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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