Episode 305: Joseph LaPage, a French-Canadian rapist and necrophile known as the French Monster, was tried and hung in 1878 for the brutal, sexually motivated murder of Josie A. Langmaid, 17, in Pembroke, New Hampshire, in 1875. LaPage was also the sole suspect in the 1874 murder of Marietta N. Ball, a girl from St. Albans, Vermont. He was arrested for that crime; however, insufficient evidence prevented a trial, but the night before his execution, LaPage confessed to Marietta’s murder. Only weeks after LaPage was hanged, two more murders perpetrated in 1867, that of Mrs. George Fountie and her 16-year-old daughter, Minnie, from Saint-Alexandre, Quebec, were also tied to LaPage. It is believed that Joseph LaPage, with a long history of violent behaviour, is one of Canada’s earliest misogynistic serial killers, predating even Jack the Ripper.
Sources:
1878: Joseph LaPage, murderer of Josie Langmaid
Joseph LaPage | Murderpedia, the encyclopedia of murderers
Josie Langmaid-“The Murdered Maiden Student”
The Trial of Joseph LaPage | CURIOSity Digital Collections
The East Hill Murder (Marietta Ball, Part 1)
The Suncook Town Tragedy (Marietta Ball, Part 2)
Marietta Ball | Obscure Vermont
Josephine Ann “Josie” Langmaid (1857-1875) – Find…
How a Clairvoyant Caught Josie Langmaid’s Murderer in 1875
The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, March 16, 1878
Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, March 20, 1878
St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, March 22, 1878
Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, March 22, 1878
The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, April 09, 1878
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, April 09, 1878
Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, March 23, 1878
Cold North Killers: Canadian Serial Murder
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