, I am open at all times to suggestions. The letters I received from the man in question contain some valuable information, and I feel that a talk with him would help me in running down the criminal. I've spoken with several criminologists on the subject, he said. But the letter writer appears to know more about the crime and criminals than any of them. The letter writer, as you might expect, didn't come forward. But less than a week later, the Axeman, or someone believed to be the Axeman, was spotted again. The sighting took place downtown, not far from the earlier attacks. According to a news article, the next day, a man had spotted an intruder creeping into his backyard. He grabbed a gun and a flashlight and ran outside. As he did so, the intruder, who is described as wearing white linen pants, jumped over the fence. What followed speaks to just how freaked out the city had become, apparently. A squad of 40 cops responded to the scene. They were trailed by what a reporter described as a crowd of some 3,000 vigilantes, many with guns in hand, who set about combing the area. Amidst the chaos, a woman screamed. She claimed to have seen the axeman crawl out from under her car in the backyard. The crowd chased after him, and yet, somehow the intruder vanished. After this and other close calls, the Axeman went silent for several months, which must have been a relief for the people of New Orleans. The city had been going through a lot lately. Storyville, New Orleans, famous red light district, had been shut down in 1917 as part of a federal effort to clean up downtown. Mardi Gras was called off the following year because of World War I. It was canceled again in 1919 due to the Spanish flu. The Axeman didn't help matters, but when months passed with no attacks, locals let their guard down. Some even poked fun at the idea of the axe wielding psychopath in their midst.
- [23:07]
James Karst
While some people were clearly spooked by this, it almost becomes comical in other ways. Like, for instance, the Piggly Wiggly grocery store ads in which they say, hey, Police Chief Mooney and residents of New Orleans, we got your axeman right here. He's going to be lopping off the high prices in our store, you know.
- [23:29]
Jed Lipinski
It wasn't until the spring of the following year that the actual Axeman reappeared, first on the streets of New Orleans and then, most famously in a provocatively written letter addressed to the Times Picayune.
- [23:48]
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- [25:22]
Jed Lipinski
In the popular history of the Axeman. His months long dry spell ended on the night of March 9, 1919. That's when he reportedly broke into the home of the Cortimiglia family, who owned a grocery store in Gretna, across the river from New Orleans. According to police reports, the Axeman chiseled a panel out of the grocery's back door, slipped inside and swung his axe. Charlie and Rosie Cortimiglia survived with fractured skulls, but their baby daughter Mary died in her mother's arms. Once again, nothing was taken, and police found the murder weapon at the scene. Rosie named her neighbor and his teenage son as the attackers, and a jury later convicted them. But she would later recant her accusation, and the men were released. The murder of Mary Cortimiglia plunged the city back into panic mode. A Times Picayune editorial asked if the Axeman was a, quote, madman, robber, vendetta, agent, sadist, or some supernatural spirit of evil, before concluding the possibilities in searching for the motives in this extraordinary series of axe butcheries are unlimited. Two days later, the Axeman replied. In what would go down as perhaps the definitive document in the Axeman legend, an individual claiming to be the New Orleans Axeman wrote an open letter to the editor of the Times. Pick it, esteemed mortal. They have never caught me, and they never will. They have never seen me, for I am invisible even as the ether which surrounds your earth. I am not a human being, but a spirit and a fell demon from hottest hell. I am what you Orlinians and your foolish police call the Axeman. The letter's author goes on to say that he will soon claim other victims and warns the police to be careful not to rile them up at will. I could slay thousands of your best citizens, the letter reads, for I am in close relationship with the angel of Death. In closing, the author notes that he will be passing over New Orleans at exactly 12:25am the following Tuesday night. He then makes what he calls a proposition to the people of the city. I am very fond of jazz music, the author writes, and I swear by all the devils in the nether regions that every person shall be spared in whose house 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 the people. One thing is certain, and that is some of those persons who do not jazz it on Tuesday night, if there be any, will get the ax. James Karst didn't take the letter seriously.
- [28:13]
James Karst
To me that's clearly a hoax, but much has been made of that over the years.
- [28:17]
Jed Lipinski
Some historians suggest the letter was written by a journalist or a crank letter writer or someone trying to exploit the city's hysteria. But the Times pick ran it straight, with no editorial disclaimers, and at least some residents took it seriously. The Tuesday night in question was St. Joseph's night, when many locals already threw parties and dances to celebrate a break in Lent. One reporter noted that bands in phonographs and player pianos all over the City created bedlam. The axeman did not strike that night, but the whole affair inspired a local composer to write a popular song called the Mysterious Axeman's Jazz, which would later be covered by the Swing Revival Band Squirrel Nut Zippers. As silly as the letter sounds, it's probably the thing most associated with the axeman myth today. For James Karst, it overshadows what he sees as the much more interesting reality of the axeman saga. The axeman reportedly struck twice more in the summer of 1919, but the victims both survived. It was that fall, a few days before Halloween, that he's thought to have claimed his last victim. As James discovered, the circumstances of the murder were very strange Indeed. Shortly after 1am that night, a woman named Esther Pepettone woke to the sound of her husband Michael screaming. One account says he was asleep in the room next door. Another says he was asleep in the bed next to her. Either way, when Esther found him, the sheets were soaked with blood and Michael was unconscious. The police would later say that Michael's head had been struck 18 times with some kind of weapon. Not an axe, but perhaps a metal tent stake from a circus nearby. Michael Pepetone was rushed to Charity Hospital, but died from his injuries hours later. Though the murder weapon wasn't an axe, the attack bore the hallmarks of the axeman murders. Pepetone was an Italian grocer. $100 in cash was left in the kitchen, and the violence of the attack seemed out of proportion to whatever sins Pepitone may have committed. Still, the cops were puzzled by the details. Chief among them, how did Esther Pepetone manage to sleep through her husband getting murdered with a tent spike? According to the Times Picayune, she told Police Superintendent Frank Mooney that she was a heavy sleeper and hadn't heard a thing until her husband screamed, police ask
- [30:52]
James Karst
his wife what happened. Strangely, she didn't see the guy. She couldn't describe him, and she didn't really know much about what had happened. It certainly is unusual. I'm not sure how to describe it, but Esther's story gets stranger from there.
- [31:10]
Jed Lipinski
Shortly after the murder of her husband, Esther Pepetone moved to Los Angeles with her six kids. Searching the archives of the LA Times, James discovered that she'd married a man named Angelo Albano, whom she'd known back in New Orleans. Angelo, it turns out, was in business with Joseph Mumfrey, who was also living in la. Mumphrey was the alleged extortionist for the Black Hand that we mentioned at the top of the episode. As you May remember Mumfre had been sentenced to Angola years earlier for throwing a bomb at a grocery store after failing to extort the Italian businessman who owned it. After his release, he was arrested multiple times during the years the Axeman was at large. Though he was never arrested or charged for the attacks. A New Orleans judge eventually ordered him to leave New Orleans, which is how he ended up in la. Just over a month after Esther Pepetone married Angelo Albano, Angelo disappeared. The LA Times reported that that witnesses saw Albano buying vegetables and humming a happy tune before making a withdrawal from a local bank.
- [32:18]
James Karst
He is never heard from again. Angelo Albano disappears off the face of the earth.
- [32:23]
Jed Lipinski
In the wake of her new husband's disappearance, Esther approached the one man she thought might know something. Her husband's former business partner, Joseph Mumfrey. Mumfrey delivered. He told Esther that Angela was being held for ransom and that Esther was expected to pay it. The final showdown took place on December 5, 1921. There are varying accounts of what happened next, but this is the one James Karst found. Around noon that day, Esther and her kids were in their home on East 36th street when Joseph Mumfrey knocked on the door. Esther opened it. As she later told the Los Angeles police, Mumfrey placed his hand on his hip pocket and demanded $500 and her jewelry. Mumfrey added that if Esther didn't comply, he would kill her the same way he'd killed her husband. At that point, Esther said, she walked to her bedroom, grabbed a.38 caliber revolver, walked back to the front door and shot Joseph Mumfrey.
- [33:26]
James Karst
And then she reaches into the drawer and. And she pulls out another.38 and she empties that into Joseph Mumfrey. I think she fires 12 shots. Eleven of them hit their target. And Joseph Mumfrey is killed on the spot.
- [33:43]
Jed Lipinski
Mumfre died on Esther's front stoop. Esther went to the grocery store across the street and called the cops. She claimed self defense, but the cops weren't so sure. Neither was James.
- [33:55]
James Karst
I'm not a criminal investigator, but to my mind, shooting a person 11 times is a lot for self defense. Kind of seems like excessive, I might say.
- [34:07]
Jed Lipinski
As James Karst wrote 93 years later, Esther's first husband had been viciously murdered in their home. Her second husband had disappeared. Now, at age 42, Esther found herself on trial for murder in the shooting death of her husband's former business partner. On the stand, Esther claimed Mumfrey had threatened her and that she'd shot him in self defense. The jury deliberated for 40 minutes before finding her not guilty. Word that Esther Pepetone had killed Joseph Mumfrey reached New Orleans a week or so later. Local papers ran wild with the story. The Times Picayune reported that Esther had killed Mumfrey in revenge for killing her first husband and causing the disappearance of her second. The New Orleans States. A competing newspaper took it up a notch. On December 15, the paper ran a front page headline titled Axe Murders Solved. The reporter described Mumfre as the leader of one of the worst bands of Italian blackmailers and noted that Mumfrey had left town shortly after the death of Esther's first husband and that after his departure, the New Orleans axe murders had ceased. Nothing else in the article supports the headline's claim that Mumfre was the Axeman. They were probably just trying to sell newspapers. But the fact remains that after Mumfrey's death, the Axeman never struck again. So was Joseph Mumfrey really the Axeman? Another former Times picked journalist who revisited the axeman case in 1952, wrote, Most Orleanians do not think so and do not think so yet, before admitting that no one will ever know. James Karst, writing 60 years later, drew a similar conclusion. He pulled Mumphrey's old arrest records and found that Mumfrey was locked up during some of the supposed Axeman attacks. Then again, Mumfrey was at large when others occurred, which led James to think that if Mumfre committed some of them, copycats may have committed others.
- [36:10]
James Karst
You might theorize that Joseph Mumfrey had figured out a particularly effective way to spread terror among business owners who might be reluctant to hand away money for no reason. And, you know, maybe others saw his success and thought this was a good method, and so they replicated it.
- [36:34]
Jed Lipinski
James Karst wrote his last axeman article in 2018, a few months before he left the Times Picayune. Having exhausted his investigation into the murders, he turned his attention back to Esther Pepetone, now Esther Albano. James learned that after gunning down Joseph Mumfrey, Esther and her six kids had moved back to New Orleans.
- [36:56]
James Karst
So to me, she is really an enigmatic figure. We don't know much about her. You know, she's not been interviewed at length, at least after the investigation into Joseph Mumfrey's death. And she kind of lives out the rest of her life quietly.
- [37:13]
Jed Lipinski
Esther died in 1940. After some digging online, James found that she was buried in a cemetery near Canal Boulevard. One afternoon, he decided to visit her grave.
- [37:27]
James Karst
So I went there and was just kind of standing there at the grave and. And a man who worked there at the cemetery came by and he said, oh, are you with the family? And I said, no, I'm just here. And he said, oh, well, the family comes by regularly to put flowers there. And I said, wow, can you give them my card?
- [37:51]
Jed Lipinski
A few days later, James got a call from one of Esther Albano's descendants. They agreed to meet for lunch. At first they were skittish about saying too much. Despite the passage of more than 90 years, they worried something they said might unearth old familial conflicts and perhaps even conjure the Axeman back into existence. But they eventually told James what they thought. They firmly believed that Joseph Mumfrey had killed Esther's first husband, Michael, in what was likely a mafia related dispute, and that Esther had killed Mumfre in retaliation for Michael's death and the disappearance of her second husband, Angelo. And while they couldn't say for sure that Mumfre was the Axeman, the family believed that in killing him, Esther had done something no one else had been able to do. She had stopped what may be the most famous series of murders in New Orleans history. If you have information, story tips or feedback you'd like to share with the Gone south team, please email us@gonesouthpodcastmail.com that's gone southpodcastmail.com for bonus content. You can follow us on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram at Gone Southpodcast. You can also sign up for our newsletter on substack at Gone south with with Jed Lipinski Gone south is an Odyssey original podcast. It's created, written and narrated by me, Jed Lipinski. Our executive producers are Leah Rees Dennis, Maddy Sprung Keyser and Lloyd Lockridge. Our story editor is Katie Mingle. Gone south is edited, mixed and mastered by Chris Basel. Production support from Ian Mont and Sean Cherry. Special thanks to Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Kurt Courtney and Hilary Schuff. Thank you for listening to Gone south when Mother's Day means celebrating your mom, your wife, maybe even your daughter as a new mom. Trust 1-800-FLOWERS to help you celebrate every important woman in your life with double blooms from 1-800-Flowers. Order one dozen roses and get another dozen for free. It's a simple way to give beautifully with colorful blooms that make Mother's Day feel meaningful for every mom you're celebrating. Order with confidence and get Double blooms at 1-800-FLowers.com. spotify that's 1-800flowers.com Spotify Starting a business
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