She called out for help until two men nearby noticed and alerted the police. Got lucky to score a private tour with Mikko on a Saturday night tour. After discovering a pool of blood at her feet, she ran from the apartment screaming and caught the attention of a few neighbors and the police. In his confession, Henry, enraged over an affair he believed his wife was having, explained his motives for killing the women but blamed alcohol for the crime. The grim Times-Picayune article from October 28, 1927 is filed into a binder at the Williams Research Center of New Orleans. The objective is to promote history on Medium and demonstrate the value of historical writing. You can also read more true crime cases that take place in New Orleans by checking out my previous blog posts. Seller of Travel Ref. The perpetrator was known as the Phantom of Texarkana, although it was never determined that it was one perpetrator. In the decades after the Civil War, many wealthier residents of old inner-city neighborhoods had moved to garden suburbs along Esplanade Avenue, St. Charles Avenue, and further uptown to escape urban nuisances such as warehouses and sugar refineries. But all was not well in an apartment near the French Quarter. While the story of Henry Moity came to an end in 1957, the peculiar circumstances of the murder lives through the urban legend of the Sausage Ghost of Ursulines Street. We would definitely recommend. There was no place like New Orleans in the Roaring 20s. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Confirmation will be received at time of booking, Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately, This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 travelers, Face masks required for travelers in public areas, Face masks required for guides in public areas, Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff, Social distancing enforced throughout experience, Contactless payments for gratuities and add-ons. This is The Crimes-Picayune. 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 . Joseph said Henry fled to a Camp Street boarding house and planned to board a ship soon. Henry was already suspicious of Theresas infidelity, but her running away with someone pushed him too far. Joseph told police he moved out after catching Leonide with another man. 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.. A circa 1925 image shows the criminal court building at Tulane Avenue and Elk Place. 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. The murders occurred from May, 1918 to October, 1919; the victims were mostly Italian-Americans. (Photo: Ken Lund/CC BY-SA 2.0). . They had even been seen in town walking together and holding hands. NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - A jury in Orleans Parish Criminal Court listened to the chilling 911 tape of a woman just moments before she was brutally murdered in New Orleans East. He also blamed his sister-in-law for being a bad influence on his wife. Memory of his crime survives in part due to the themes this true story shares with a popular French Quarter ghost story. Every weekday we compile our most wondrous stories and deliver them straight to you. New Orleans' most infamous serial killer was never caught. The two murders were tried separately by different judges. The Trunk Murders and The Katrina Cannibal. All rights reserved. He also divulged the details of his lurid crimes, and his furious jealousy of Theresas lover, Joseph Caruso. Henry had worked briefly as a butcher, and the Times-Picayune gleefully pointed out that the manner in which the two bodies of the women were mutilated and dismembered indicated a man familiar with this trade. Radio dispatches alerted departing steamer ships to be on the lookout for a stowaway passenger answering to Henrys description: tattooed and, according to the newspaper, singularly hairy., The room which shares a wall adjacent to crime scene. This is a must do for any true crime lover! No purchase necessary. (THNOC, gift of Waldemar S. Nelson, 2003.0182.523). An eye-opening journey through the history, culture, and places of the culinary world. Leonide was murdered by her husbands brother, Henry Moity, along with Henry's wife, Theresa. To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. The couple came with next to nothing and had created a successful business. The New Orleans Murder Block. For their part, Henry and Joseph were odd-jobs men, described by sources as shiftless and perpetually short on the funds needed to support their families. The French Quarter of the 1920s was a diverse, working-class neighborhood. Theresa, however, put up a struggle before succumbing. He was given two consecutive life sentences. The Times-Picayune published portions of the story in a short article about the personal effects left behind by the women. It was a smaller group than other tours we saw and very entertaining! Police uncovered two trunks that had been meticulously packed with the carved-up corpses of Theresa and Leonide. After getting out of prison, Henry moved to California in hopes of restarting his life. Lonie had married Joseph Moity, 33 and Theresa had married his brother Henry, 29. She survived, and he went back to jail. There was no place like New Orleans in the Roaring 20s. Henry was tried separately for each murder and found guilty. by Jackson Square Cat August 28, 2016 New Orleans' French Quarter, at the. There was a travel trunk on the floor and inside were the severed arms, legs, head, and torso of Theresa. Learn the truth of Mad Madame and of her escape from justice. State License Fla. Texarkana Moonlight Murders & The New Orleans Trunk Murders Morbid Episode 159 Looks at this! The description given by Dr. George Roeling (the Orleans Parish Coroner at the time) confirmed the brutality of the scene. 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. 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. An enraged Henry began drinking, interrupting his bender to purchase the murder weapon. Megan is bringing you her very first deep dive in a well known case from her educated perspective. Less than a decade after his pardoning, he shot his then-girlfriend and was sentenced to another 5 years in prison for attempted murder. Superintendent Healy radioed the seven vessels sailing out of New Orleans that day, asking sailors to look for a dark bushy-haired man with very dark brown eyes and a tattoo on one arm featuring a nude woman with a flower in her hair. In the back bedroom there was an identical scene, with the addition of a sugar cane knife sitting in the trunk. I'd recommend this tour for anyone looking for a singular tour experience! He dismembered his wifes body and ground the remains up, making her into sausage and then selling that sausage to his customers. Neighbors confirmed that the two couples often fought loudly over money, infidelity, and drinking. Product code: C-49992P5. (, The building at 715 Ursulines Street still stands today, in a block that has been the site of more than one gruesome crime. Allows using the site with your screen-reader. Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva. He said they taunted him and said they'd decided to set up 'shop,' which he took to mean prostituting themselves. 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.. He 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. The police also discovered a piece of implicating evidence at the scene: a golden wedding band buried in a wound on one of the victims backs. Back in prison, he died in 1957 of a stroke, ending the story of the New Orleans Trunk murders. 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. In his confession Henry detailed his motives for the killings, while also insisting that his mind had been warped by alcohol. 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. Alaina covers the Texarkana Moonlight Murders and goes over all the fine details with her 1940's magnifying glass! Twenty-one years after killing his wife and sister-in-law, Henry Moity was free. A photograph shows Governor Nichols and Royal Streets in 1928. NEW ORLEANS | "The Trunk Murders" from Infamous America on Podchaser, aired Wednesday, 24th August 2022. In his confession to the District Attorney, Henry admits that he considered killing himself and the children, but changed his mind when he imagined his wife running around with Joe Caruso and the rest of them., A newspaper report of the crime at 715UrsulinesAvenue. thump! 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. Saxon credits a "Miss Rica Hoffman" as "remembering" the story, "which occurred in the city some years ago.". 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. They were both from New Iberia as well. There's no way to really paraphrase this next bit, so: "One night, soon after, he heard a "thump! The victims of the Trunk Murders were discovered October 27, 1927, at 715 Ursulines Street. When the coroner and Healys female colleague, Gwen, arrived. CONTACT US There was no place like New Orleans in the Roaring 20s. The man hired the driver to drop him one hundred miles away at the train station in Hammond, Louisiana. This is our very first virtual live show from July 23, 2020 held at AS220 in Providence RI. 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. Listen to the story of The New Orleans Murder Block. She was found guilty and died in prison in 1959, two years after Henry Moity had struck again. In 1956, he shot his long-time lover twice in the chest after a fight over money. 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