From about 1910 to 1912, an alarming number of axe murders were occurring across the American South and Southwest. Though many would speculate as to the identity of perpetrator, including the theory that a single individual was responsible, many of these murders would remain unsolved and contribute to macabre urban legends that endure to this day. In New Orleans, however, the brutal axe murders of at least five Black families in 1911 and 1912 are attributed to Clementine Barnabet, an African American teenager who confessed to the crimes.

Despite having confessed to as many as thirty-five murders, and having been convicted and incarcerated for one, the veracity of Barnabet’s claim has long been in doubt. Tried and convicted on very little evidence, Barnabet’s story changed many times following her arrest and eventually came to include sensational and highly questionable claims of her belonging to a Voodoo religious sect that engaged in human sacrifice. Not only were these claims unsupported by any real evidence, but they also suggested the girl may have been suffering from profound mental illness and had nothing whatsoever to do with the murders in and around New Orleans. But if Clementine Barnabet wasn’t the killer, why did she confess to such brutal, wicked crimes?

Thank you to the incredible Dave White or Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!

References

Crowley Daily Signal. 1911. "Brutal murder of negro family is discovered in West Crowley." Crowley Daily Signal, Janaury 26: 1.

—. 1909. "Rayne scene of brutal murder." Crowley Daily Signal, November 13: 1.

—. 1911. "Six murdered in Lafayette." Crowley Daily Signal, November 27: 1.

Crowley Signal. 1911. "Negro murderer was convicted." Crowley Signal, October 28: 5.

Fort Wayne News. 1912. "Seventeen murders were confessed to." Fort Wayne News, October 25: 17.

Lafayette Advertiser. 1912. "Clementine Barnabet sane." Lafayette Advertiser, October 22: 4.

—. 1911. "Horrible crime." Lafayette Advertiser, February 28: 1.

Monroe News-Star. 1911. "Butchery of human beings." Monroe News-Star, November 28: 1.

—. 1912. "Sacrifice sext slaughter 26." Monroe News-Star, January 23: 1.

New Iberia Enterprise and Independent Observer. 1913. "Blood lust cut out of Clementine Barnabet." New Iberia Enterprise and Independent Observer, August 9: 1.

Osborne, Jeffery. 2012. Preventing Lethal Violence Neighborhood by Neighborhood; Proceedings of the 2012 Homicide Research Working Group Annual Symposium. Conference Proceedings, New York, NY: Homicide Research Working Group.

The Times. 1912. "Five negroes are murdered in a Lake Charles cottage." The Times, January 22: 1.

—. 1912. "Gives names of 3 of "ax gang"." The Times, April 3: 1.

—. 1912. "Negro woman confessed to slaying 20." The Times, April 2: 1.

The Times-Democrat. 1912. "Amplifies confession." The Times-Democrat, April 4: 6.

Times-Democrat. 1912. "Blood and brain from living person spattered girl's clothes." Times-Democrat, January 18: 2.

Unknown. 1912. "Voodoo's horrors break out again." Atalanta Journal, March 11: 50.

Weekly Iberian. 1912. "Hoodoo doctor arrested and identified by Clementine Burke." Weekly Iberian, April 13: 2.

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Well- DAMN SAM! It’s Listener Tales 87! This week’s episode is brought to you by WORST ROOMMATES EVER! Inspired by the show coming back to Netflix on 6/26 for SEASON TWO-We pull stories about creepy cohabitators that are brought to you, BY you, For you, FROM you, and ALLLLL about you! This week we hear about ex-roommate parting curses, previous spectral owners who HATE the updated decor tastes, a roomie who whispers sinister things in the wee hours, a horrifying close call, and the ghost story of two ghouls in love!

If you’ve got a listener tale please send it on over to Morbidpodcast@gmail.com with “Listener Tales” somewhere in the subject line :)

Sifting through the show notes for "Worst Roommate Ever" information? Check it out on Netflix at https://www.netflix.com/title/81031682?source=35

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On the afternoon of March 28, 1937, Easter Sunday, Joseph Gedeon and his daughter, Ethel, arrived at the home of Gedeon’s wife, Mary, for a planned Easter dinner. The Gedeon’s had been separated for some time but had agreed to have dinner together as a family, which included their other daughter, Veronica, a moderately successful pulp magazine model. When they entered the apartment, it appeared as though no one was home; however, upon checking the bedroom where his daughter slept, Joseph Gedeon found the nude body of his daughter lying lifeless on the bed and immediately called the police.

During an initial search of the apartment, investigators found the body of Mary Gedeon stuffed under her bed; like her daughter, she had been strangled to death. In a third bedroom, police also found the body of Mary’s boarder, Frank Byrnes, who’d been stabbed several times in the head and neck with a long, thin implement. There was no sign of a forced entry, no sign of a struggle, and nothing appeared to be missing from the apartment. Given that Veronica had been found nude, and Mary was clothed but her underwear had been torn away, investigators assumed the murders were a sex crime.

Still caught in the grip of the Great Depression, New Yorkers welcomed anything that could distract from the unpleasant realities of daily life and the salacious murder of a pulp magazine model—a sex crime, no less—was exactly what they were looking for. The story dominated the press, as reporters and tabloid journalists dug into Veronica’s personal life and dating history and published lurid photos from her past. But when the killer was finally caught and the motive revealed, the story was far stranger and tragic than anyone had imagined.

Thank you to the wonderful David White of the Bring Me the Axe Podcast for research!

References

Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1937. "Cops question ex-lodger in triple murder." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, March 29: 1.

—. 1937. "Doubts student is killer." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, April 6: 1.

—. 1938. "Irwin's guilty plea." Brooklyn Daily Eagle, November 15: 10.

Buffalo Evening News. 1938. "Irwin, ruled insane, sent to Dannemora." Buffalo Evening News, December 10: 1.

2015. A Crime to Remember. Directed by Jeremiah Crowell. Performed by Jeremiah Crowell.

New York Daily News. 1937. "3 murdered in model's flat." New York Daily News, March 29: 1.

—. 1937. "Gray hair in model's hand chief clue in triple murder." New York Daily News, March 30: 1.

—. 1937. "Willful Ronnie 'made fools of men,' dad says." New York Daily News, March 30: 3.

New York Times. 1938. "139-year sentence imposed on Irwin." New York Times, November 29: 48.

—. 1937. "Fingerprint clues found at scene of triple murder." New York Times, March 31: 1.

—. 1937. "Gedeon gets bail." New York Times, April 3: 1.

—. 1937. "Gedeon questioned again in murders; solution held near." New York Times, April 1: 1.

—. 1937. "Irwin flown here; boasts of killings." New York Times, June 28: 1.

—. 1937. "Irwin, wild-eyed, meets reporters." New York Times, September 1: 20.

—. 1937. "Women jam court to glimpse Irwin." New York Times, Jukly 1: 56.

People v. Robert Irwin. 1938. 166 Misc. 751 (Court of General Sessions of the County of New York, March 24).

Schechter, Harold. 2014. The Mad Sculptor: The Maniac, the Model, and the Murder That Shook the Nation. Boston, MA: New Harvest.

United Press. 1937. "Sculptor hunted as triple killer in Gedeon cases." Buffalo Evening News, April 5: 1.

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