Sidney Fox

 Sidney Fox was hanged in 1930 for the murder of his mother. Fox was born in Norfolk in 1899. His mother was Rosaline Fox. It’s not certain if Rosaline’s husband William was his father. Before the murder, Sidney had a history of petty theft and fraud and spent time in jail.

In 1927, Fox’s mother met a 51-year-old woman called Charlotte Morse. Although Fox was gay he began an affair with Mrs Morse. Fox also stole her jewellery and insured her life. One night Mrs Morse awoke to find her room filling with gas. A gas tap behind a heavy piece of furniture had been turned on, so it was obviously not accidental. Fox was trying to murder the woman for her life insurance money. Mrs Morse told the police. Sydney was not convicted of attempted murder but of stealing and was sentenced to 15 months in prison.

In May 1929, Fox and his mother began a life of staying in hotels and leaving without paying the bills. Sidney took out a life insurance policy on his mother, to expire at midnight on 23 October 1929. 

On that date, they were both staying at the Hotel Metropole in Margate. Mother and son were in adjoining rooms with a connecting door. 

At 11.40 PM on 23 October, Fox raised the alarm that his mother’s room was on fire. Two other guests found the adjoining door closed. They found Rosaline Fox in a burning armchair. They pulled her out, but she was already dead. Sidney claimed he had left his mother reading a newspaper in her room. At first, it was thought the fire was accidental, and Rosaline’s death was ascribed to shock and suffocation. 

However, the insurance company was, not surprisingly, suspicious. It was just too convenient that Rosaline died just 20 minutes before the life insurance policy expired. The fire was supposed to have been started by a gas fire in the room but investigators found a patch of unburnt carpet between the fire and the armchair Rosaline was found in. The fire could not have spread from the gas fire to the armchair without burning the patch of carpet between them. 

Even more suspicious, petrol-soaked newspapers and a can of petrol were found in the dead woman’s room. As a result of the investigation, the body of Rosaline Fox was exhumed. Pathologist Bernard Spilsbury conducted an autopsy and claimed that the dead woman had been strangled before the fire started. There were no signs of smoke inhalation. 

Sidney Fox went on trial at Lewes in March 1930. Pathologist Bernard Spilsbury was adamant that Mrs Fox had been strangled, and he claimed he saw a bruise on his throat. However, other doctors disagreed. They could not see the ‘bruise’ as it had disappeared as the body decomposed. It was possible, they argued, that the ‘bruise’ seen by Spilsbury was just discolouration caused by the body decomposing. Spilsbury also had to admit that the hyoid bone (a small bone in the throat) was not broken. (It is usually broken during strangulation). 

Fox did not help himself. He was asked why he closed the door to his mother’s rooms, knowing it was on fire. Fox replied ‘so that smoke should not spread into the hotel’. 

The prosecution lawyer said, ‘Rather that your mother should suffocate in that room than smoke should get about in the hotel?’ Fox’s seeming callousness badly damaged his case. He was convicted of murder, and he was hanged on 8 April 1930. 

Axminster

 I wrote a little history of Axminster in Dorset

Martha Place

 I wrote about Martha Place. She was the first woman to be executed in the electric chair. 

Catherine Hayes

I wrote about Catherine Hayes, who murdered her husband in the 18th century

Devizes

 I wrote a short history of Devizes 

Tiverton

 I wrote a brief history of the town of Tiverton in Devon 

The Axeman of New Orleans

 The axeman of New Orleans was an unknown serial killer in the years 1918-1919. As his title suggests, he killed people with an axe. He usually chiseled out a panel of a back door to gain access to people’s homes. His first victims were Joseph Maggio, an Italian grocer and his wife, Catherine. On 23 May 1918, the axeman broke into the couple’s home, cut their throats with a razor and then hit them both with an axe. The motive for the murders was unclear. It was not robbery, as nothing was taken.

The axeman next struck on 27 June 1918. He broke into the home of Louis Bessumer, another Italian grocer and Harriet Lowe. He struck both of them with an axe. Fortunately, both survived although Harriet suffered from partial facial paralysis for the rest of her life. Once again nothing was stolen.

The next attack was on 5 August 1918. The axeman broke into the home of Anna Schneider. He struck her with an object (some accounts say an axe, others say a bedside table lamp) but she survived. Anna was 8 months pregnant at the time of the attack but luckily the baby was not harmed. Anna gave birth shortly afterward.

The next victim was an elderly man named Joseph Romano. Joseph lived with his two nieces. On 10 August they were woken by the sounds of a struggle. On investigating they found their uncle had been hit with an axe. He was still alive but he died two days later.

The axeman did not strike again until 10 March 1919. This time he struck in Gretna, Louisiana. He broke into the home of Italian grocer Charles Cortimiglia. He struck Charles and his wife with an axe. Both survived. Sadly, their two year old daughter Mary was also hit with an axe and she died. Rosie accused Iorlando Jordano and his son Frank of being the attackers. Both men were convicted of murder. Iorlando was sentenced to life imprisonment while his son was sentenced to death. 

However, they could not have been guilty. Iorlando was nearly 70 and in poor health. His son, Frank, was a tall and heavily built man. The killer had chiseled out a panel of a door to gain entry. Frank would not have been able to squeeze through. Charles Cortimiglia said his wife was lying and the Jordano’s were innocent. 

Eventually, Rosie Cortimiglia admitted she lied and the two men were released. (Her motive for accusing two innocent men is not known).

Steve Boca was attacked by a man with an axe on 10 August 1919. Fortunately, he survived. Sarah Laumann was attacked on 3 September 1919. She too survived. 

The last murder by the New Orleans Axeman happened on 27 October 1919. A man named Mike Pepitone was attacked and killed in his bed. The attacks then ceased. The case remains a mystery.