It wasn’t her fiery red hair or piercing blue eyes that made her a recognizable face on the streets of New Orleans.

She had a tendency to kill anyone, mostly men, who she felt had disrespected or embarrassed her for working in brothels.

His real name is unknown, as is his whereabouts after shooting a handful of men to death in the mid-1800s. New Orleans police and media referred to her as Mary Jane Jackson, or occasionally as Delia Swift, Mary Rufus, or Bricktop. But to stay true to the essence of her character, we’ll call her by the name the locals often use: Bridget Fury.

Bridget Fury was sentenced to 10 years in state prison after allegedly stabbing her lover to death in her home state of Ohio, The Times-Picayune reported in 1856. He eventually left and fled to New Orleans, where he worked. A total of 13 known victims were collected in French Quarter brothels; some of these died from stab wounds or suffered near-death conditions.

Murder wasn’t Bridget Fury’s only crime of choice. She reached into countless men’s pockets to steal money and was fined numerous times by the city of New Orleans for working in brothels. As The Times Picayune reported in 1858, Fury was even abusive towards women at times; There was also a woman who allegedly threw rotten eggs.

However, according to the now defunct newspaper The Daily Delta, perhaps Fury’s most notable case was in St. It was the death of a blacksmith in a saloon at the corner of Peter and Rampart streets.

It’s been nearly 200 years since he wreaked havoc on New Orleans, and true crime experts still can’t fully analyze the heinous acts Fury committed.

How did he manage to escape the grasp of public authority after each successful murder or attempted murder? Why was he so angry? And most importantly, who was he?

Fury’s first alleged murders

Fury’s husband, Bob Miller, was found dead with 20 bloody cuts and bite marks on his body in Ohio on a December morning, The Daily Delta reported. The date of the alleged murder is unknown.

After being charged with murder, Fury was sent to jail for 90 days to await a request from Ohio’s governor. However, the request never came, leading to his release.

Reporters at the time predicted he would be returned to Ohio by federal authorities, but that never happened. It wouldn’t be long after Fury’s release from prison before he became “the hero of another tragedy,” as The Times-Picayune described him nearly two centuries ago.

Fury’s first reported crime in New Orleans occurred in the early morning hours of July 18, 1856, when Fury allegedly murdered a man named George McDaniels “at the Lake end of the new screen road,” or what is now known as the New Orleans Lake Shore. .

The Times-Picayune reported that four women working at brothels on Burgundy Street, including McDaniels, his friend and Fury, got into a fight. A woman slapped her in the face before McDaniels dealt her a series of blows with a taxi whip. Fury allegedly stabbed him in the back with a knife that penetrated his lung as he repeatedly hit him.

A facility that no longer exists, Dr. At Stone’s Hospital, all the women were put behind bars as McDaniels’ health rapidly deteriorated.

The now-defunct New Orleans Crescent newspaper reported about two weeks after the crime that Fury and three other women were released for lack of evidence.

The case was never reported again by local news outlets.

Anger strikes again

It wouldn’t be long before Fury attacked another man, his roommate Thomas Dolan.

The Times-Picayune reported that Fury, whom the reporter described as “the town’s notorious woman,” stabbed Dolan with a sword cane at a home on Dryades Street on February 1, 1857.

Fury attacked Dolan after he allegedly choked him.

Dolan survived the near-fatal blows, with The Times-Picayune writing that “no hope remains for his recovery.” Fury was discharged after leaving New Orleans to avoid investigation.

Survivor attempted murder, suicide

Fury had gathered a short list of victims when a man named Jas Hornsby attempted to kill him in May 1857.

The Times-Picayune reported that Hornsby was unsuccessfully held by police after he attacked Fury and “threatened to end his existence.” Even the reporter couldn’t help but spill his prejudice on the attempted murder allegation.

“Whoever dares to attack Delia must be truly brave,” the reporter wrote.

Almost two decades later, in May 1875, Fury attempted to take his own life with a dose of morphine at his home at 56 Dryades Street, The Times-Picayune reported. He was rescued by a New Orleans police officer.

Patrick Croan case

Patrick Croan was just 22 years old when he died from stab wounds inflicted by Fury on September 3, 1858.

The Times-Picayune reported that Croan and her friends were walking through Poydras Market, an open-air shopping area that no longer exists, when she made a comment about “women of a certain class.”

A group of women, including Fury, overheard the remarks while sitting at a coffee stand at the flea market. Fury jumped up and said to Croan, “He’s not here” before stabbing him. The Times-Picayune later reported that witnesses accused Croan of calling the women “tramps.”

Fury was arrested and charged with manslaughter. Croan was sent to the Charity Hospital, where he died of peritonitis or abdominal inflammation.

In covering Croan’s killing, The New Orleans Crescent described Fury as unassuming because he appeared to be a polite and pleasant person in court despite his alleged crimes.

The New Orleans Crescent wrote that, according to the Brooklyn Museum, Fury is the reincarnation of Lucretia Borgia, an Italian noblewoman accused of capital crimes.

More accurately, The New Orleans Crescent wrote that Fury was “a demon incarnate when insulted.”

Fury’s latest alleged murder

It is unclear how Fury allegedly killed another victim in his most high-profile trial on November 10, 1859, despite being charged with manslaughter a year earlier.

The Daily Delta reported that Fury allegedly stabbed a blacksmith named Laurent Fleury in the skull with a pocket knife. Murder once happened in St. It happened at a bar located on the corner of Peter and Rampart streets.

The Daily Delta reported that a witness testified that a woman named America Williams pulled out a pocket knife while arguing with Fleury and asked Fleury to drop the knife. Fury ran up and stabbed Fleury as he prepared to attack Williams with a wooden stick.

Daily Delta previously reported that an argument broke out after Fury, Williams and another unknown woman refused to pay for drinks.

The Times-Picayune reported that Williams and Fury were charged with murder on December 10, 1859.

Fury’s victims and aftermath

A total of nine known victims were recorded using articles in The Times-Picayune, The Daily Delta, and The New Orleans Crescent. The exact number of victims is unknown, as are some of the locations and dates.

The list does not include people Fury allegedly threatened with murder.

• Bob Miller was stabbed on an unknown date in Ohio.
• George McDaniels was stabbed on the New Orleans Lakefront on July 18, 1856.
• Thomas J. Dolan was stabbed on Dryades Street, February 1, 1857.
• R. James was stabbed at an unknown location in New Orleans on November 4, 1857.
• Catherine Williams was molested in Phillipa Street in June 1858.
• Patrick Croan was stabbed in Poydras Market on 3 September 1858.
• Laurent Fleury was born on November 10, 1859 in St. He was stabbed at Peters and Rampart streets.
• Matilda Sherian was molested at an unknown location in New Orleans in April 1859.
• Mrs. L. Gafney was stabbed in Gravier Street, May 4, 1877.

While some researchers believe that Fury eventually disappeared from New Orleans, his true whereabouts after his last murder remain unknown.