Joseph Lapage

Serial Killer

Joseph LaPage: The "French Monster"

Early Life and Violent History

Joseph LaPage was a 19th-century Canadian-American murderer whose crimes horrified communities in Quebec, Vermont, and New Hampshire. Born Joseph Paget in Lower Canada around 1838, he was also identified in historical records under several variations of his name, including Joseph La Pagette, Joseph Paige, Joseph Paize, and Joseph Le Paize. Newspapers later branded him the "French Monster" because of the extreme violence directed at his victims. LaPage married as a young man and had several children, but accounts of his family life described him as abusive and dangerously unstable. Before the murders for which he became infamous, he allegedly assaulted his wife, mistreated his eldest daughter, and nearly killed his sister-in-law, Julienne Rousse. After being arrested for attacking Rousse, he reportedly struck an officer and escaped. He eventually crossed into the United States and settled with his family near St. Albans, Vermont. LaPage worked intermittently as a farm laborer, woodcutter, and mill worker. His movements between isolated rural communities gave him access to wooded paths and sparsely traveled roads. These secluded areas became important features in the murders later connected to him. His known and suspected victims were women or teenage girls traveling without protection, and his attacks were marked by sexual violence, severe beating, and mutilation.

Victims Attributed to Joseph LaPage

• Mrs. George Fountie October 12, 1867 Saint-Alexandre, Quebec, Canada: Mrs. Fountie and her 16-year-old daughter, Minnie, disappeared while returning home from the village of Saint-Alexandre. Their mutilated bodies were discovered beneath brush in a pasture near the road. LaPage was not charged with these killings, and the accusation against him emerged only after his execution. Witnesses reportedly remembered him speaking offensively to the women shortly before they vanished and then walking toward the area where their bodies were found.
• Minnie Fountie October 12, 1867 Saint-Alexandre, Quebec, Canada: Sixteen-year-old Minnie was killed alongside her mother. Historical reports stated that she had been sexually assaulted and mutilated. Another man was initially arrested but released after investigators determined that he had not been near the crime scene. LaPage's presence in the village and his reported confrontation with the women caused the murders to be attributed to him years later, although his responsibility was never established in court.
• Marietta N. Ball July 24, 1874 St. Albans, Vermont: Marietta Ball, a 20-year-old schoolteacher, disappeared while walking along a wooded route from her school district toward the home of friends. Searchers found her body in the woods after she failed to arrive. She had been sexually assaulted, strangled, and savagely beaten about the head. LaPage was questioned and briefly detained because he worked near her route and had scratches on his face, but investigators lacked enough evidence to prosecute him. Shortly before his execution, LaPage confessed that he had killed Ball.
• Josephine Ann "Josie" Langmaid October 4, 1875 Pembroke, New Hampshire: Seventeen-year-old Josie Langmaid was attacked while walking from her family's home to Pembroke Academy. Her body was discovered in woods near Academy Road, while her severed head was found farther away the following morning. She had been sexually assaulted, beaten, and decapitated. Evidence and witness accounts led authorities to LaPage, who was arrested on October 14, 1875. He was tried, convicted, and ultimately executed for her murder.

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Confirmed Victims: (4)

Marietta Ball , Date of Death: 1873-04-03

Joseph LaPage - Wikipedia