Murder mysteries and detective shows are popular forms of entertainment, but they tend to play down just how strange and deranged homicides can be. Let's take a look at...
- The Jazz Axeman
- The Toy Box Killer
- The Giggling Granny
- The Acid Bath Killer
- The Killer Sisters
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| New Orleans was once haunted by a jazz-loving axe murderer... (llambrano) |
The Jazz Axeman
In 1918, the city of New Orleans played host to a most unusual murderer. Targeting grocery stores owned by Italian families, this axe-wielding brute would break-and-enter to mutilate and murder. A hurried investigation into the murders led to the arrest of two members of the Jordano family, but they were released after the "witness" recanted.
One thing that set the axeman apart from other murderers was his letters to the press - and their strange contents. He described himself as a demon from the hottest hell, even addressing his missives to "Esteemed mortal." Most surreally, in one letter the axeman promised to avoid any house in which a jazz band was playing that night - a promise he seemed to keep.
The axeman was never caught - though police suspect that he may have killed in other parts of Louisiana.
The Toy Box Killer
In the New Mexico town Truth of Consequences, trailer sat near the edge of Elephant Butte Lake. This trailer was called the "Toy Box" by David Parker Ray, a kidnapper who claimed to have killed over 40 women.
He and his accomplices (including his daughter) would use a variety of methods to capture a victim - they might pose as authorities to "arrest" a victim, or simply drug them.
The trailer was equipped with various implements of torture, including a gynaecological chair with restraints. Ray killed so many women that he recorded an introductory video that could be played to victims. Abductions could last for months, and Ray would record the ordeal for later viewing. If he didn't kill a victim, he would drug them with barbiturates in the hope of inducing amnesia.
Ray's spree came to an end when Cynthia Vigil Jaramillo managed to escape the trailer and alert the authorities. Ray died in prison at the age of 62 while serving a 223 year sentence. Police suspect that human remains could be found in nearby lake.
The Giggling Granny
Nancy "Nannie Doss" Hazle was arrested in 1955 for the murder of her husband - but when questioned, she admitted to killing four spouses (police suspect that she may have killed as many as twelve people in total) Chillingly, she giggled all the way through her confession.
Deaths started following Hazle during her first marriage. In 1927, two of her children died of "food poisoning" after eating breakfast - and her husband moved away after receiving an anonymous tip to not eat anything she had prepared. She married Frank Harrelson in 1929 and may have murdered two of her grandchildren during this relationship, killing one with a hairpin to the brain and another via asphyxiation. She then claimed a life insurance policy for the later victim.
In 1945 Hazle killed her husband by poisoning his stash of moonshine. She married Arlie Lanning, but killed him in 1950. She had picked her two previous husbands from lonely hearts columns, and continued the trend with Richard Morton in 1952. Morton turned out to be unfaithful - he mysteriously died in 1953. Meanwhile, Hazle took care of her mother with arsenic coffee. Since each case had a reasonable alternative explanation (food poisoning or disease) and Hazle seemed to be a model housewife, no-one thought to investigate further.
Hazle married Samuel Doss in 1958. True to form, he was first hospitalized with arsenic laced prune-cake, then killed with arsenic coffee. This time the physician became suspicious and convinced Hazle to allow an autopsy, claiming that it would "Help save lives in the future." The arsenic was revealed and Hazle was incarcerated, being spared the electric chair by reason of insanity.
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| Be very wary if a serial-widow offers you coffee... (cocoparisienne) |
The Acid Bath Killer
John Haigh was a charismatic man, able to charm his way into friendships with the wealthy. He lived in an expensive hotel in London, drove fast cars, dressed well and patronized all the best shows. He fit right in with his victims, beguiling them until they were happy to discuss their wealth and property. If he liked what he heard, Haigh would find an excuse to get the person alone in his workshop - and the unfortunate victim would be dispatched via a revolver shot. He would then dissolve the bodies in acid.
Haigh had previously been in prison for fraud, and was known to have lamented that he had left people alive to accuse him - the acid bath strategy seems to have been a response to being convicted. His scheme was discovered when police caught him selling the jewelry of Olive Durand-Deacon, a missing lady last seen in his company. Investigators discovered human gallstones and a set of false teeth amidst the organic sludge found behind his workshop.
The Killer Sisters
Christine and Léa Papin were sisters that grew up in Le Mans, France. They came from an extremely dysfunctional family - when their parents eventually divorced, they were sent to a mental institution to recover.
When released into the community they made a living as maids, functioning as a pair. In 1926 they became live-in servants of René and Léonie Lancelin. In 1933 Léonie failed to meet René at a dinner engagement - René returned to the house only to find the lights out.
Lancelin summoned the police and the affected entry, discovering the mutilated and blinded corpses of Léonie and her daughter Geneviéve - the sisters had gouged out the victims eyes. The two Papins were found lying in their bed, where they confessed to the murders without emotion.
It seems that the murders may have been triggered by an argument. The Papins had previously (and unfairly) had their wages docked to repair a blown fuse - and another blown fuse may have prompted the fight. In the struggle Christine struck Léonie across the head, prompting Geneviéve to intervene - and Léa jumped in once alerted by the noise. The Papins ultimately disabled the Lancelins, killing them with kitchen implements and "preparing them" as though they were rabbits destined for the pot.
Christine was portrayed as the mastermind of the crime and died in prison, while Léa (who was thought to be completely under the command of her sister) was eventually released.
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