She Was Arrested For The Gruesome Double Homicide Of Her Father And Stepmother By Hatchet In 1892, But Without Any Solid Evidence, She Was Acquitted
In 1892, a gruesome double homicide in the New England area captured America’s attention. The murder case involving the suspect Lizzie Borden became one of the most famous in the history of crime in the nation.
Her memory was kept alive for generations through a chilling rhyme that summarizes her deeds. Here’s what happened.
On the morning of August 4, 1892, a murderer struck down Lizzie’s stepmother, 64-year-old Abby Borden, with a hatchet. She received a total of 19 blows.
An hour and a half later, Lizzie’s father, Andrew Borden, also died by hatchet. He received about 10 or 11 blows. Their 32-year-old daughter, Lizzie Borden, was the prime suspect for their deaths.
The Borden family lived in Fall Rivers, Massachusetts, a textile mill town located 50 miles south of Boston. The victims had been killed in broad daylight. No one heard or saw anything unusual, and there was no clear motive, such as assault or robbery.
Andrew was a wealthy citizen of Fall Rivers. He invested in real estate, banks, and mills. However, he never flaunted his wealth and chose to reside in a modest house instead of on the “Hill,” which was an affluent area in Fall Rivers. Lizzie had always wanted to live on the Hill, and she knew her father could afford the move.
Initially, the police thought a man, possibly a foreigner, was behind the killings. A few hours after the murders, they arrested an innocent Portuguese immigrant. On the day of the murders, Lizzie claimed that she had come inside the house from the barn and found her father’s body.
Immediately, she told the family’s Irish servant to fetch a doctor. However, it couldn’t just be any doctor. The doctor had to be a Yankee, not an immigrant, for she believed that immigrants were beneath her.
This distinction was what kept Lizzie from being a suspect at first. She was all-American and was a Sunday school teacher at a wealthy church. But when she was questioned by police, her answers kept changing, and she never cried about how her parents were brutally murdered.
Adam Rhodes – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only
An officer then discovered that Lizzie had attempted to buy some deadly prussic acid a day before the murders.
Lizzie’s family members vouched for her innocence. The family doctor testified that he had given her a double dose of morphine to help her sleep after the murders were committed. Emma Borden, her 41-year-old sister who also lived at home, stated that they did not have any negative feelings toward their stepmother.
However, the police investigations suggested that Lizzie was the culprit. On the day of the murders, Emma was 15 miles away on vacation. Andrew was out conducting business. The family’s servant had been outside washing the windows when Abby was bludgeoned to death in the second-floor guest room.
Shortly after Andrew’s return, he was slaughtered in the first-floor sitting room. At that time, the servant was resting in her room in the attic. Officials deemed Lizzie guilty.
A week after the murders, she was arrested and sent to the county jail, where she stayed for nine months. Her arrest sparked outrage from women all over the nation, and she gained many supporters.
Police couldn’t find any solid evidence that Lizzie was the murderer. No blood was found on weapons in the cellar of the house, and only a speck of blood was on the dress Lizzie had worn on that fateful day.
Lizzie’s privilege also helped her during the ordeal. Her father’s money allowed her to hire the best legal team there was. Eventually, she was declared innocent. Two months after her acquittal, Lizzie and her sister moved to the Hill, but the people there shunned her.
In 1904, she and Emma had a fight that would never be resolved. Emma moved out in 1905, and they never saw each other again. The sisters both died in 1927—Lizzie first and Emma nine days later.
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