The Socialite Killer of New Orleans: Delphine Lalaurie
- Správne Právne
- Apr 7, 2024
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 15, 2024
Disclaimers
The heinous crimes mentioned below, all circumstances surrounding them, approach of the authorities and the public, reflect the time at which the crimes were committed by Lalaurie (beginning of the 19th century). Bear that in mind whilst you read, please.
See the end of the post for resources providing historical context and additional information.
Warning: This blog contains mentions of abuse, violence, torture, death, and (very likely) race-motivated crimes.
Background
Born Marie Delphine Macarty in New Orleans 1878, she had a silver spoon in her mouth from the beginning. Her family was influential and well-connected in the, then Spanish, Louisiana. As she grew up, she witnessed how harshly some members of her extended family treated their enslaved people. Her uncle died during an uprising at his plantation. It is said he was rather cruel.
At age 13, Delphine married Ramon Candelaria, a high-ranking officer to the Spanish Crown. Only 4 years later, she was widowed, as her husband died at sea. They had one daughter together.
At 20 years old, she married again. She got married to a wealthy, cut-throat, businessman, Jean-Paul Blanque. As a wedding gift, they received a plantation along with 26 slaves. Around this time, Delphine’s mother passed away, leaving to her an inheritance of another plantation with additional 52 slaves. I mention this to better illustrate just how wealthy and influential Delphine will become, and to provide context for the events that made her the prolific serial killer she is known as. The Blanques were together for 8 years, until Delphine’s husband died. They had 4 children.
By this point, Delphine Blanque, soon to be Delphine Lalaurie, was a woman of considerable wealth in her own right. She met her final husband, a physician named Leonard L. N. Lalaurie, at 38. Some say that it was her wealth that attracted Leonard more than anything. It was with him that she built her mansion on Royal Street, in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Because of their letters, we got a glimpse into their unhappy and abusive marriage. Delphine got beaten regularly by Leonard. She, however, chose a different “outlet” for her anger.
The Rumours
Delphine was a socialite who threw many lavish parties. During these parties, the guests had rather conflicting opinions on her treatment of enslaved people. Some guests claimed that these people were not shown an ounce of human kindness and looked wretched. Others, like Harriet Martineau, wrote that the host handed the remains of her glass of wine to one of her slaves while saying “Here my friend, it’ll do you good.” To this day it isn’t clear how Delphine treated them in public, but we do have more insight on how she treated them in private.
The living conditions in the slaves’ quarters were like a prison, with iron shutters on the windows, and the doors always locked. Only Delphine had the key. From 1830 – 1834, at least 12 slaves’ bodies were carried out of the mansion. The cause of death was listed as “unknown”, and no one really cared to investigate, as the bodies belonged to enslaved people.
Although Delphine attempted to put up a front of a “caring and benevolent slave owner”, rumours soon spread around town. So much so, that the police agreed to search the mansion and her slaves checked up on. A lawyer was appointed to do this. He claimed that he found no wrongdoing (which, as you’ll see later, couldn’t have been true). He wrote in his report that he was: “full of indignation against all who could suspect this amiable woman of doing anything wrong”. He also claimed that “She could not harm a fly or give pain to any human being.”
Shortly after his examination, a neighbour said that she saw Delphine chasing a young girl with a whip in her hand. The girl then, apparently, ran along the edge of the roof, looking fearful. Soon after, the girl fell to her death from the roof. She might have lost her footing, balance or she could have been pushed. The details are unclear. Later at night, the neighbour claims, she saw that they buried the girl in the back yard.
Still the rumour mill did not stop. Another inquiry into Delphine’s mistreatment of slaves was launched, this time with results. She was ordered by court to sell the abused slaves to someone with less violent tendencies. However, thanks to her wealth and influence she arranged that the slaves were sold to some of her family members and then given back to her.
The D-day (10/04/1834)
On this day, a fire engulfed a part of the mansion. This fire was started intentionally by a 70 year-old enslaved woman, who served as the cook. This woman was chained to the stove by Delphine. She was regularly beaten, and started the fire in hopes of exposing the atrocities going on under the roof, even at the cost of her life.
Delphine ran out of the house, and demanded that the people, who had by that point gathered in front of the property, help her. You’d expect she wanted to save the enslaved people still inside of the burning house. That was not the case at all. She asked the bystanders to carry her valuables out of the mansion, not caring about the lives of these people in the slightest. When the crowd asked Delphine for the keys to the slaves’ quarters, so that they could save them, she refused. Apparently, she was very rude about it too. So the angry mob kicked down the doors. What they laid their eyes on there, they wouldn’t have expected in their worst nightmares.
The New Orleans Bee (a local newspaper) reported the following day:” …seven slaves, more or less horribly mutilated, were seen suspended by the neck with their limbs stretched and torn…”. The newspaper then called Delphine Lalaurie “ a demon masquerading as a woman”, a quite befitting nickname indeed.
Lalaurie’s contemporary Martineau implied that some of the enslaved people were flayed and forced to wear spiked collars, which prevented them from moving their heads.
The Blurry Ending
After Lalaurie’s heinous crimes were exposed, an angry mob of “all colours and classes” formed, demanding justice. Deplhine wasn't arrested immediately. We can assume this was because of her wealth and connections. She fled to Alabama and from there to France the next day.
What remained of the house after the fire was destroyed almost completely by the furious crowd. In New Orleans, some couldn’t believe a woman was capable of such acts, so the surviving enslaved people were put on display as proof. Some see this as tasteless, but it was reported that around 4000 people gathered to see if the stories were true. Unfortunately, 2 out of the 7 rescued enslaved people succumbed to their injuries and passed away. Later, other bodies were unearthed from the grounds of the mansion.
It is thought that Delphine might have died in France, in a bear-hunting accident in France in 1849. There is, however, a tombstone in the New Orleans cemetery with the date of passing being 7/12/1842. An attempt to bring the murderous socialite to justice was never made.
Le Code Noir (1724)
Le Code Noir was created to regulate “slave – owner” relationships.
Some of the provisions set out included:
Slaves must be provided for by their owner even if they could no longer work.
Slaves who were not taken care of could technically report it. (Although there was hardly ever any actual action taken to remedy this)
Inhumane treatment was forbidden.
No punishment other than the whip/rod and shackles permitted.
Most of these were not observed in reality and most of the other provisions were about the rights of the “owners”. This bit is included to show just how revolting Lalaurie’s acts were. Her treatment of enslaved people was so cruel that it was illegal and frowned upon even in 19th century New Orleans.
Additional resources and historical context:
*Please note that at no point in this blog am I providing legal advice or claiming to be a professional. These blogs are for entertainment and educational purposes only.*
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