victor licata (c. 1912 – december 4, 1950) was an american murderer who killed most of his family with an axe. on october 16, 1933 in ybor city, tampa, florida, licata used an axe to murder his parents, two brothers, and a sister while they were asleep. all died from blows to the head. the killings, which were reported by the media as the work of an "axe-murdering marijuana addict", were used as prima facie evidence that there was a link between recreational drugs, such as cannabis, and crime. this led to the killings being used in 1930s anti-drug campaigns against marijuana. at trial, licata was found criminally insane and committed to an insane asylum, where he later hanged himself in 1950.