In the spring of 1918, a wave of terror began to crest over the city of New Orleans, and its first victims were a husband and wife, slain in the perceived safety of their own bed. Catherine Maggio, a 36-year-old female homemaker, and her husband, Joseph, an Italian-American grocer, were a part of the vibrant immigrant community that helped shape the city's culture.
They lived in a humble apartment connected to their small grocery store on the corner of Upperline and Magnolia Streets, working to build a life together. Their lives were violently extinguished on the night of May 23, 1918, in a crime so brutal it would mark the beginning of a city's year-long nightmare.
The discovery was made in the early morning hours by Joseph’s brothers, Jake and Andrew Maggio. Returning home after a night out, they heard strange groans coming from the apartment their brother and sister-in-law shared. Inside, they found a scene of unimaginable horror. Both Catherine and Joseph had been attacked as they slept. The intruder had first used a straight razor to slash their throats. Catherine's injury was so severe that her head was nearly severed from her shoulders. The attacker then bludgeoned both of them with an axe that belonged to the couple, leaving it at the scene. Joseph was found clinging to life but died minutes after his brothers found him. Catherine was already deceased, her body draped over her husband's.
The investigation revealed the killer’s chilling methodology. A panel on the back door of the Maggio's home had been chiseled out, allowing the intruder to gain entry. This would become a signature of the killer who would soon be known as the Axeman of New Orleans. Robbery was quickly ruled out as a motive, as no money or valuables were taken from the home. The killer had, however, left behind a set of his own bloody clothes, suggesting he had changed into a clean set before disappearing into the night.
In the immediate aftermath, suspicion briefly fell upon Andrew Maggio, a barber by trade, because the straight razor used in the attack was his. He had taken it from his shop to sharpen it. Andrew was arrested, but his story was consistent, and with no other evidence to hold him, police were forced to release him. The investigation was left with few leads and a city gripped by a growing sense of dread. A cryptic message was reportedly found in chalk on a nearby sidewalk that read, "Mrs. Maggio will sit up tonight just like Mrs. Toney," a possible reference to a past, unsolved murder.
Catherine Maggio’s murder is remembered as the first confirmed act of the serial killer known as the Axeman of New Orleans. Over the next year and a half, he would be linked to at least a dozen attacks, primarily targeting Italian-American grocers like the Maggios. His reign of terror was marked by brutal axe attacks, taunting letters to the press, and an uncanny ability to evade capture. He created a climate of intense fear, where citizens felt unsafe even in their locked homes.
The murder of Catherine Maggio, alongside her husband, was the violent opening chapter in one of New Orleans' most terrifying and enduring mysteries. The Axeman was never identified, and the case remains unsolved to this day. For Catherine, a woman living a quiet life, her name became tragically and inextricably linked to the legend of a phantom killer who haunted the Crescent City, leaving a legacy of fear and unanswered questions that persist over a century later.
