The Real Lizzie Borden Story

The Borden Family

Andrew Borden was born in 1822 and lived a very modest lifestyle while growing up.  He struggled financially before hitting success in a few different industries.  He manufactured and sold furniture and caskets and then went on to be a successful property developer.  He was a director of several textile mills and owned considerable commercial property.  He was also the president of the Union Savings Bank and a director of the Durfee Safe Deposit and Trust Co.  He married Sarah Anthony Morse, who was born in 1823, and the couple had two children together.  Emma Lenora Borden was the eldest of their two daughters and was born in 1851.  Lizzie Andrew Borden was born on July 19, 1860, and unfortunately, Sarah passed just a couple of years after her birth in 1863. 

Three years after Sarah died, Andrew was remarried to a woman named Abby Durfee Gray.  Abby was born in 1828.  The Borden family lived in Fall River, Massachusetts, a textile mill town about 50 miles south of Boston.  Despite his wealth, Andrew was quite frugal and chose to live with his family in a modest home on Second Street rather than on the “Hill” where wealthier residents typically resided in Fall River. 

Andrew bought the family home in 1872 and immediately had it remodeled from a two tenant dwelling into a home for his small family.  He chose this house for its pragmatic location.  It was only a short walk to his business on Main Street, just one block over.  The house sat amid other businesses, horse stables, a laundry, and a make-shift restaurant.  There were no hallways in the home, just an upstairs landing, and one had to go through one room to get to the next.  Andrew also decided to forego indoor plumbing in the house, even though it was a common accommodation for the wealthy at the time.

Andrew supported his wife and his daughters as well as employed a servant named Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan to keep their home in order.  Both Lizzie and Emma lived at home into adulthood and some considered them to be spinsters.  Together, Lizzie and Emma helped Andrew with the management of some of the properties that he owned.  

The family attended the Central Congregational Church where Lizzie was actively involved.  She taught Sunday School to the children of recent immigrants at the church and she was also involved in other religious organizations such as the Christian Endeavor Society where she was the secretary and treasurer and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union.  She was also involved with the Ladies’ Fruit and Flower Mission.  Lizzie was considered to be popular in Fall River and was generally well liked.

Lizzie and Emma had a distant relationship with their stepmother, Abby, and referred to her as, “Mrs. Borden.”  They were reportedly worried that Abby’s family wanted to gain access to their father’s money.

Tensions were high in the Borden home in the months leading up to the murders.  In May of 1892, Andrew reportedly killed several pigeons in his barn with a hatchet because he believed that they were attracting local children to hunt them.  Lizzie had just recently built a roost for them and was rather upset with her father for what he had done. 

On top of that, Andrew had gifted real estate to several members of Abby’s family and Lizzie and Emma were not too pleased about it.  After Abby’s sister received a house from Andrew, Lizzie and Emma demanded that they receive a rental property — the home they had lived in until their mother died.  The girls purchased the home from their father for one dollar and just a few weeks prior to the murders, they sold the property back to their father for $5,000. 

In July of 1892, a family argument broke out that caused both Emma and Lizzie to take extended vacations in New Bedford.  Lizzie returned to Fall River a week before Andrew and Abby were killed, however, she chose to stay in a local rooming house for four days before returning to the family home. 

The day before the murders occurred, Abby and Andrew had been violently ill and it was reported that Abby had feared that it was poison.  Andrew hadn’t been extremely popular in Fall River.  

On the day before the murder, Lizzie and Emma’s uncle, John Morse, came for a visit to discuss business with Andrew.  He was invited to stay for a few days.  It is speculated that their conversations may have added to the tension in the home. 

On the morning of Thursday, August 4, 1892, Andrew left his home to head to work leaving Magie, Abby, and Lizzie at home.  John also left the home that morning to conduct business.  Andrew returned home late morning and decided to settle down on the couch for a quick nap.  At approximately 11:15 am, Lizzie entered the house and found her father dead on the couch with injuries on his head from a sharp object. 

Lizzie yelled for Maggie who was resting in her attic bedroom.  When Maggie made it to the first floor, Lizzie told her that Andrew needed a doctor and sent her across the street to the family physician’s home.  However, he wasn’t in, so she then sent Maggie to get a friend from down the street, Alice Russell.  

The police were called and finally arrived on scene and when the house was searched, Abby Borden was found in an upstairs bedroom she had been cleaning with several hatchet wounds.  She was reportedly much more brutally mutilated than Andrew was.  After an examination was done, it was determined that she had preceded her husband in death by approximately an hour.

32-year-old Lizzie became a suspect right away for the police, however, she wasn’t immediately arrested as there wasn’t sufficient evidence to do so.  As the police began their investigation, they learned that just the day before the murders, Lizzie had attempted to purchase the poison, prussic acid.  For those of us who didn’t know, prussic acid is also known as hydrocyanic acid, or cyanide.  It is a rapidly lethal toxin, however, the human body is capable of breaking down certain amounts of it.  Though if too much is absorbed, various symptoms of poisoning can occur.  These symptoms include headaches, shortness of breath, dizziness, convulsions to cyanosis, coma, and death.  

There was no weapon found at the Borden home, but the police did find an ax in the cellar/basement that they found to be suspicious.  As the investigation continued, it was discovered that a few days after the murders, Lizzie had burned a dress on the stove, claiming that she had spilled paint on it.  

As the investigation went on, Lizzie was questioned by different officers and her story never remained the same.  The police were also suspicious of Lizzie because she shed not one single tear for her father or stepmother.  

Five days after the murders, the authorities convened an inquest that lasted for three days.  Lizzie took the stand on each day of the inquest and it was the only time she took the stand under oath in court.  The inquiry was closed to the public and Lizzie had no defense attorney present.  However, the Borden family doctor testified that he had prescribed Lizzie a double dose of morphine to help her sleep and claimed that the side effects could account for her changing stories and confusion.  

Emma Borden, who was 41 at the time, testified that neither she nor Lizzie harbored any resentment or anger toward their stepmother.  However, the police investigation and interviews with family and neighbors that were printed in the newspaper suggested otherwise.  Maggie and John were also questioned during the inquest.  Maggie testified at the inquest that Lizzie had been wearing a blue dress on the morning of the murders.  

During the inquest and investigation, the police learned that on the day of the murders, Emma was 15 miles away on vacation.  They also learned that Maggie was outside washing windows at the time Abby was attacked and killed in the guest room on the second floor.  When Andrew was killed about an hour later, she was in her attic bedroom resting, as we said earlier. 

However, Lizzie’s movements were not as easily traced, so the judge, district attorney, and the police marshal determined that she was “probably guilty.”

Lizzie Borden was arrested for the murders of her father and stepmother on August 11, 1892.  The judge sent her to the county jail where she was to stay in a 9.5 x 7.5 foot cell for nine months while she awaited trial.  After her arrest, there was an uproar in Fall River that quickly became national.  Women’s groups rallied around Lizzie, most notably the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union that she was a part of, as well as the suffragists.  The women protested that Lizzie would not be judged by a jury of her own peers because at the time, women did not have the right to serve on juries. 

Throughout the investigation, arrest, and trials, Lizzie’s upper class status greatly benefited her.  She was able to afford some of the best attorneys and during the preliminary trial, one of Boston’s most prominent defense attorneys joined the Borden family attorney to advocate for her innocence.  

During the preliminary hearing, the small courtroom above the jail was packed with supporters for Lizzie, particularly women from the Hill.  At the trial, a Harvard University chemist reported that he found no blood on the two axes nor the two hatchets the police retrieved from the cellar of the Borden home.  It was also learned that two days after the murders, Lizzie handed in the dress she allegedly wore on the day of the murders to the police.  When tested, it was found that there was only one miniscule droplet of blood on the hem.  

Lizzie’s attorneys stressed that the prosecution offered no murder weapon and had no bloody clothes to aid in their case.  In regard to the prussic acid that Lizzie allegedly tried to purchase the day before the murders, the defense claimed that that was a case of misidentification.  

The defense’s closing argument at the preliminary hearing brought Lizzie’s supporters in the courtroom to loud applause.  However, the judge determined that Lizzie was probably guilty and should remain in jail until a State Superior Court trial could be held. 

During the 1800s, the attorney general often tried cases in court for the prosecution, and he and the district attorney both believed that Lizzie was guilty of the murders, however, both were hesitant to prosecute.  They knew that there were holes in the police’s evidence. 

In November of 1892, the district attorney brought the case before a grand jury, but was unsure if the case would bring an indictment.  Twenty-three jurors convened to hear the case on the charges of murder, however, court was adjourned with no action.  Then on December 1st, they reconvened to hear a dramatic testimony. 

Alice Russell, Lizzie’s friend and neighbor, who Maggie retrieved at Lizzie’s request on the day of the murders, testified that she slept in the Borden house with Lizzie in the days following the murders.  She said that while she stayed in the house, the bodies of Abby and Andrew were stretched out on mortician boards in the dining room.  Earlier at the preliminary hearing and at this grand jury hearing, she left out an important detail, and was advised by a lawyer to contact the district attorney about it.  What they learned was that on the Sunday following the murders, Lizzie pulled a blue dress out of the closet pantry and burned it on the cast iron coal stove.  

Lizzie was indicted by the grand jury the next day.  

After the indictment, the attorney general and the distinct attorney were still dragging their feet with their case.  By April of 1893, the attorney general bowed out of the case due to an illness with his doctor claiming that he could not withstand the demands of the Borden trial.  In his place, he chose a district attorney from north of Boston, Thomas Moody, to co-prosecute with Hosea M. Knowlton, who was the Bristol County DA.  

Knowlton believed that Lizzie was guilty of the murders, but had realized that the odds were stacked up against a conviction.  However, he was convinced that he had a duty to prosecute.  It is said that he did so with skill and passion at the trial, with a five hour long closing argument to boot.  Knowlton believed that a hung jury was in his grasp. 

Lizzie Borden’s trial began on June 5, 1893 at the New Bedford courthouse.  Lizzie was presented by the defense as a “helpless maiden,” and wore all black at her lawyers’ direction.  She was tightly corseted, with a flowing dress, and held a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a fan in the other.  With her inheritance from her father, she was able to afford the best legal team, which included Andrew Jennings and a former Massachusetts governor, George Robinson, who had actually appointed one of the three justices that presided over this trial.  

In opening statements, Moody threw Lizzie’s blue dress on the prosecution table and when it fell open, it had the skulls of Andrew and Abby Borden inside.  At the sight of her parents’ skulls, Lizzie fainted.  After several minutes, she came to, and listened to Moody’s two hour speech about how she was the only person who could possibly be responsible for Abby and Andrew’s deaths.  He also pulled the head of an ax out of a bag and claimed that this was the weapon Lizzie used to kill her parents.  

Maggie Sullivan testified again at this trial, and stated that Lizzie was the only person she had seen at the Borden home the morning of the murders, though she did say that Lizzie and Abby’s relationship was pleasant.  She had spent over two years in the service of the Borden family and said all was “pleasant.”  However, a woman named Hannah H. Gifford testified for the prosecution and said that when she had made a garment for Lizzie a few months before the murders, Lizzie had said that her stepmother was “a mean, good-for-nothing thing,” and said that she didn’t have much to do with her and tended to stay in her room.  

During Maggie’s testimony, she said that both Abby and Andrew had experienced stomach pains the day before the murders, and that on the morning of the murders she was outside washing windows and had opened the door for Andrew when he returned home for his nap.  

Several police officers testified about what they found and heard at the Borden home on the day of the murders.  One officer testified that when he spoke with Lizzie that day, she corrected him when he called Abby her mother.  She had told him, “She was not my mother, sir.  She was my stepmother.  My mother died when I was a child.”  

However, Alice Russell’s testimony was considered to be the most compelling.  She testified that on the night before the murders, Lizzie visited with her and told her about their stomach pains, which she believed was from bad baker’s bread.  Lizzie allegedly told Alice that she felt like something was going to happen and that she felt like she needed to sleep with one eye open.  She feared that because of her father’s attitude and the way he treated people so discourteously, someone would try to hurt him or burn their house down.  

When she was asked about Lizzie burning her blue dress, Allice said that Lizzie told her, “I am going to burn this old thing up; it is covered with paint.”  Alice also testified that she had had a conversation with Lizzie about a note she had received from a messenger on the morning of the murders to go visit a sick friend.  Lizzie had told the police about this note when they asked why she hadn’t looked for Abby after finding Andrew and Lizzie said that she assumed she was out of the house visiting the friend.  However, the note was never found.  Alice testified that Lizzie believed that Abby must have burned the note. 

During the trial, the three justices ruled that Lizzie’s testimony from the inquest, which was full of contradictions and implausible claims, could not be submitted into evidence by the prosecution because that testimony was not given voluntarily.  She didn’t have an attorney present, she was charged with two murders, and was being held in jail.  They ruled that she should have been made aware of her Fifth Amendment to remain silent.  They rejected the state’s argument that Lizzie was only a suspect and not a prisoner at the time of the inquest.

The prosecution rested on June 14 after what was considered another defeat.  The prosecution wanted Eli Bence, the pharmacist who ran the drug store in Fall River, to recount Lizzie’s visit the day before the murders where she asked for prussic acid.  However, the judges ruled that that evidence should be excluded from the trial.

The defense only called a few witnesses to the stand.  They called a few men who reported seeing a strange man near the Borden home the morning of August 4, 1892.  

However, their most anticipated witness was Lizzie’s sister, Emma.  Emma told the court that Lizzie and their father had a good relationship.  She explained that the gold ring that was found on Andrew’s pink finger was a gift Lizzie had given him ten or fifteen years earlier and it was one of his prized possessions.  Emma also said that the relationship between Lizzie and their stepmother was cordial, but did admit that there was some lingering resentment over the transfer of their grandfather’s house to her and Lizzie.  

The jury was made up of farmers and tradesmen from the county’s smaller towns as Fall River was excluded from the jury pool.  Most of them were practicing Protestants and some had daughters close to Lizzie in age.  This was said to be of detriment to the prosecution.  After both the prosecution and defense completed their closing arguments, the jury was sent to deliberate. 

After just about an hour, they returned with their verdict.  When asked what their verdict was, the foreman stated, “Not guilty.”  Lizzie Borden was acquitted of the charges and the decision was generally met with praise.

Two months after the trial and acquittal, Lizzie and Emma moved to a large Victorian home on the Hill.  They inherited their father’s wealth and named their home, Maplecroft.  They hired a large staff and had all the modern conveniences of the day.  Lizzie and Abby also built a lavish monument that they placed at the site of Abby and Andrew’s graves. 

Many people from their church shunned Lizzie, though, and she was often followed when she went into town.  After a while, she withdrew to her home.  Neighborhood kids often played pranks and one might assume that the Lizzie Borden rhyme likely originated here, but that I am unsure on.  What we do know, though, is that Abby did not suffer 40 whacks and Andrew did not suffer 41.  Abby received about 18 and Andrew, 11.  It is also to be noted that Abby and Andrew were not killed with an ax, but with a hatchet.  An ax has a longer handle and heavier head and is suited for two-handed use.  A hatchet is smaller and more compact with a shorter handle and lighter head, according to Google. Lizzie tried going by Lizbeth instead, however, that didn’t help the situation.

Four years after her acquittal, in 1897, a warrant was issued for Lizzie’s arrest in Providence.  She was charged with shoplifting, but ended up making restitution. 

As time went on, Lizzie began traveling to Boston, New York, and Washington DC to enjoy her life.  She went out and “dined in style” and enjoyed going to the theater.  During her travels, Lizzie made new friends and began throwing lavish parties for them at Maplecroft.  Among these many friends was actress Nance O’Neill.  Nance was known for her roles in Kreutzer Sonata (1915), Princess Romanoff (1915), and Hedda Gabler (1917).

Lizzie and Nance met in Boston in 1904 and quickly became close.  It was said that Lizzie doted on her and rumors quickly began to spread that they had a sexual relationship, though neither woman ever commented on it.  There have been accusations that Nance took advantage of Lizzie’s generosity and financial support.  

As 1904 wore on, Emma grew frustrated with Lizzie and the two had a falling out.  Emma moved out of Maplecroft in 1905 and later told a Boston newspaper, “The happenings at the French Street house that caused me to leave I must refuse to talk about.  I did not go until conditions became unbearable.”  After Emma moved out, the two sisters never saw each other again.  Nance and Lizzie’s friendship ended after just a few years.  Nance went on to marry Alfred Hickman and died on February 7, 1965 in Englewood, New Jersey.

Lizzie and Emma passed away in the same year.  Lizzie died on June 1, 1927 of pneumonia at age 66 and Emma passed away a few days later in Newmark, New Hampshire.  Both women are buried in the same plot as Abby and Andrew. 

The Lizzie Borden case is extremely well known and quite popular, as we know from the rhyme.  TThere have been several movies and TV shows made about the case.  A few notable ones are The Legend of Lizzie Borden, 1975, Lizzie Borden Took an Axe starring Christina Ricci from 2014, which went on to be a series as well, and then Lizzie in 2018 with Chloe Sevigny as Lizzie and Kristen Stewart as Maggie. 

The Lizzie Borden House is also a popular attraction in Massachusetts.  You can visit the home for a few different types of tours (which I may be doing this fall!) including a house tour, ghost tours, a ghost hunt, and a tour of the Oak Grove Cemetery.  They also do virtual tours and have a mystery game you can play.  The house is also a bed and breakfast that you can stay at.  There are several rooms and suites to choose from: Lizzie & Emma Suite, Andrew & Abby Suite, John V Morse Suite (where Abby was murdered), the Bridget Sullivan Room, the Andrew Jennings Room, and the Hosea Knowlton Room.  

The house remains the same today with the furniture in the same places, the decor has been duplicated, and all the hardware, including the doors, are intact.  There are artifacts displayed with era memorabilia in the home as well.

Another popular take on the case is that of Maddie Ziegler from Dance Moms!  Abby Lee Miller choreographed a solo dance for Maddie where she is in a “blood-stained” dress and wielding a fake ax during the dance.  It is both a beautiful and a creepy dance.