New Orleans Axeman Victims
The New Orleans Axeman murdered at least eight people and attacked several others between 1918 and 1919. He sent a letter to newspapers saying he would spare any household playing jazz music on a particular night. The killer was never identified. The case remains one of America's most famous historical unsolved serial murder cases.
New Orleans Axeman Victims is documented in the ColdCaseIndex database as a serial-homicide case in New Orleans, Louisiana. The events are dated to May 22, 1918 – October 27, 1919. The case involves more than one victim.
Within the ColdCaseIndex taxonomy, New Orleans Axeman Victims is filed under Serial Killer Victims with a status of Unsolved. This entry is grouped under a confirmed or suspected serial perpetrator. The record is cross-referenced under the themes serial killer, historical, New Orleans, Louisiana, jazz, 1919, unsolved, which connect it to related cases across the database.
As of the most recent information compiled here, no arrest has been publicly recorded in the New Orleans Axeman Victims case, and it remains open and unsolved. Cases like this can be reactivated at any time — advances in DNA analysis, forensic genetic genealogy, and renewed public attention have resolved cases that lay dormant for decades.
Primary jurisdiction for the New Orleans Axeman Victims case rests with local law enforcement in New Orleans, supported by Louisiana state investigative authorities. The case sits within a wider national picture: the U.S. homicide clearance rate has fallen from roughly 90% in the 1960s to about 54% today, and more than 346,000 homicides recorded since 1965 remain unsolved. ColdCaseIndex documents individual cases like this one to keep them publicly visible and searchable.
Curated starting points for verifying and researching this case. Direct references are checked; search links are provided as further-reading aids. ColdCaseIndex is an index of public information — see a case correction? Email info@coldcaseindex.com.
Have Information About This Case?
Cold cases are solved when someone comes forward. Even a detail that seems minor can matter. If you have any information about this case, contact law enforcement through one of these channels:
- FBI Tips (tips.fbi.gov) — submit a tip online to the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- FBI Tip Line: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324)
- The local police department or sheriff's office in Louisiana, or the state bureau of investigation
Tips can usually be submitted anonymously. To report an error on this page, email info@coldcaseindex.com.