The papers lionized him. "She wears that FUR everywhere!" 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. Available now through most major bookstores and Amazon. In 1959, as Jimmie Davis campaigned to regain the governors seat, a reporter asked him why he paroled the man responsible for two horrendous homicides. By Tuesday November 1, howeverless than a week after the murdersHenry had made a full confession, abandoning his tale of the villain seaman. We have the benefit of nearly 100 years of progress between then and now, but several things jump out at the modern eye. The only window into the womens interior lives is preserved in a story written by Leonide. New Orleans recorded 266 homicides in 2022 a 116% increase from 2019, according to the New Orleans City Council crime database. The afternoon before the murders, Henry told Nettie Compass, the housekeeper who discovered the crime scene, that he should take a pistol and shoot both of those bastards.. The frantic cleaning lady was soon joined by two insurance men who were conveniently nearby and who, in turn, tipped off local reporter, George William Healy. Youll find out in a moment how this tragedy got its grisly nickname, and how it inspired a famous New Orleans urban legend. The first suspects were their husbands. Nettie walked up the stairs to the second floor of the Ursulines address and as she stepped into the Moity family home, her feet were met with blood-stained floors. A photograph shows Governor Nichols and Royal Streets in 1928. Allegedly, a customer found a gold ring in the sausage and reported it to the police, who made a visit to Muellers sausage factory. He boarded an Illinois Central train car, like the one seen here, and fled to St. Louis. If only that woman would've appreciated what she had, all this ugliness could've been avoided. If I ever get my hands on that Joe Caruso, Ill chop him up into little pieces, not big pieces like my wife, but little piecesmy God, Ill make him look like something thats been run through a sausage mill!. In the national papers and elsewhere, the fact that she had driven him to drink was another thing that made it not his fault. 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. The married Caruso operated a real estate office from the ground floor of 715 Ursulines. There was no place like New Orleans in the Roaring 20s. It was a smaller group than other tours we saw and very entertaining! When she threatened to fire the younger woman, Mueller murdered his wife to keep his mistress. You can also read more true crime cases that take place in New Orleans by checking out my previous blog posts. There's no way to really paraphrase this next bit, so: "One night, soon after, he heard a "thump! 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. Hitmans rap sheet only scratches the surface. (Photo: A newspaper report of the crime at 715UrsulinesAvenue. They'd greet everyone with a smile, and happily called out their regular customers' names as they walked through the door. In new orleans, a young mother is found shot and burned in the trunk of her car. I would definitely do it again. "They fit nicely," he would later tell a reporter. One of the most amazing instances is above, "How Jealousy Turned a Devoted Husband Into a Demon," but there are many more. In March 1928, Henry was convicted of Theresas murder and sentenced to life in prison. The money, the booze, and the passions flowed freely. After Joseph left the apartment both sisters brought men to the apartment when Henry was out. Your guide will help with directions to your next destination. If fictional stories of serial killers is more your style, why not try reading my latest book, Blood on the Bayou? According to some stories, Mueller hired a young woman, a much younger and very attractive woman, to assist his wife with the day-to-day duties of running the household. No purchase necessary. Although it doesn't rank with the infamous trunk murders of Brighton, New Orleans and Winnie Ruth Judd, Vancouver does have its own sort-of 'trunk murder.' This bizarre case, which first broke the news with garish, glaring headlines in the July 12, 1969 Vancouver Sun B.C. The superintendent of the prison was not all concerned because he thought Henry would come back since there was a chance he was going to have his sentence reduced because he was drunk at the time of the incident. PATREON: www.patreon.com/exploreoregonINSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/pdxfilmexplorerFACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/exploringportlandTIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@theamateurhistorianREDDIT SUBREDDIT: https://www.reddit.com/r/the_amateur_historian/ WORDPRESS BLOG: https://stevetheamateurhistorian.wordpress.comIn the iconic French Quarter of New Orleans there stands, still today, a rather modest two-story residence along Ursuline Street. Henry complained at one reporter. Henry said his wife, Theresa, threatened to leave him, invoking his vengeance over her infidelities and neglect of the children. 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 . In his confession Henry detailed his motives for the killings, while also insisting that his mind had been warped by alcohol. Eventually, Mueller began to have an affair with the woman which made his wife angry. (Mobile Users:. The murders occurred from May, 1918 to October, 1919; the victims were mostly Italian-Americans. Extensive archive searches turn up no Mullers, no sausage company, no gristly deaths. Read about how William Dorr crossed the country to commit a remarkable murder. 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. Henrys past employment as a butchers assistant was a key point in his two trials. Shrieking, he fled from the place.". On the afternoon of Thursday, October 27, 1927, Nettie Compass entered the second-floor apartment at 715 Ursulines Street to do some cleaning. He also resented his sister-in-law, Leonide, for having what he perceived was a negative influence on his wife. He predicted Henry would soon return of his own accord, since he had served 16 years of his sentence and had a chance of being pardoned due to temporary insanity (due to his consumption of alcohol) at the time of the killings. In speaking with the police he also said If I ever get my hands on that Joe Caruso, Ill chop him up into little pieces, not big pieces like my wife, but little pieces, he told police. He said they taunted him and said they'd decided to set up 'shop,' which he took to mean prostituting themselves. He appears to have enjoyed remarkable leeway for a man convicted of two brutal murders. Neighbors reported bitter fights over money, constant accusations of infidelity, and wild drinking bouts in the household. Henry served only 16 years of his life sentence before he escaped from prison. Any required or suggested items listed on your confirmation email. Then he saw the bloody ghost of his wife, with her head crushed to a pulp, coming toward him. Her ghost is said to have haunted the shop until Muller went insane. Monique was entertaining and hilarious. He was the poor man who'd been driven to this. The victims, later identified as Theresa and Leonide Moity, were both in their mid-twenties and natives of New Iberia. Follow us on Twitter to get the latest on the world's hidden wonders. The dramatic surge of murders left the city with 265 murders in 2022,. These murders were not the first nor the last to occur on this particular block. Be careful. Rumors started to spread, as no one had seen his wife in some days. Stop At: Omni Royal Orleans, 621 St Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70130, USA, See where a murderer committed suicide and hear the story behind it, Stop At: Jackson Square, 615 Pere Antoine Alley, New Orleans, LA 70116-3234. He hacked twice at Leonide, who never woke. Spend 2 hours listening about gruesome murders of the French Quarter. He was sentenced to five years at Folsom Prison for attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. From there he caught the Illinois Central Panama Limited en route to Chicago. Resting on the torso was a bloodied cane knife, of the type used on sugar plantations. Home > News > Senza categoria > ursuline street new orleans murders. Theresa's wedding ring was mashed into a gash in her back. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. In one of the bedrooms they found a blood soaked mattress with severed fingers. On Saturday, October 29two days after the womens bodies were discoveredcrewmen of the freighter Gem reported Henry Moity to the Lafourche Parish Sheriff. Before coming to New Orleans, police believed, Henry had worked as a butchers assistant. (Photograph by Eli A. Haddow). 27 Febbraio 2023. Joe Caruso took my wife. New Orleans' infamous trunk murders revisited In the summer of 1944, Louisiana State Penitentiary inmate number 18038, a trustee on a routine run to the Angola post office, flagged down a taxicab. Walking & Biking Tours in New Orleans: Check out 177 reviews and photos of the New Orleans True Murder Tour: Sinister Criminal Intentions. They even provided hand warmers for us to make us comfortable. He was caught when a customer bit into a sausage and found a golden wedding ring and to this day, there are rumors of a ghostly woman who haunts Ursulines Street seeking revenge. Learn history of a murder and see the spot where they made their plans. ), The Trunk Murders and Sausage Ghost of 1920s New Orleans, JUSTICE STORY: Handy man with a knife flies off the handle, Amid Roaring Twenties New Orleans, a brutal French Quarter murder shocked the city, Ronald DeFeo Jr. The Amityville Murders. Not only did he confess, but he also provided gruesome details. On the way home from their outing, a local busybody made a casual comment to Theresa, implying that there were rumors she was going to run off with Caruso that night. At the end of the Roaring Twenties, New Orleans was rocked by one of the grizzliest murder scenes the city had ever seen. In the summer of 1944, on a routine trip to the post office, Henry simply hired a taxi to take him to Hammond, Louisiana. The French Quarter of the 1920s was a diverse, working-class neighborhood. You'll see where it all happened, understand the history behind it, and how the echoes of gruesome crimes still cry out. Despite their poverty, the author writes of living happily with her husband and their young children in her small hometown. The money, the booze, and the passions flowed freely. 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. It was fun walking around at night while seeing where some of these crime scenes took place. Facebook; Twitter; LinkedIn; Email . You'll see where it all happened, understand the history behind it, and how the echoes of gruesome crimes still cry out. Between 1920 and 1945, only 1.3 percent of local killers slaughtered their victims with axes or machetes, and no other New Orleans killer hacked off his victims' heads and limbs. The victims were immediately identified as Theresa and Lonie. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. Orleans Parish Coroner Dr. George Roeling determined that the killer had first bludgeoned the women with a lead billy club, before decapitating them with a machete and amputating their arms and legs. ). 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. His early release turned out to be a terrible mistake that nearly cost another young woman her life. He explained that he had come home a few weeks before to find his wife with another man in the apartment. Henry, however, was nowhere to be found. One that stands out is "He smoked cigars as he related it, a far off smile in his eyes, looking as little like a murderer as your child that plays with his toys on the kitchen floor; looking, indeed, very much like a child himself, for as he continued to talk, the innocences, the little traits that only a child has, began to show forth, became more and more marked." The limited information about Theresa Moity and her sister-in-law, Leonide Moity, comes primarily from the testimonies of those involved in the investigation and the tabloid-style press coverage. Your email address will not be published. Dr. George Roeling, the Orleans Parish Coroner, told reporters that the killer or killers bludgeoned the women with a lead Billy club, before using a machete to decapitate them and amputate their arms and legs. Despite their poverty, the booze, and wild drinking bouts in the apartment when Henry was.. Appreciated what she had, all this ugliness could 've been avoided in... Mueller murdered his wife, with her head crushed to a pulp, coming toward him,! Any required or suggested items listed on your confirmation email Mueller began to have an affair with woman., like the one seen here, and wild drinking bouts in the apartment with the which! Newspaper report of the French Quarter of the crime at 715UrsulinesAvenue only woman... Of the French Quarter who never woke man who 'd been driven to this estate from... As little as $ 5 a month shows Governor Nichols and Royal Streets in 1928 also resented sister-in-law! 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