The history of Louisiana is vibrant, culturally diverse, and interesting to persons from all over the world. But like most states, Louisiana holds mysterious and nefarious secrets about a murderous past. Bloodstained Louisiana profiles some of the most controversial (and some forgotten) homicide cases in the state's history. This macabre study demonstrates the murkiest depths of the killer imagination revolving around a cycle of continuing evil. Bloodstained Louisiana relies on sources from the deepest recesses of archives and various historical collections to present the stories of the gruesome side of the state's legacy. The work includes murders stemming from or involving social issues such as racism, demonization of gender, jealousy, abandonment, lust, and greed; all of the cases are chronologically listed to guide the reader through a shadowy maze of depravity and provides insight to the blackest parts of the human soul. More of a documentation than an amateur detective recitation, the reader will be able to draw their own conclusions after examining the cases in detail.

This collection of historical profiles chronicles the most mysterious, bizarre and often overlooked homicides in Louisiana history. Drawing on contemporary records and, where available, the recollections of those who provide a coherent version of the facts, these mesmerizing tales detail some of the more gruesome episodes in Louisiana history: the rise of the first Mafia ""godfather"" in the United States; the murder of two New Orleans police chiefs; the brutal murder of a famous New Orleans madam; the story of a respectable young woman who ""accidentally"" poisoned her younger sister and is a suspect in other family deaths; the ritual killing of blacks in southwestern Louisiana and eastern Texas; the mysterious death of a young housewife which still generates debate; and the demise of a local celebrity who believed in his own invincibility.