Transcript of Episode 578: Clementine Barnabet & The Church of the Sacrifice & The Louisiana Axe Murders

Wndyri Plus subscribers can listen to Morbid early and ad-free. Join WNDYRI Plus in the WNDYRI app or on Apple podcasts.

I'm Dan Tabersky. In 2011, something strange began to happen at a high school in upstate New York. A mystery illness, bizarre symptoms, and spreading fast. What's the answer? And what do you do if they tell you it's all in your head? Hysterical, a new podcast from WNDYRI and Pineapple Street studios. Follow Hysterical on the WNDYRI app or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, weirdos. I'm Elaina. My name's Ash. Whoa. This is Morbid, I think.

I just felt crazy. I want to just shake it a little bit. I just felt crazy.

I just felt cocoonets. Oh, man. We're excited. We're going to go to a rage room. Yeah.

It's for my birthday celebration. Yeah. Going to rage, motherfucker. So much rage inside of me.

So much rage inside of me.

Can we ask them to play, Get Out of Your Mind? That would be such a good song to rage to, to be honest.

I'll put my hair in a ponytail. We'll switch back and forth on the playlist there.

Yeah, we usually have to at most events. I'll put my hair in a ponytail and do the helicopter.

Yeah. Do the ash get out of your mind.

That's the get out of your mind dance. It's a ponytail helicopter. I tried to teach her your youngest how to do it, and it wasn't for her first attempt.

I mean, she's pretty great. She's pretty out of her mind.

She's like, I stay out of my mind, TT.

She's like, You know what? I feel this on a spiritual level. Yeah. Yeah. So we have an old-timey case today, but fear not people who don't like old-timey cases. It's ax murders. So it's going to be gnarly. And It's not like we can just be like, Who's this? Yeah, no, of course. There was very little evidence to be collected at the scene besides that. And a few days later, police arrested Houston Goodwill, who was Edna's brother-in-law. He had apparently recently made threats against the family after having a fight with his wife. But the evidence against him was entirely circumstantial, and they really couldn't pin anything on him, so nothing came of his arrest. Okay. Then on January 24th, 1911, a little over a year after the initial murders, someone broke into the West Crowley home of Walter Byers in the middle of the night, and they murdered Walter Byers, his wife, Sylvina, and their six-year-old son while they all slept. When officers came to the home, they discovered the entire family, and this is also from the Crowley Daily Signal, lying in one bed with their skull split, the bed covered with blood and bloody footprints on the floor. Horrific. That's so chilling. And just as in the Opulusus murder, the doors were all locked from the inside, and the killer had actually come in the home through the window.Oh, I hate that. In both scenarios. Oh, I hate that. Also, like the initial murders, the bloody ax, again, was left at the scene. This seems too coincidental. This time, though, the police discovered a wash basin filled halfway with bloody water, which made them think that the killer had at least tried to clean themselves up before leaving the scene. Yeah. But unfortunately, there was very little additional evidence once again. And a week later, police arrested Walter Jackson, who was a local barber, and his brother for the murder of the Byers family. But it's unclear what led to them being the two men that were caught as suspects. There's really nothing to indicate that either was prosecuted for the murders, and so the deaths remain unsolved. Okay. Almost exactly one month after the Byers' murders, the scene just repeated itself. When on February 25th, 1911, somebody broke into the home of 35-year-old Alexander Andress and murdered Alexander, his wife, Memme, and their two children with an ax. The murders appeared to have occurred at the same point in the night that the other two had. And the bodies were discovered by Memme's father, Lizeem Felix.His whole family.And they were discovered the following morning. This got very strange, though, because the skulls of all four of the victims had been crushed with an ax, but this time, whoever killed them had arranged the scene. What? According to the press, after they were killed, and this is a quote by the Lafayette advertiser, The man and woman were taken up by the murderer and placed on their knees beside the bed, the woman's arm over the man's shoulder, as if in the attitude of prayer. So they put the two parents into a praying position after killed them. That's so fucking creepy. The killer then placed the baby on the bed besides Memme.What?Yeah.Oh, I don't like this at all.It's rough.What? That's just bizarre.Very bizarre. And initially, investigators thought it might be this escaped patient from Pineville Sanitarium named Garkon Godfrey. Sorry. But when they finally arrested him a few days later, several people attested to the fact that he had been in Maurice, which was about 20 miles away when the murders were committed. So no way. Although they couldn't identify a motive for the murder, Chief Detective Peck, quote, believed that the murders of the Andrews family were caused by either jealousy or revenge, and thatShe said, It was an easy matter. That's what she said of killing the Randall children. It was an easy matter. We thought it was better to kill them than to leave orphans as they would suffer.Okay.As for why she had done it, Clementine told the Sheriff that, quote, moral perversion was responsible for a passion to shed human blood and take human life that she could not control.Okay.So, again, these statements are chilling and scary. The idea of an ax gang. And cold. Like, very scary. Absolutely. Could be true. And we don't know. According to Clementine, when this impulse came upon her, she said she could not rest until she had killed an infant and pressed its form to her breast. What the fuck? And an infant was killed and babies were killed. Yeah, multiple. Now, initially, Clementine had refused to identify her accomplices. But by April fourth, and this is where it gets funky. Okay. This is where you're going to go, Okay, maybe she is just lying. But by April fourth, she finally named Reverend Joseph Thibodeau as the affermentioned Houdou doctor who had provided them with protection spells. Okay. Thibodeau was a black fortune teller living in New Iberia who also portrayed himself as a practitioner of herbal medicine. He didn't traffic in Charms, he said. He didn't deal with Charms, as Clementine had indicated. But he was known to prescribe a remedy that included giving a patient a piece of paper with 25 letters in five lines. The paper was instructed, when they felt bad, to tear off one of the letters, roll it in a ball, and swallow it.Okay.It's likely just a coincidence, but the emphasis on fives in Thibodeau's remedies fit the ritualistic sacrifice narrative perfectly, and he was soon roped right into the crimes. Joseph Thibodeau was arrested a day or two later, but police had literally nothing on him except for Clementine's statement. Following his arrest, the local press pointed out that while Thibodeau was a well-known figure in the city, no one knew him to associate with Clementine, much less willfully the help because this was a very interesting one. Dave Forever. Dave Forever. Wow.Well, we hope you keep listening.And we hope you- Keep it weekly.But not so weird that you don't keep thinking about this because I'm never going to stop, probably. Didn't that?Bye.I think I'm ready. There you go.I'm ready. Sometimes I'll just be singing. That was good.That was good.If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining WNDRI+ in the WNDRI app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wndri. Com/survey. Today.Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of WNDRI's podcast, American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, events that have shaped who we are as a country and continue to define the American experience. We go behind the scenes looking at devastating financial crimes like the fraud committed at Enron and Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. American Scandal also tells marquee stories about American politics. In our latest season, we retrace the greatest corruption scheme in US history as we bring to life the bribes and backroom deals that spawned the Teapot Dome Scandal, resulting in the first presidential cabinet member going to prison. Follow American Scandal on the WNDRI app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge this season, American Scandal: Teapot Dome, early and ad-free right now on Wundery Plus. After you listen to American Scandal, go deeper and get more to the story with Wundry's other top history podcasts, including American History Tellers, Legacy, and even the Royals.

It's not like we can just be like, Who's this? Yeah, no, of course. There was very little evidence to be collected at the scene besides that. And a few days later, police arrested Houston Goodwill, who was Edna's brother-in-law. He had apparently recently made threats against the family after having a fight with his wife. But the evidence against him was entirely circumstantial, and they really couldn't pin anything on him, so nothing came of his arrest. Okay. Then on January 24th, 1911, a little over a year after the initial murders, someone broke into the West Crowley home of Walter Byers in the middle of the night, and they murdered Walter Byers, his wife, Sylvina, and their six-year-old son while they all slept. When officers came to the home, they discovered the entire family, and this is also from the Crowley Daily Signal, lying in one bed with their skull split, the bed covered with blood and bloody footprints on the floor. Horrific. That's so chilling. And just as in the Opulusus murder, the doors were all locked from the inside, and the killer had actually come in the home through the window.

Oh, I hate that. In both scenarios. Oh, I hate that. Also, like the initial murders, the bloody ax, again, was left at the scene. This seems too coincidental. This time, though, the police discovered a wash basin filled halfway with bloody water, which made them think that the killer had at least tried to clean themselves up before leaving the scene. Yeah. But unfortunately, there was very little additional evidence once again. And a week later, police arrested Walter Jackson, who was a local barber, and his brother for the murder of the Byers family. But it's unclear what led to them being the two men that were caught as suspects. There's really nothing to indicate that either was prosecuted for the murders, and so the deaths remain unsolved. Okay. Almost exactly one month after the Byers' murders, the scene just repeated itself. When on February 25th, 1911, somebody broke into the home of 35-year-old Alexander Andress and murdered Alexander, his wife, Memme, and their two children with an ax. The murders appeared to have occurred at the same point in the night that the other two had. And the bodies were discovered by Memme's father, Lizeem Felix.

His whole family.

And they were discovered the following morning. This got very strange, though, because the skulls of all four of the victims had been crushed with an ax, but this time, whoever killed them had arranged the scene. What? According to the press, after they were killed, and this is a quote by the Lafayette advertiser, The man and woman were taken up by the murderer and placed on their knees beside the bed, the woman's arm over the man's shoulder, as if in the attitude of prayer. So they put the two parents into a praying position after killed them. That's so fucking creepy. The killer then placed the baby on the bed besides Memme.

What?

Yeah.

Oh, I don't like this at all.

It's rough.

What? That's just bizarre.

Very bizarre. And initially, investigators thought it might be this escaped patient from Pineville Sanitarium named Garkon Godfrey. Sorry. But when they finally arrested him a few days later, several people attested to the fact that he had been in Maurice, which was about 20 miles away when the murders were committed. So no way. Although they couldn't identify a motive for the murder, Chief Detective Peck, quote, believed that the murders of the Andrews family were caused by either jealousy or revenge, and thatShe said, It was an easy matter. That's what she said of killing the Randall children. It was an easy matter. We thought it was better to kill them than to leave orphans as they would suffer.Okay.As for why she had done it, Clementine told the Sheriff that, quote, moral perversion was responsible for a passion to shed human blood and take human life that she could not control.Okay.So, again, these statements are chilling and scary. The idea of an ax gang. And cold. Like, very scary. Absolutely. Could be true. And we don't know. According to Clementine, when this impulse came upon her, she said she could not rest until she had killed an infant and pressed its form to her breast. What the fuck? And an infant was killed and babies were killed. Yeah, multiple. Now, initially, Clementine had refused to identify her accomplices. But by April fourth, and this is where it gets funky. Okay. This is where you're going to go, Okay, maybe she is just lying. But by April fourth, she finally named Reverend Joseph Thibodeau as the affermentioned Houdou doctor who had provided them with protection spells. Okay. Thibodeau was a black fortune teller living in New Iberia who also portrayed himself as a practitioner of herbal medicine. He didn't traffic in Charms, he said. He didn't deal with Charms, as Clementine had indicated. But he was known to prescribe a remedy that included giving a patient a piece of paper with 25 letters in five lines. The paper was instructed, when they felt bad, to tear off one of the letters, roll it in a ball, and swallow it.Okay.It's likely just a coincidence, but the emphasis on fives in Thibodeau's remedies fit the ritualistic sacrifice narrative perfectly, and he was soon roped right into the crimes. Joseph Thibodeau was arrested a day or two later, but police had literally nothing on him except for Clementine's statement. Following his arrest, the local press pointed out that while Thibodeau was a well-known figure in the city, no one knew him to associate with Clementine, much less willfully the help because this was a very interesting one. Dave Forever. Dave Forever. Wow.Well, we hope you keep listening.And we hope you- Keep it weekly.But not so weird that you don't keep thinking about this because I'm never going to stop, probably. Didn't that?Bye.I think I'm ready. There you go.I'm ready. Sometimes I'll just be singing. That was good.That was good.If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining WNDRI+ in the WNDRI app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wndri. Com/survey. Today.Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of WNDRI's podcast, American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, events that have shaped who we are as a country and continue to define the American experience. We go behind the scenes looking at devastating financial crimes like the fraud committed at Enron and Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. American Scandal also tells marquee stories about American politics. In our latest season, we retrace the greatest corruption scheme in US history as we bring to life the bribes and backroom deals that spawned the Teapot Dome Scandal, resulting in the first presidential cabinet member going to prison. Follow American Scandal on the WNDRI app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge this season, American Scandal: Teapot Dome, early and ad-free right now on Wundery Plus. After you listen to American Scandal, go deeper and get more to the story with Wundry's other top history podcasts, including American History Tellers, Legacy, and even the Royals.

She said, It was an easy matter. That's what she said of killing the Randall children. It was an easy matter. We thought it was better to kill them than to leave orphans as they would suffer.

Okay.

As for why she had done it, Clementine told the Sheriff that, quote, moral perversion was responsible for a passion to shed human blood and take human life that she could not control.

Okay.

So, again, these statements are chilling and scary. The idea of an ax gang. And cold. Like, very scary. Absolutely. Could be true. And we don't know. According to Clementine, when this impulse came upon her, she said she could not rest until she had killed an infant and pressed its form to her breast. What the fuck? And an infant was killed and babies were killed. Yeah, multiple. Now, initially, Clementine had refused to identify her accomplices. But by April fourth, and this is where it gets funky. Okay. This is where you're going to go, Okay, maybe she is just lying. But by April fourth, she finally named Reverend Joseph Thibodeau as the affermentioned Houdou doctor who had provided them with protection spells. Okay. Thibodeau was a black fortune teller living in New Iberia who also portrayed himself as a practitioner of herbal medicine. He didn't traffic in Charms, he said. He didn't deal with Charms, as Clementine had indicated. But he was known to prescribe a remedy that included giving a patient a piece of paper with 25 letters in five lines. The paper was instructed, when they felt bad, to tear off one of the letters, roll it in a ball, and swallow it.

Okay.

It's likely just a coincidence, but the emphasis on fives in Thibodeau's remedies fit the ritualistic sacrifice narrative perfectly, and he was soon roped right into the crimes. Joseph Thibodeau was arrested a day or two later, but police had literally nothing on him except for Clementine's statement. Following his arrest, the local press pointed out that while Thibodeau was a well-known figure in the city, no one knew him to associate with Clementine, much less willfully the help because this was a very interesting one. Dave Forever. Dave Forever. Wow.Well, we hope you keep listening.And we hope you- Keep it weekly.But not so weird that you don't keep thinking about this because I'm never going to stop, probably. Didn't that?Bye.I think I'm ready. There you go.I'm ready. Sometimes I'll just be singing. That was good.That was good.If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining WNDRI+ in the WNDRI app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wndri. Com/survey. Today.Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of WNDRI's podcast, American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, events that have shaped who we are as a country and continue to define the American experience. We go behind the scenes looking at devastating financial crimes like the fraud committed at Enron and Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. American Scandal also tells marquee stories about American politics. In our latest season, we retrace the greatest corruption scheme in US history as we bring to life the bribes and backroom deals that spawned the Teapot Dome Scandal, resulting in the first presidential cabinet member going to prison. Follow American Scandal on the WNDRI app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge this season, American Scandal: Teapot Dome, early and ad-free right now on Wundery Plus. After you listen to American Scandal, go deeper and get more to the story with Wundry's other top history podcasts, including American History Tellers, Legacy, and even the Royals.

the help because this was a very interesting one. Dave Forever. Dave Forever. Wow.

Well, we hope you keep listening.

And we hope you- Keep it weekly.

But not so weird that you don't keep thinking about this because I'm never going to stop, probably. Didn't that?

Bye.

I think I'm ready. There you go.

I'm ready. Sometimes I'll just be singing. That was good.

That was good.

If you like Morbid, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining WNDRI+ in the WNDRI app or on Apple podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wndri. Com/survey. Today.

Hi, I'm Lindsay Graham, the host of WNDRI's podcast, American Scandal. We bring to life some of the biggest controversies in US history, events that have shaped who we are as a country and continue to define the American experience. We go behind the scenes looking at devastating financial crimes like the fraud committed at Enron and Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. American Scandal also tells marquee stories about American politics. In our latest season, we retrace the greatest corruption scheme in US history as we bring to life the bribes and backroom deals that spawned the Teapot Dome Scandal, resulting in the first presidential cabinet member going to prison. Follow American Scandal on the WNDRI app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can binge this season, American Scandal: Teapot Dome, early and ad-free right now on Wundery Plus. After you listen to American Scandal, go deeper and get more to the story with Wundry's other top history podcasts, including American History Tellers, Legacy, and even the Royals.