Lizzie Borden
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Lizzie Andrew Borden, born July 19, 1860, was an American woman tried and acquitted of the brutal axe murders of her father and stepmother on August 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was ever charged. Despite ostracism from her community, Borden remained in Fall River for the rest of her life, eventually succumbing to pneumonia at age 66, just days before her older sister Emma's death.
The Borden murders and subsequent trial captivated the nation, securing a permanent place in American popular culture. Her story has been retold countless times in films, plays, books, and even local folk rhymes, forever etching her name into the annals of American legend.
Born in Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie's father, Andrew Jackson Borden, hailed from English and Welsh roots. Though his family boasted wealth and influence, he began his life in modest circumstances, eventually finding prosperity in furniture and casket manufacturing, and later, property development. He became a respected figure, a director in several textile mills, and a president of the Union Savings Bank. At the time of his death, his estate was valued at a staggering $300,000.
Despite his considerable wealth, Andrew Borden was known for his frugality. Their home lacked indoor plumbing, a common amenity for the affluent of that era. While situated in an affluent area, the city's wealthiest residents generally preferred the more fashionable neighborhood known as "The Hill."
Lizzie and her elder sister, Emma, were raised in a religious household, attending the Central Congregational Church. As a young woman, Lizzie was deeply involved in church activities, teaching Sunday school to immigrant children and participating in organizations like the Christian Endeavor Society and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. She was also a member of the Ladies' Fruit and Flower Mission.
Three years after Lizzie's mother's death, Andrew Borden married Abby Durfee Gray. Lizzie later stated she referred to her stepmother as "Mrs. Borden" and was ambivalent about their relationship, believing Abby had married her father for his money. Bridget Sullivan, their 25-year-old Irish immigrant maid, testified that Lizzie and Emma rarely shared meals with their parents.
In May of 1892, Andrew Borden, believing pigeons were attracting local children to hunt them, killed several in his barn with a hatchet. Lizzie had recently built a roost for these pigeons, and while it's commonly recounted that she was upset by his actions, the truth of this remains disputed. A family argument in July of that year prompted both sisters to take extended vacations. They returned to Fall River a week before the murders, and Lizzie chose to stay in a local rooming house for four days before returning to the family residence.
Tensions within the Borden family had been escalating in the months leading up to the murders, particularly concerning Andrew's real estate gifts to Abby's relatives. After Abby's sister received a house, Lizzie and Emma demanded a rental property they had once lived in. They purchased it from their father for a nominal sum, only to sell it back to him for a significant amount weeks before the murders. John Vinnicum Morse, Lizzie and Emma's maternal uncle, visited the Borden home the night before the murders, and Andrew invited him to stay, leading to speculation that their business discussions may have exacerbated the already tense family situation, especially regarding property transfers.
The entire household had been experiencing a mysterious illness for several days prior to the murders. A family friend later suggested it was caused by mutton left to spoil on the stove. Abby had reportedly feared poison, given Andrew's unpopularity in Fall River.
August 4, 1892, dawned on a scene of unimaginable violence. Morse arrived the evening before and slept in the guest room. Andrew, Abby, Morse, and Sullivan were present for breakfast. Afterward, Andrew and Morse retired to the sitting room for conversation. Morse departed around 8:48 AM, planning to return for lunch. Andrew left for his morning walk shortly after 9 AM.
Abby Borden was upstairs making the guest room bed, a task usually shared by Lizzie and Emma, between 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM. Forensic evidence suggests she was facing her killer when attacked. A hatchet blow to the side of her head, just above the ear, caused her to fall face down. Seventeen more blows to the back of her head delivered by the same weapon, ultimately killed her.
Andrew returned home around 10:30 AM. His key failed to open the door, prompting him to knock. Sullivan, finding the door jammed, cursed. She testified to hearing Lizzie laughing immediately afterward, though she didn't see her. This was significant, as Abby was already dead, her body visible from the second floor. Lizzie later denied being upstairs, claiming her father had asked about Abby's whereabouts, to which she replied a messenger had summoned her to visit a sick friend.
Sullivan stated she removed Andrew's boots and helped him into slippers before he lay down on the sofa for a nap, a detail contradicted by crime scene photos showing him wearing boots. She testified that she was in her third-floor room, resting from cleaning windows, just before 11:10 AM, when she heard Lizzie call from downstairs, "Maggie, come quick! Father's dead. Somebody came in and killed him."
Andrew Borden was found slumped on a couch in the sitting room, having suffered 10 or 11 hatchet blows. One eye was split cleanly in two, suggesting he was asleep. His still-bleeding wounds indicated a recent attack. Family physician Dr. Bowen, from across the street, pronounced both victims dead. Detectives estimated Andrew's death occurred around 11:00 AM.
Lizzie's initial statements to police were often contradictory and peculiar. She initially reported hearing a groan or scraping sound before entering the house, then later claimed she heard nothing. When asked about her stepmother, she repeated the story of the messenger. Sullivan and neighbor Mrs. Churchill, halfway up the stairs, discovered Abby's body in the guest room.
Most officers interviewing Lizzie found her "attitude" off-putting, describing her as too calm and poised. Despite her shifting alibis, she was not checked for bloodstains. A cursory search of her room yielded nothing conclusive. Police later admitted to not conducting a thorough search due to Lizzie not feeling well, a decision that drew criticism for lack of diligence.
In the basement, police found two hatchets and an axe head with a broken handle, suspected as the murder weapon. The fresh break and deliberately applied dust suggested an attempt to conceal its recent use. However, none of these tools were removed from the house. Autopsies revealed no poison in the victims' stomachs, despite household illness and rumors of Lizzie purchasing hydrocyanic acid, which she claimed was for cleaning furs.
Alice Russell, a friend of the sisters, stayed with them the night after the murders. An officer reported seeing Lizzie enter the cellar with Russell, carrying a lamp and a pail, and then return alone, appearing to be bent over the sink.
On August 5th, Morse was mobbed by hundreds of people as he left the Borden residence, requiring police escort. The following day, police conducted a more thorough search, confiscating the broken hatchet head and inspecting the sisters' clothing. That evening, Lizzie was informed she was a suspect. The next morning, Russell found Lizzie tearing up a dress, claiming it was covered in paint and she was burning it. It was never definitively determined if this was the dress she wore on the day of the murders.
Lizzie appeared at the inquest on August 8th, her request for her attorney denied due to the private nature of inquests. Prescribed morphine may have affected her testimony, which was erratic and often contradictory. She provided conflicting accounts of her whereabouts that morning.
On August 11th, Lizzie was arrested and jailed. The inquest testimony, crucial to the ongoing debate about her guilt, was later deemed inadmissible at her trial. Newspaper accounts noted her "stolid demeanor" and reported that the inquest had shifted public opinion among her friends. The inquest received widespread national press attention. A grand jury began hearing evidence on November 7th, and Borden was indicted on December 2nd.
Lizzie's trial commenced in New Bedford on June 5, 1893. Prosecuting attorneys were Hosea M. Knowlton and future Supreme Court Justice William H. Moody, with Andrew V. Jennings, Melvin O. Adams, and former Governor George D. Robinson leading the defense.
A striking parallel emerged with the axe murder of Bertha Manchester in Fall River just five days prior to Borden's trial. While Portuguese immigrant Jose Correa de Mello was convicted of Manchester's murder, he was proven to have been nowhere near Fall River at the time of the Borden murders.
A key point of contention was the hatchet head found in the basement. The prosecution failed to convincingly link it to the murders, arguing the killer removed the handle to conceal bloodstains. Conflicting testimony emerged regarding the discovery of a hatchet handle. No bloody clothing was found, but Russell testified to seeing Lizzie burn a dress, claiming it was ruined by wet paint. The defense never challenged this statement.
Lizzie's presence in the house was also disputed. Sullivan testified to leaving Lizzie and her father downstairs around 10:58 AM. Lizzie claimed she went to the barn for twenty minutes to half an hour. Hyman Lubinsky testified seeing Lizzie leave the barn at 11:03 AM, corroborated by Charles Gardner. At 11:10 AM, Lizzie called Sullivan downstairs, announced her father's death, and instructed her not to enter the room, instead sending her for a doctor.
The victims' skulls were presented as evidence, causing Lizzie to faint in the courtroom. Evidence of her attempting to purchase prussic acid the day before the murders, ostensibly for cleaning a cloak, was excluded as too remote. Presiding Justice Justin Dewey, appointed by Robinson, delivered a summary that favored the defense. After an hour and a half of deliberation, the jury acquitted Lizzie Borden. Exiting the courthouse, she declared herself "the happiest woman in the world." The trial, marked by intense publicity, has been compared to later landmark legal proceedings.
Despite her acquittal, Lizzie remained the prime suspect. Victoria Lincoln suggested a fugue state as a possible explanation. Another prominent theory proposed physical and sexual abuse by her father as a motive, though evidence is scarce. Mystery author Evan Hunter, as Ed McBain, posited Lizzie committed the murders after being caught in a tryst with Sullivan, leading to a confrontation with Abby and then Andrew. Rumors of Lizzie's later lesbianism circulated, but no such speculation surrounded Sullivan, who later married and died in Montana. Allegedly, Sullivan confessed on her deathbed to changing her testimony to protect Lizzie.
John Morse, Lizzie's maternal uncle, is another significant suspect. His presence in the house the night before the murders and what authorities deemed an "absurdly perfect and over-detailed alibi" for Abby's death made him a person of interest.
Author Arnold Brown suggested "William Borden," suspected to be Andrew's illegitimate son, attempted extortion. However, Leonard Rebello's research disproved this claim.
Crime writer Frank Spiering proposed Emma Borden might have secretly visited the residence to commit the murders before returning to her alibi location.
Following the trial, Lizzie and Emma moved to a large, modern home in The Hill neighborhood, where Lizzie began using the name Lizbeth A. Borden. They employed live-in staff. Abby's estate, ruled to have died before Andrew, passed to the daughters. However, a considerable settlement was paid to Abby's family.
Despite her acquittal, Lizzie faced social ostracism. She was accused of shoplifting in Providence in 1897, bringing her name back into the public eye. In 1905, after an argument over a party Lizzie hosted for actress Nance O'Neil, Emma moved out and never saw her sister again.
Lizzie fell ill in her final year, undergoing gallbladder removal. She died of pneumonia on June 1, 1927, in Fall River at age 66. Funeral details were private, with few attendees. Nine days later, Emma died of chronic nephritis in New Hampshire, having moved there in 1923 for health reasons and to avoid renewed attention. Neither sister ever married, and they were buried side-by-side in Oak Grove Cemetery.
At her death, Borden was worth over $250,000, owning property, stocks, vehicles, and jewelry. She bequeathed $30,000 to the Fall River Animal Rescue League and $500 for the perpetual care of her father's grave. Close friends and family received substantial sums, ranging from $1,000 to $6,000.
Scholar Ann Schofield notes Borden's story has evolved into either a tragic romance or a feminist quest, becoming a popular American myth. The Borden house now operates as a museum and bed and breakfast, with trial evidence preserved at the Fall River Historical Society.
The case was immortalized in a popular skipping-rope rhyme, sung to the tune of "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay." Folklore suggests an anonymous writer created it to sell newspapers, while others attribute it to "Mother Goose." In reality, Abby suffered 18 or 19 blows, and her father, 11.
Lizzie Borden has been depicted across various media, often in association with the murders. Notable portrayals include Lillian Gish in the 1933 play "Nine Pine Street," Agnes de Mille's 1948 ballet "Fall River Legend," and the 1975 television film "The Legend of Lizzie Borden" starring Elizabeth Montgomery. The 2014 television film "Lizzie Borden Took an Ax," with Christina Ricci, was followed by the series "The Lizzie Borden Chronicles." The 2018 film "Lizzie" starred Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart, depicting a lesbian tryst as a catalyst for the murders. Documentaries and television recreations have explored the case, and the true crime anthology series "Monster" is set to focus on Lizzie Borden in its fourth season. The heavy metal band Lizzy Borden is named after her, as is the American film director Lizzie Borden.
In literature, Agatha Christie references the case in her novels. Angela Carter's short stories "The Fall River Axe Murders" and "Lizzie's Tiger" explore the events. Walter Satterthwait's 1989 novel "Miss Lizzie" and Cherie Priest's 2014 novel "Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches" offer fictional retellings. Sarah Schmidt's 2017 novel "See What I Have Done" and Erika Mailman's 2017 novel "The Murderer's Maid" provide unique perspectives on the murders and their aftermath.
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Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman who was tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders and, despite ostracism from other residents, Borden spent the remainder of her life in Fall River. She died of pneumonia at age 66, just days before the death of her older sister Emma.
The Borden murders and trial received widespread publicity in the United States, and have remained a topic in American popular culture depicted in numerous films, theatrical productions, literary works, and folk rhymes around the Fall River area.
== Early life ==
Lizzie Andrew Borden was born on July 19, 1860 in Fall River, Massachusetts, to Sarah Anthony Borden (née Morse; 1823–1863) and Andrew Jackson Borden (1822–1892). Her father was of English and Welsh descent. He grew up in very modest surroundings and struggled financially as a young man, despite being the descendant of a wealthy and influential family. He eventually prospered in the manufacture and sale of furniture and caskets, then became a successful property developer. He was a director of several textile mills and owned considerable commercial property. He was also president of the Union Savings Bank and a director of the Durfee Safe Deposit and Trust Co. At the time of his murder, his estate was valued at $300,000 ($10,000,000 in 2024).
Despite his wealth, Borden was known for his frugality; the Borden residence lacked indoor plumbing even though it was a common feature for the wealthy at that time. The house stood in an affluent area, but the wealthiest residents of Fall River generally lived in the more fashionable neighborhood called The Hill, which was farther from the industrial areas of the city.
Lizzie and her older sister Emma Lenora Borden (1851–1927) had a relatively religious upbringing and attended Central Congregational Church. As a young woman, Lizzie was very involved in church activities, including teaching Sunday school to children of recent immigrants. She was involved in religious organizations such as the Christian Endeavor Society, for which she served as secretary-treasurer, and contemporary social movements such as the Woman's Christian Temperance Union. She was also a member of the Ladies' Fruit and Flower Mission.
Andrew Borden married Abby Durfee Gray (1828–1892) three years after the death of Lizzie's mother. Lizzie later stated that she called her stepmother "Mrs. Borden" and demurred on whether they had a cordial relationship; she believed that Abby had married her father for his wealth. Bridget Sullivan was the Bordens' 25 year-old live-in maid who had immigrated from Ireland, and she testified that Lizzie and Emma rarely ate meals with their parents. In May 1892, Andrew killed multiple pigeons in his barn with a hatchet, believing that they were attracting local children to hunt them. Lizzie had recently built a roost for the pigeons, and it has been commonly recounted that she was upset over his killing them, though the veracity of this has been disputed. A family argument in July 1892 prompted both sisters to take extended vacations in New Bedford. They returned to Fall River a week before the murders, and Lizzie chose to stay in a local rooming house for four days before returning to the Borden residence.
Tension had been growing within the Borden family in the months before the murders, especially over Andrew's gifts of real estate to various branches of Abby's family. Their stepmother's sister received a house, so Lizzie and Emma demanded a rental property, the house which they had lived in until their mother died; they purchased it from their father for one dollar. A few weeks before the murders, they sold the property back to their father for $5,000 ($170,993 in 2023). John Vinnicum Morse, Lizzie and Emma's maternal uncle, visited the Borden home the night before the murders, and Andrew invited him to stay for a few days to discuss business matters. This has led to speculation that their conversation may have aggravated an already tense situation, particularly about property transfer.
The entire household had been violently ill for several days before the murders. A family friend later speculated that it was caused by mutton that had been left on the stove to use in meals over several days. Abby had feared poison, given that Andrew had not been a popular man in Fall River.
== Murders of Andrew and Abby ==
=== Thursday, August 4, 1892 ===
Morse arrived in the evening of August 3 and slept in the guest room that night. Andrew, Abby, Morse, and Sullivan were present at breakfast the next morning, after which Andrew and Morse went to the sitting room where they chatted for nearly an hour. Morse left around 8:48 am to buy a pair of oxen and visit his niece in Fall River, planning to return to the Borden home for lunch at noon. Andrew left for his morning walk sometime after 9 am.
One of Lizzie and Emma's regular chores was to clean the guest room, but this morning Abby went upstairs sometime between 9:00 am and 10:30 am to make the bed. According to the forensic investigation, Abby was facing her killer at the time of the attack. She was first struck on the side of the head with a hatchet which cut her just above the ear, causing her to turn and fall face down on the floor and creating contusions on her nose and forehead. Her killer then struck her multiple times, delivering 17 more hits to the back of her head and killing her.
Andrew returned at around 10:30 am. His key failed to open the door, so he knocked. Sullivan went to unlock the door but found it jammed; she uttered a curse. She testified that she heard Lizzie laughing immediately after this; she did not see Lizzie, but stated that the laughter was coming from the top of the stairs. This was considered significant, as Abby was already dead by this time, and her body would have been visible to anyone on the second floor. Lizzie later denied being upstairs and testified that her father had asked her where Abby was, to which she replied that a messenger had delivered Abby a summons to visit a sick friend.
Sullivan stated that she then removed Andrew's boots and helped him into his slippers before he lay down on the sofa for a nap, a detail contradicted by the crime-scene photos which show Andrew wearing boots. She testified that she was in her third-floor room, resting from cleaning windows just before 11:10 am when she heard Lizzie call from downstairs, "Maggie, come quick! Father's dead. Somebody came in and killed him."
Andrew was slumped on a couch in the downstairs sitting room, struck 10 or 11 times with a hatchet-like weapon. One of his eyes had been split cleanly in two, suggesting that he had been asleep when attacked. His still-bleeding wounds suggested a very recent attack. Family physician Dr. Bowen arrived from his home across the street and pronounced both victims dead. Detectives estimated that Andrew's death had occurred at approximately 11:00 am.
=== Investigation ===
Lizzie's initial answers to the police officers' questions were at times strange and contradictory. Initially, she reported hearing a groan or a scraping noise or a distress call before entering the house. Two hours later, she told police that she had heard nothing and entered the house not realizing that anything was wrong. When asked where her stepmother was, she recounted Abby receiving a note asking her to visit a sick friend. She also stated that she thought that Abby had returned and asked if someone could go upstairs and look for her. Sullivan and neighbor Mrs. Churchill were half-way up the stairs, their eyes level with the floor, when they looked into the guest room and saw Abby lying face down on the floor.
Most of the officers who interviewed Lizzie reported that they disliked her "attitude"; some said that she was too calm and poised. Despite her behavior and changing alibis, she was not checked for bloodstains. Police did search her room, but it was a cursory inspection; at the trial, they admitted to not doing a proper search because Lizzie was not feeling well. They were subsequently criticized for their lack of diligence.
In the basement, police found two hatchets, two axes, and a hatchet-head with a broken handle. The hatchet-head was suspected of being the murder weapon, as the break in the handle appeared fresh and the ash and dust on the head appeared to have been deliberately applied to make it look as if it had been in the basement for some time. However, none of these tools were removed from the house. The victims' stomachs were removed during autopsies and tested for poison because of the mysterious illness that had stricken the household before the murders, but no poison was found. Residents suspected Lizzie of purchasing "hydrocyanic acid in a diluted form" from the local druggist. Her defense was that she inquired about using the acid to clean her furs, despite the local medical examiner's testimony that it did not have antiseptic properties.
Lizzie and Emma's friend Alice Russell decided to stay with the sisters the night following the murders. Police were stationed around the house on the night of August 4, during which an officer said that he had seen Lizzie enter the cellar with Russell, carrying a kerosene lamp and a slop pail. He stated that he saw both women exit the cellar, after which Lizzie returned alone. He was unable to see what she was doing, but he stated that it appeared that she was bent over the sink.
On August 5, Morse left the Borden residence and was mobbed by hundreds of people; police had to escort him back to the house. The following day, police conducted a more thorough search of the house, inspecting the sisters' clothing and confiscating the broken-handled hatchet head. That evening, a police officer and the mayor visited the house, and Lizzie was informed that she was a suspect in the murders. The next morning, Russell entered the kitchen to find Lizzie tearing up a dress. She explained that she was planning to put it on the fire because it was covered in paint. It was never determined whether it was the dress that she had been wearing on the day of the murders.
=== Inquest ===
Lizzie appeared at the inquest hearing on August 8. The court refused her request to have her family attorney present, citing a state statute providing that an inquest must be held in private. She had been prescribed regular doses of morphine to calm her nerves, and it is possible that her testimony was affected by this. Her behavior was erratic, and she often refused to answer a question even if the answer would be beneficial to her. She often contradicted herself and provided alternating accounts of the morning in question, such as saying that she was in the kitchen reading a magazine when her father arrived home, then saying that she was in the dining room doing some ironing, and then saying that she was coming down the stairs.
On August 11, Lizzie was served with a warrant of arrest and jailed. The inquest testimony, the basis for the modern debate regarding Lizzie's guilt or innocence, was later ruled inadmissible at her trial in June 1893. Contemporaneous newspaper articles noted that Lizzie possessed a "stolid demeanor" and "bit her lips, flushed, and bent toward attorney Adams;" it was also reported that the testimony provided in the inquest had "caused a change of opinion among her friends who have heretofore strongly maintained her innocence." The inquest received significant press attention nationwide, including a three-page article in The Boston Globe. A grand jury began hearing evidence on November 7, and Borden was indicted on December 2.
=== Trial and acquittal ===
Lizzie's trial took place in New Bedford starting on June 5, 1893. Prosecuting attorneys were Hosea M. Knowlton and future United States Supreme Court Justice William H. Moody; defending were Andrew V. Jennings, Melvin O. Adams, and former Massachusetts Governor George D. Robinson.
Another axe-murder occurred in Fall River on June 1, five days before Borden's trial began. This time, the victim was Bertha Manchester who was found hacked to death in her kitchen. The similarities between the Manchester and Borden murders were striking and noted by jurors. Portuguese immigrant Jose Correa de Mello was convicted of Manchester's murder in 1894, but he was determined not to have been in the vicinity of Fall River at the time of the Borden murders.
A prominent point of discussion in the trial and press coverage was the hatchet-head found in the basement, which was not convincingly demonstrated by the prosecution to be the murder weapon. Prosecutors argued that the killer had removed the handle because it would have been covered in blood. One officer testified that a hatchet handle was found near the hatchet-head, but another officer contradicted this. No bloody clothing was found at the scene, but Russell testified that she had witnessed Lizzie burn a dress in the kitchen stove on August 8, 1892, saying that it had been ruined when she brushed against wet paint. During the course of the trial, the defense never attempted to challenge this statement.
Lizzie's presence at the home was also a point of dispute during the trial. According to testimony, Sullivan entered the second floor at around 10:58 am and left Lizzie and her father downstairs. Lizzie told several people that she went into the barn and was not in the house for "twenty minutes or possibly a half an hour". Hyman Lubinsky testified for the defense that he saw Lizzie leaving the barn at 11:03 am, and Charles Gardner confirmed the time. At 11:10 am, Lizzie called Sullivan downstairs, told her that Andrew had been murdered, and ordered her not to enter the room; instead, Lizzie sent her to get a doctor.
Both victims' heads had been removed during autopsy, and the skulls were admitted as evidence during the trial and presented on June 5, 1893. Upon seeing them in the courtroom, Lizzie fainted. Evidence was excluded that she had sought to purchase prussic acid (hydrogen cyanide) from the local druggist on the day before the murders, purportedly for cleaning a sealskin cloak. The judge ruled that the incident was too remote in time to have any connection.
Presiding Associate Justice Justin Dewey had been appointed by Robinson when he was governor, and he delivered a lengthy summary that supported the defense before the jury was sent to deliberate on June 20, 1893. After an hour and a half of deliberation, the jury acquitted Lizzie Borden of the murders. Upon exiting the courthouse, she told reporters that she was "the happiest woman in the world".
The trial has been compared to the later trials of Bruno Hauptmann, Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, and O.J. Simpson as a landmark in publicity and public interest in the history of American legal proceedings.
=== Theories ===
==== Lizzie Borden ====
Although acquitted at trial, Lizzie remained the prime suspect in her father's and stepmother's murders. Writer Victoria Lincoln proposed in 1967 that she might have committed the murders while in a fugue state. Another prominent suggestion was that she was physically and sexually abused by her father, which drove her to kill him. There is little evidence to support this, but incest is not a topic that would have been discussed at the time, and the methods for collecting physical evidence would have been quite different in 1892. This belief was intimated in local papers at the time of the murders, and was revisited by scholar Marcia Carlisle in a 1992 essay.
Mystery author Evan Hunter, better known as Ed McBain, in his 1984 novel Lizzie, suggested that Lizzie committed the murders after being caught in a tryst with Sullivan. McBain elaborated on his speculation in a 1999 interview, speculating that Abby had caught the two together and had reacted with horror and disgust, and that Lizzie had killed Abby with a candlestick. She made a confession to Andrew when he returned home but killed him in a rage with a hatchet when he reacted exactly as Abby had. He further speculated that Sullivan disposed of the hatchet somewhere afterwards.
In her later years, Lizzie was rumored to be a lesbian, but there was no such speculation about Sullivan, who later married a man she met while working as a maid in Butte, Montana. Sullivan died in Butte in 1948. Allegedly, she gave a death-bed confession to her sister in which she stated that she had changed her testimony on the stand to protect Lizzie.
==== John Morse ====
Another significant suspect is John Morse, Lizzie's maternal uncle, who rarely met with the family after his sister died but had slept in the house the night before the murders; according to law enforcement, he had provided an "absurdly perfect and over-detailed alibi for the death of Abby Borden". Morse was considered a suspect by police for a period.
==== "William Borden" ====
A man named William Borden, suspected to be Andrew's illegitimate son, was noted as a possible suspect by author Arnold Brown, who surmised that William had tried and failed to extort money from his alleged father. Author Leonard Rebello, after extensive research on William, proved he was not Andrew's son.
==== Emma Borden ====
Although Emma had an alibi at Fairhaven, about 15 miles (24 km) from Fall River, crime writer Frank Spiering proposed in his 1984 book Lizzie that she might have secretly visited the residence to kill her parents before returning to Fairhaven in time to receive the telegram informing her of the murders.
== Later life ==
After the trial, the Borden sisters moved into a large, modern house in The Hill neighborhood in Fall River. Around this time, Lizzie began using the name Lizbeth A. Borden. At their new house, which Lizbeth dubbed "Maplecroft", they had a staff that included live-in maids, a housekeeper and a coachman. Because Abby was ruled to have died before Andrew, her estate went first to Andrew and then, at his death, passed to his daughters as part of his estate. A considerable settlement, however, was paid to settle claims by Abby's family.
Despite the acquittal, Lizzie was ostracized by Fall River society. Her name was again brought into the public eye when she was accused of shoplifting in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1897. In 1905, shortly after an argument over a party that Lizbeth had given for actress Nance O'Neil, Emma moved out of the house and never saw her sister again.
== Death ==
Lizzie was ill in her last year following the removal of her gallbladder; she died of pneumonia on June 1, 1927, in Fall River at age 66. Funeral details were not published and few attended. Nine days later, Emma died from chronic nephritis in a nursing home in Newmarket, New Hampshire, having moved to this location in 1923 both for health reasons and to avoid renewed attention following the publication of another book about the murders. The Borden sisters, neither of whom had ever married, were buried side by side in the family plot in Oak Grove Cemetery.
At the time of her death, Borden was worth over $250,000 (equivalent to $6,073,000 in 2024). She owned a house on the corner of French Street and Belmont Street, several office buildings, shares in several utilities, two cars and a large amount of jewelry. She left $30,000 (equivalent to $729,000 in 2024) to the Fall River Animal Rescue League and $500 ($12,000 in 2024) in trust for perpetual care of her father's grave. Her closest friend and a cousin each received $6,000 ($146,000 today)—substantial sums at the time of the estate's distribution in 1927—and numerous friends and family members each received between $1,000 ($24,000 in 2024) and $5,000 ($121,000 in 2024).
== In culture ==
Scholar Ann Schofield notes that "Borden's story has tended to take one or the other of two fictional forms: the tragic romance and the feminist quest ... As the story of Lizzie Borden has been created and re-created through rhyme and fiction it has taken on the qualities of a popular American myth or legend that effectively links the present to the past."
The Borden house became a museum, and operates a bed and breakfast with 1890s styling. Pieces of evidence used in the trial, including the hatchet-head, are preserved at the Fall River Historical Society.
=== Folk rhyme ===
The case was memorialized in a popular skipping-rope rhyme, sung to the tune of the then-popular song "Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay."
Folklore says that the rhyme was made up by an anonymous writer as a tune to sell newspapers. Others attribute it to the ubiquitous, but anonymous, "Mother Goose".
In reality, Lizzie's stepmother suffered 18 or 19 blows; her father suffered 11 blows.
The rhyme has a less well-known second verse:
=== Depictions ===
Lizzie Borden has been depicted in music, radio, film, theater, and television, often in association with the murders of which she was acquitted.
Among the earlier portrayals on stage was John Colton and Carleton Miles's 1933 play Nine Pine Street, in which Lillian Gish played Effie Holden, a character who is based on Borden. The play was not a success and ran for only twenty-eight performances. In 1947 Lillian de la Torre wrote a one-act play, Goodbye, Miss Lizzie Borden.
Other retellings include New Faces of 1952, a 1952 Broadway musical with a number titled Lizzie Borden, which depicts the crimes, as well as Agnes de Mille's ballet Fall River Legend (1948) and the Jack Beeson opera Lizzie Borden (1965), both works being based on Borden and the murders of her father and stepmother. Other plays based on Borden include Blood Relations (1980), a Canadian production written by Sharon Pollock that recounts events leading up to the murders, which was made into a television movie in Calgary. Lizzie Borden, another musical adaptation, was also made starring Tony nominee Alison Fraser.
A March 24, 1957, episode of Omnibus presented two different adaptations of the Lizzie Borden story: the first a play, "The Trial of Lizzie Borden", with Katharine Bard as Lizzie; the second a production of the Fall River Legend ballet with Nora Kaye as "The Accused". In 1959, The Legend of Lizzie by Reginald Lawrence attracted praise for Anne Meacham in the title role, but still closed after just two performances.
A January 21, 1956, episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents, entitled "The Older Sister", presents a fictionalized account, occurring one year after the murders, where Lizzie and Emma have a conversation revealing who the murderer was.
The folk singing group The Chad Mitchell Trio recorded a black comedy song, Lizzie Borden by Michael Brown, for their live 1961 album Mighty Day on Campus. Released as a single, it reached 44 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1962.
ABC commissioned The Legend of Lizzie Borden (1975), a television film starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Lizzie Borden, Katherine Helmond as Emma Borden, and Fionnula Flanagan as Bridget Sullivan; it was later discovered after Montgomery died that she and Borden were in fact sixth cousins once removed, both descending from 17th century Massachusetts resident John Luther. Rhonda McClure, the genealogist who documented the Montgomery-Borden connection, said: "I wonder how Elizabeth would have felt if she knew she was playing her own cousin."
Lizzie: The Musical premiered in 2009, with book by Tim Maner, music by Steven Cheslik-deMeyer and Alan Stevens Hewitt, and lyrics by Cheslik-deMeyer and Maner. The musical had its origins in a 1990 song cycle, and focuses on a secret romance between Borden and her neighbour, Alice, as well as her abuse at home.
Lifetime produced Lizzie Borden Took an Ax (2014), a speculative television film with Christina Ricci portraying Borden, which was followed by The Lizzie Borden Chronicles (2015)—a limited series and a sequel to the television film, which presents a fictionalized account of Borden's life after the trial. A feature film, Lizzie (2018), with Chloë Sevigny as Borden and Kristen Stewart as Bridget Sullivan, depicts a lesbian tryst between Borden and Sullivan, which leads to the murders.
The events of the murders and the trial, with actors portraying the people who were involved in them, have been reenacted on a number of documentary programs. In 1936, the radio program Unsolved Mysteries broadcast a 15-minute dramatization titled "The Lizzie Borden Case", which presented a possible scenario in which the murders were committed during a botched robbery attempt by a tramp, who then escaped. Television recreations have included episodes of Biography, Second Verdict, History's Mysteries, Case Reopened (1999), and Mysteries Decoded (2019). The Lizzie Borden case was partly dramatized on an episode of the 2022 BBC Radio podcast series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers.
Borden will be the focus of the fourth season of the true crime anthology series Monster, created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. Ella Beatty has been cast in the role of Lizzie Borden.
Lizzy Borden, an American heavy metal band, is named after her. The American film director Lizzie Borden also took her name from the historical figure.
=== In literature ===
In Agatha Christie's mystery novel Sleeping Murder, the main character Miss Marple says that murder "was not proven in the case of Madeleine Smith and Lizzie was acquitted—but many people believe both of those women were guilty." Christie's And Then There Were None, After the Funeral, and Ordeal by Innocence also reference the case.
"The Fall River Axe Murders", a short story by Angela Carter, was published in her collection Black Venus (1985). "Lizzie's Tiger", also by Carter, depicts Borden, imagined as a four-year-old, having an extraordinary encounter at the circus. The story was published posthumously in 1993 in her collection American Ghosts and Old World Wonders.
Davidson, Avram. "The Deed of the Deft-Footed Dragon" in several collections, most recently The Other Nineteenth Century, ed. Grania Davis and Henry Wessels. New York; TOR, 2001.
de Mille, Agnes. Lizzie Borden: A Dance of Death. Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1968.
Miss Lizzie, a 1989 novel by Walter Satterthwait, takes place thirty years after the murders and recounts an unlikely friendship between Borden and a child, and the suspicions that arise from a murder.
Maplecroft: The Borden Dispatches, a 2014 novel by Cherie Priest. The first in a series of novels, where Priest adds elements of Lovecraftian horror to the tale of Lizzie Borden.
See What I Have Done, 2017 novel by Australian writer Sarah Schmidt, tells the story of the murders and their aftermath from the points of view of Lizzie and Emma Borden, Bridget Sullivan, and an imagined stranger. It won the MUD Literary Prize for a debut novel.
Erika Mailman's 2017 novel The Murderer's Maid is told from the points of view of Bridget Sullivan in 1892 and a young woman with a connection to the case in the modern day. It won a gold medal for historical fiction in the Independent Publisher Book Awards.
== See also ==
A. J. Borden Building
Corky Row Historic District
List of unsolved murders (before 1900)
== Notes ==
== References ==
== Works cited ==
== Further reading ==
Robertson, Cara. The Trial of Lizzie Borden. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2019. ISBN 1501168371
Martins, Michael and Dennis Binette. Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River. Fall River: Fall River Historical Society, 2011. 1,138 pages with much previously unavailable information including letters written by Lizzie Borden while in jail and photographs of her in later life. ISBN 978-0-9641248-1-3
Asher, Robert, Lawrence B. Goodheart and Alan Rogers. Murder on Trial: 1620–2002 New York: State University of New York Press, 2005, ISBN 978-0-7914-6377-2.
Sullivan, Robert. Goodbye Lizzie Borden. Brattleboro, VT: Stephen Greene Press, 1974. ISBN 0-14-011416-5.
Edwin H. Porter (c. 1864-1904) The Fall River Tragedy: A History of the Borden Murders (1893) via: Project Gutenberg via: University of Massachusetts at Amherst
== External links ==
Academic sites
Lizzie Borden Trial (1893) - UMKC School of Law (Douglas O. Linder)
Historical Investigation into the Past: The Lizzie Borden / Fall River Case Study - University of Massachusetts at Amherst, the History Department and the Center for Computer-Based Instructional Technology
Arrest and Trial of Lizzie Borden: Search Strategies & Selected Articles - Topics in Chronicling America, Library of Congress
Media
Lizzie Borden Moot Court, with tribunal made up of U.S. Supreme Court justices and Stanford University Law School professors. September 16, 1997
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