In one of the bedrooms they found a blood soaked mattress with severed fingers. They believed he was planning a getaway on a ship. The city recorded the most homicides per capita among major U.S. cities in September, but Jackson, Mississippi, unseated it as the murder capital by the end of the year. Learn the truth of Mad Madame and of her escape from justice. The money, the booze, and the passions flowed freely. Mortified, Henry ran back out to the street, and there he succumbed to the siren song of the bottle, for the first time going into a speakeasy and falling into a whiskey jug. The appearance of the head of the defendants wife had been skillfully removed.. (Photo: Spokesman Review). Lonie, 28, and Theresa, 25 were sisters from New Iberia. This lively era in the French Quarter was unfortunately accompanied by a spate of crime. While tour guides repeat tales of New Orleanss more famous criminals, they exclude the murders that the 1927 Times-Picayune proclaimed to be the most brutal committed in New Orleans crime history.. He also believed that Leonide had been a negative influence on his wife so he killed her as well. It's hard to not take away the sexism and worry about feminism underlying it all. Authorities recovered a gold wedding band buried in a deep gash in Theresas back. Resting on the torso was a bloodied cane knife, of the type used on sugar plantations. At a Los Angeles hotel in 1956, Henry shot his girlfriend Alberta Orange in the chest, puncturing her lung. On the afternoon of Thursday, October 27, 1927, Nettie Compass entered the second-floor apartment at 715 Ursulines Street to do some cleaning. A pair of gruesome murders in the French Quarter, remembered as the New Orleans Trunk Murders, was one of the most violent crimes in 1920s New Orleans. Theresa and Leonides personal effects lay strewn among the gore: childrens clothing, unfinished sewing projects, the womens lace garments, silk stockings, and beauty creams. They had been drawn to the city by the call of promise and opportunity, but the move wasnt all it was cracked up to be. In new orleans, a young mother is found shot and burned in the trunk of her car. As he stood over the sleeping form of Theresa, studying the angles of the knife, he suddenly found himself swinging like a man possessed. The perpetrator was known as the Phantom of Texarkana, although it was never determined that it was one perpetrator. The description given by Dr. George Roeling (the Orleans Parish Coroner at the time) confirmed the brutality of the scene. A 30-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the murder of a woman whose body was found in a burned car last month in New Orleans East, police say. She survived, and he went back to jail. Ironically it is next door to the Moity apartment. (, The building at 715 Ursulines Street still stands today, in a block that has been the site of more than one gruesome crime. He appears to have enjoyed remarkable leeway for a man convicted of two brutal murders. ). Yet violent crime continued to soar across . The Gruesome Case of the 1927 New Orleans Trunk Murders | by The True Historian | Lessons from History | Medium 500 Apologies, but something went wrong on our end. . Product code: C-49992P5. Following the trial, Dr. Roeling told a Times-Picayune reporter, The killer who decapitated the Moity women knew enough not to try and cut through the bone, but to cut through the joint. After getting out of prison, Henry moved to California in hopes of restarting his life. The perpetrator, dubbed, "The Axeman," busted down the doors of people's homes and, in some cases, slaughtered whole families with his axe. knew enough not to try to cut through the bone, but to cut through the joint. She had barely set foot inside before encountering traces of blood. In his 1976 memoir, Healy described their discovery: We found red stains on the floor and saw a large trunk in a bedroom, partially open. Back in the 1920s, a pair of horrific murders took place on the 700 block of Ursulines Avenue in the French Quarter of New Orleans. 2023 Atlas Obscura. The only window into the womens interior lives is preserved in a story written by Leonide. New Orleans French Quarter, at the corner of Ursuline Avenue and Royal Street. Henry was already suspicious of Theresas infidelity, but her running away with someone pushed him too far. From the time the Moitys moved in, Theresa and Caruso were pretty thick, Henry claimed in his confession to the District Attorney. Morgan Freeman would be terrified. For social distancing, we will continue to take out much smaller groups than other tours (we always have! Walking & Biking Tours in New Orleans: Check out 177 reviews and photos of the New Orleans True Murder Tour: Sinister Criminal Intentions. Mardi Gras partiers shared whether they feel safe in New Orleans after the city was labeled a murder capital after recording the second-most homicides per capita among major U.S. cities. Next, he attacked his sister-in-law, who he blamed in part for his wifes behavior. Listen to the story of The New Orleans Murder Block. He'd been walking the streets all day, trying to drum up business for a sign painting business he wanted to start, when he returned to find the women packing to leave. Unlike many daring prison breaks, this one was quite boringwhile running an errand at the post office for the prison, he simply hailed a cab and fled to California. He started seeing his wife coming out of the sausage grinder, and after a customer reported to the police they'd found a bit of wedding ring in their dinner, Hans was carted off to an insane asylum to live out the rest of his life. Less than a decade after his pardoning, he shot his then-girlfriend and was sentenced to another 5 years in prison for attempted murder. In a Times-Picayune article, parish coroner Dr. George Roelingnoted the killers skill with a knife at trial, saying, The killer who decapitated Mrs. Henry Moity . Healy borrowed a neighbors telephone, requesting a second reporter before suggesting that it might be appropriate to alert the coroner. Henry had begged his way onto the ship using a false name, but the crew recognized his tattoo from the newspaper stories about the crimes. by Jackson Square Cat August 28, 2016 New Orleans' French Quarter, at the. Joseph Moity turned himself in to the authorities as soon as he heard about the discovery. Headlined Bodies Found in Trunks, it tells the ghastly end of Theresa and Leonide Lonie Moity. please think ahead of you and do not make the mistake Ive made, because it does not always turn out the right way, you can still be disappointed. You can also read more true crime cases that take place in New Orleans by checking out my previous blog posts. The group . The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. But all was not well in an apartment near the French Quarter. By the 1920s the neighborhood, especially in the areas closer to Esplanade Avenue, was heavily populated by first- and second-generation Sicilians, who joined the racially and ethnically diversecommunity. (New Orleans Item 11/06/1927). Allegedly, a customer found a gold ring in the sausage and reported it to the police, who made a visit to Muellers sausage factory. "Right now our mayor doesn't love New Orleans so the citizens and the residents stood up," Eileen Carter, vice chair of the No LaToya recall campaign, told Fox News. Offer available only in the U.S. (including Puerto Rico). Texarkana Moonlight Murders & The New Orleans Trunk Murders Morbid Episode 159 Looks at this! Nettie came upon a gruesome scene upon entering the apartment. Healys dispatches to area law enforcement described Henry as having dark bushy hair, very dark brown eyes, and tattoo mark on arm, flower with lady face, also nude woman.. It was great to hear his local perspective on all the stories he shared. These murders were not the first nor the last to occur on this particular block. Nettie testified she remembered Henry pulling her aside and whispering not to be scared if she heard the children crying in the early morning. He attempted to plead not guilty by reason of insanity, largely leaning on the idea that the two things that drove him to kill were whiskey and the cruelty of his wife. It was a smaller group than other tours we saw and very entertaining! When night fell over the quarter, the Moity women and children retired to their beds while Henry paced restlessly, drinking and contemplating the hidden cane knife. Inside, investigators found a blood-soaked mattress in a bedroom, a bathroom cabinet dripping with blood, and among the scattered clothing littering the floor, they found a pair of severed fingers. Eventually, Mueller began to have an affair with the woman which made his wife angry. (Photograph by Eli A. Haddow). PRESS At a Los Angeles hotel in 1956, Henry shot his girlfriend Alberta Orange in the chest, puncturing her lung. In the summer of 1944, on a routine trip to the post office, Henry simply hired a taxi to take him to Hammond, Louisiana. Their Trunk Murders, a forgotten chapter of the citys lively history, involved clandestine streetcar flirtations, severed fingers, and the possible emergence of a sausage ghost.. Upon the gruesome discovery of the two murdered women, New Orleans Superintendent of Police Thomas Healey set about locating the husbands. Back in prison, he died in 1957 of a stroke, ending the story of the New Orleans Trunk murders. It was the fall of 1927 when housekeeper Nettie Compass entered the apartment on 715 Ursulines Street near downtown New Orleans. Hailing from New Iberia, Louisiana (pop 6,278), they'd hoped to find more opportunity in the city, but the brothers did mostly odd-jobs, doing their best to provide. Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Email . Meanwhile, the French Quarter had become increasingly home to working-class residents, thanks to decreasing property values and proximity to employment opportunities. The grim Times-Picayune article from October 28, 1927 is filed into a binder at the Williams Research Center of New Orleans. He tells a story reallllly well and it wasnt boring at all! On the afternoon of Thursday, October 27, 1927, Nettie Compass entered the second-floor apartment at 715 Ursulines Street to do some cleaning. Seemingly inspired by some details of this case, particularly Henrys background as a butcher, the story goes that a German immigrant opened a sausage factory on Ursulines Street. A crime thriller set in New Orleans, it tells the chilling story of the citys latest serial killer, the Bayou Slasher, and the detectives who work to uncover the killer before its too late. Henry, they said, begged his way onto the ship using a false name, but the crew recognized his tattoo after reading a newspaper account of the crimes. This mode helps users with ADHD and Neurodevelopmental disorders to read, browse, and focus on the main website elements more easily while significantly reducing distractions. Left: Authorities used Henry Moitys US Navy portrait to help locate him after the Trunk Murders in 1927. DISCLOSURE STATEMENT, By Dylan Jordan, interpretation assistant, A photograph shows Governor Nichols and Royal Streets in 1928. Mikko was a great guide and answered some follow up questions I had and suggested some podcasts that referenced some of the stories he told. The first suspects were their husbands. He explained that he had come home a few weeks before to find his wife with another man in the apartment. Anyone with more information may call the homicide unit at (504) 658-5300 or Crimestoppers of Greater New Orleans Inc. anonymously at (504) 822-1111. Described as a 'tenement,' 'squalid,' and 'nearly without furniture,' at around 1,000 square feet, it wasn't a comfortable life. Nevertheless, the Trunk Murders stood out as an exceptional case of violence that rattled and captivated the city. Joseph told police he moved out after catching Leonide with another man. Dave did an amazing job. In june 2015, the first 48 made local headlines when attorneys for a new orleans murder suspect accused the show's producers of withholding footage they said could. Buried in a deep gash on one of the victims backs, the coroner found a gold wedding band. around his boiler vat. But all was not well in an apartment near the French Quarter. Moreover, only 1.5 percent of local homicides had more than a single victim. Meanwhile, in terms of the homicide rate, New Orleans captured the crown for . New Orleans Trunk Murders. Limbs eternally akimbo and packed into their respective trunks, they would dance the Charleston no more. Blood-soaked mattresses where the victims had lain. You lived on the second floor," I wanted to scream. . This tour was great because he didnt focus on the same few stories you hear on yours - he really brought stories to life with his passion and deep background knowledge about NOLA. Henry also admitted to the murders being premeditated. The money, the booze, and the passions flowed freely. The lady fingers were discovered to have belonged to Theresa Moity, whose missing wedding ring was later retrieved from a gaping wound in her back. (THNOC, gift of Mrs. Charles Belik, 1987.25). very informative and theatrical. Henry was sent back to Louisiana and despite his escape was released from prison 2 years later on March 26, 1948. She was beautiful. On that same page Barbara Brooks, "Editor of Advice to the Lovelorn" says she "Sees Tragedy As Result of Bedraggled and Besmirched Love.". Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Look at how kind he could be- how tender! Please login and assign a widget area to at least 2 of the 5 search widget columns. HOURS "She's a good time girl!" CDP July 5, 2021 No Comments. From a New Orleans prison cell, Henry smoked, attempted to paint, and received curious visitors. The afternoon before the murders, he told the housekeeper, Nettie Compassthe woman who later discovered the victimsthat he should take a pistol and shoot both of those basterds [sic]. Later that evening, Nettie said she saw Henry, Theresa, Leonide, and the children leave the apartment in good spirits. The infamous New Orleans trunk murders The Sausage Ghost Legend Lyle Saxon, renowned author and collector of Louisiana folklore, included a very short piece about Hans Muller in Gumbo YaYa, telling of how he and his (unnamed) wife ran a successful sausage business. Joseph also told the police that he was sure that it was his brother Henry who committed the murders. The victims, later identified as Theresa and Leonide Moity, were both in their mid-twenties and natives of New Iberia. Two couples had serious marital problems, and a few days before Halloween in 1927, the home became the site of an infamous crime that is still featured on ghost tours today.</p><p>Take a break from serious world with the . In Henrys version of events, he was provoked to vengeance by Theresas imminent plans to leave him, in addition to her infidelities and neglect of the children. His 1941 appeal for a pardon was rejected by the governor and in 1944, he briefly escaped from the Louisiana State Penitentiary. They were well respected for being hard workers and very pleasant sort of people. Monique was entertaining and hilarious. However, 20 years before the publication of his book, the infamous New Orleans trunk murders became a national sensation, and, as is so often the case, it was more compelling than the fiction it was spun into. After determining that Henry had headed to a Camp Street boarding house, where he planned a getaway by ship, Superintendent Healy radioed the seven ships sailing out of New Orleans that day to be on the lookout. He also bought a sugar cane machete from the bartender. The victims of the Trunk Murders were discovered October 27, 1927, at 715 Ursulines Street. Henry scooped up his kids, hailed a cab and dropped them with his sister without a word about what had happened. After separating from her husband, Joseph, Leonide continued to live with Henry and Theresa, and Henry fretted over her influence on his wife. Required fields are marked *. New Orleans teen admits to carjacking spree, faces possible life prison term In addition to Costco carjackings, Tyrese Harris has confessed to murder of 12-year-old. 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