The Gruesome Case of the 1927 New Orleans Trunk Murders
The horrific murders of Theresa and Leonide Moity.
When Nettie Compass entered the second-floor apartment at 715 Ursulines Street on October 27, 1927, she stopped dead in her tracks when her eyes fell on traces of blood right outside the residence. She called out for help until two men nearby noticed and alerted the police. Upon arriving at the scene, responding officers discovered the butchered bodies of two young women, which had been stuffed inside two separate traveling trunks. There were severed fingers on the and the bathroom was painted with blood.
A Turbulent Marriage and Increasing Financial Strains
Henry and Theresa Moity lived together at 715 Ursulines with Henry’s brother Joseph and his wife Leonide. Together, they had five children, and the combined family of nine lived in a 1,000-square-feet, almost entirely unfurnished apartment. They had moved to New Orleans from New Iberia, Louisiana in the hopes of finding more opportunities, but had been unsuccessful. Henry and Joseph worked odd jobs to make ends meet, but barely so: they struggled to pay their rent and there was hardly ever enough food for all of them to eat.
