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American History

Shocking Tales from New Orleans’ Early French Quarter

Drawing of French Quarter's Orleans Theater
Orleans Theater, now Bourbon Orleans Hotel and site of 'haunted' ballroom. Gibson Guide and Directory of New Orleans, 1838. Public domain

Addie and Zack in the Post-Katrina World (2006)

Facade of Royal Omni Hotel, French Quarter, New Orleans.
Royal Omni Hotel, site of Zack’s demise. AngelDixon98 (2017, CC 4.0).

After the storm, their drug use increased. And so did the arguments. The arguments got worse. They moved to an apartment above a voodoo shop on Rampart Street, but the ‘fresh start’ didn’t help. Zack was cheating on Addie. Consequently, she took steps to evict him from her apartment. On October 5, 2006, neither reported for work. On October 17, Zack’s body was found in a hotel parking garage with a note “for police only.”

His suicide note directed police to their apartment, where they found the air conditioning unusually cold. Messages in silver spray paint show the mental tornado in Zack’s mind; “I love her,” “I’m a total failure,” and chillingly, “Look in the oven.” Zack had killed and dismembered Addie, butchering the body, placing pieces in pots, in the oven, in the refrigerator and freezer in an effort to dispose of her remains and possibly cannibalize her.

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