10 Famous Homicides In New Orleans That Will Never Be Forgotten

Addie Hall was the girlfriend of war hero and veteran Zachary Bowen; the two met during Hurricane Katrina. After a tumultuous year, Addie was reportedly ready to leave Bowen. On October 17, 2006, he jumped to his death from the roof of a parking garage near the Omni Royal Orleans. A suicide note in his pocket led police to his apartment, where they found the head, hands and feet of Addie in pots on the stove, and her arms and legs in a roasting pan in the oven. Bowen had strangled, then dismembered Addie.

Minnie Wallace met politician James Walkup when she was just 15...and he was 48. Minnie was living with her sister and mother in the family’s boarding house in Storyville, the red-light district. The two married a year later, but James died just one month after the wedding, of poisoning. Minnie was charged with his death, but was acquitted. Later, her second husband died in 1897...also under suspicious circumstances. In 1914, Minnie’s male companion died from cyanide poisoning.

On June 24, 1973, the deadliest attack on LGBT people in history occurred at The Upstairs Lounge, a gay bar at 141 Charles Street. An unknown assailant started a fire using lighter fluid. About 30 people were able to escape, but another 30 were trapped on the second floor. The windows were covered with security bars, and the fire raged for sixteen minutes before help could arrive. 28 people died during the fire; four more victims died en route or at the hospital.

John and Wayne Carter live in the French Quarter in the 1930s and appeared to live normal lives...until a girl escaped from their home and went to police, claiming that they had held her captive and fed on her blood for several days. When police arrived, they found several more people being held captive, all with their wrists slashed. Fourteen bodies were also found, having been drained of all their blood. Both brothers were found guilty and executed.

Mass-murder Mark James Robert Essex is responsible for the deaths of nine people and serious injuries of thirteen. The racially-motivated killings were meant, in his words, to "avenge years of racial abuse in the name of black power." On December 31, 1972, he hid in a parking lot and began shooting policemen, killing two. He evaded capture. The following week, on January 7, 1973, he entered the Howard Johnson’s (now a Holiday Inn), and began shooting guests and employees. He set several fires in the hotel, then hid and shot more police officers who arrived on the scene. He was eventually shot by police, but not before killing seven people.