Lizzy Borden had an axe,
Gave her mother 40 whacks,
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father 41.
Gave her mother 40 whacks,
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father 41.
August 4, 1892 at 92 Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts.
This day started as any other. Andrew Borden went off to work early in the morning after having breakfast with his wife, Bridget Sullivan, and friend John V. Morse. John Morse went out to run errands, for he was staying a night at the Borden's home. Emma Borden was out on a pleasure trip in Fair Haven.
After breakfast, around 7 AM - 8 AM, Abby Borden instructed Bridget Sullivan to wash the outside windows, and inside windows while she dusted and prepared the guest room for visitors. Lizzie was down when Bridget was starting her window washing. Bridget was outside for the next hour. At about 8:30-9:00 AM, Abby Borden was murdered in the guest bedroomm from behind with an ax-like instrument.
At about 10:00 AM, Andrew Borden arrived home. He briefly went up the back stairs to his room, then to the sitting room to take a nap. Lizzie at this time was (according to her testimony) about to iron some handkerchiefs in the dining room, and was in the kitchen waiting for the iron to heat in the fire. After inquiring about receiving any mail from her father, she went into the loft of the barn to search for lead for sinkers or to fix a screen (she gave both reasons at separate times). While up there, she spent about 20 minutes eating pairs in the stuffy, extremely hot barn.
At around 11:00 AM, Andrew Borden was murdered with an ax-like weapon in the sitting room as he lay, sleeping. The wounds were applied onto the left side of his face, completely distorting the area. Lizzie was the first to discover the body of Andrew Borden, and immediately ran to the foot of the stairs and called for Maggie (nickname for Bridget Sullivan), who was in her room upstairs at the time. She screamed: "Maggie, come down! Come down quick; Father's dead; somebody came in and killed him." (Linder).
After the discovery of the body by Lizzie and Maggie, Lizzie sent Maggie for the doctor immediately, then to the telegraph office to inform her sister, Emma. The police arrived shortly after the murder, along with Lizzie's neighbor: Adeleide Churchill, who went upstairs looking for Abby... only to find her lying on the floor on the other side of the bed in the guest room, dead. Her body was cold, while Andrews was warm, meaning the murders were about an hour and a half apart. Over the next few days, police searched the house, and could not find a murder weapon; however, they did find the head of a hatchet in the cellar, which was covered in white ash as if to clean and hide what it had been used for previously, but it was missing its handle.
This day started as any other. Andrew Borden went off to work early in the morning after having breakfast with his wife, Bridget Sullivan, and friend John V. Morse. John Morse went out to run errands, for he was staying a night at the Borden's home. Emma Borden was out on a pleasure trip in Fair Haven.
After breakfast, around 7 AM - 8 AM, Abby Borden instructed Bridget Sullivan to wash the outside windows, and inside windows while she dusted and prepared the guest room for visitors. Lizzie was down when Bridget was starting her window washing. Bridget was outside for the next hour. At about 8:30-9:00 AM, Abby Borden was murdered in the guest bedroomm from behind with an ax-like instrument.
At about 10:00 AM, Andrew Borden arrived home. He briefly went up the back stairs to his room, then to the sitting room to take a nap. Lizzie at this time was (according to her testimony) about to iron some handkerchiefs in the dining room, and was in the kitchen waiting for the iron to heat in the fire. After inquiring about receiving any mail from her father, she went into the loft of the barn to search for lead for sinkers or to fix a screen (she gave both reasons at separate times). While up there, she spent about 20 minutes eating pairs in the stuffy, extremely hot barn.
At around 11:00 AM, Andrew Borden was murdered with an ax-like weapon in the sitting room as he lay, sleeping. The wounds were applied onto the left side of his face, completely distorting the area. Lizzie was the first to discover the body of Andrew Borden, and immediately ran to the foot of the stairs and called for Maggie (nickname for Bridget Sullivan), who was in her room upstairs at the time. She screamed: "Maggie, come down! Come down quick; Father's dead; somebody came in and killed him." (Linder).
After the discovery of the body by Lizzie and Maggie, Lizzie sent Maggie for the doctor immediately, then to the telegraph office to inform her sister, Emma. The police arrived shortly after the murder, along with Lizzie's neighbor: Adeleide Churchill, who went upstairs looking for Abby... only to find her lying on the floor on the other side of the bed in the guest room, dead. Her body was cold, while Andrews was warm, meaning the murders were about an hour and a half apart. Over the next few days, police searched the house, and could not find a murder weapon; however, they did find the head of a hatchet in the cellar, which was covered in white ash as if to clean and hide what it had been used for previously, but it was missing its handle.
At first, people believed Lizzie's claim that somebody had broken into the house and murdered both Andrew and Abby and started searching for the perpetrator. One suspect was John V. Morse, however, he had a strong alibi of being with his niece the time of the murder, even remembering the exact trolley numbers he took that day. About two days after the murder, people started to suggest that Lizzie herself was the murderer, and shortly after that, the mayor of Fall River informed Lizzie that she was a suspect and would have to report to court soon.
Why was Lizzie suspected? Why would anyone suspect a woman who was daughter to a good and well known family? A few answers came up. There was no sign of a break in, the local drug store owner reported Lizzie attempted to buy a poison: prussic acid the day before the murder, the surprising lack of blood, the burning of the dress Lizzie wore on the day of the murder BY Lizzie, an unconvincing story of being in the stifling hot bard for 20-30 minutes eating pears and searching for lead, a report by a physician who said the murders were likely committed by a female, and the failure to find a note and patient Lizzie claimed Abby had and was going to go out to see and take care of.
On August 9th, an inquest was held in which Lizzie Borden, John V. Morse, Bridget, and every witness was questioned for the story of the day of the murder. Lizzie's was filled with confused and contradictory statements about her reasons for being where she was, and her little knowledge of the whereabouts of her family after 9:00 AM. For example, in Lizzies inquest testimony she was asked the size of the box she had looked through for lead sinkers, and she could not produce an even guestimation of its size untill asked 4 times, even after she had a hard time of decyphering what size the box was.
Lizzie was arrested and the trial began on June 5, 1893. Lizzie's defense team consisted of Andrew Jennings and George Robinson (the former governor of Massachusetts), while the prosecution consisted of District Attorney Knowlton and Thomas Moody.
The prosecution took days to finish its case, while the defense only took one day. The final verdict: Not guilty. Why? The prosecution lacked solid evidence. They lacked a true murder weapon (the ax had no handle and had no blood), they lacked any physical piece of evidence linking Lizzie with the murders, however, they did have a truck-load of circumstantial evidence such as the burning of the dress, the 20 minutes in the stifling hot attic, the unknowing of her mothers whereabouts, the list goes on. This is a quote from the secretary of the court on Lizzie's actions after hearing the "Not Guilty" verdict: "The clerk asked the foreman of the jury, "What is your verdict?" "Not guilty," the foreman replied simply. Lizzie let out a yell, sank into her chair, rested her hands on a courtroom rail, put her face in her hands, and then let out a second cry of joy." (Linder).
The judge and many people in the community praised her Christian character and innocence. However, Lizzie Borden committed these murders, as I will show in the "Incriminating Evidence tab"