Lizzie Borden

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 nine 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 (née Morse; 1823–1863) and Andrew Jackson Borden (1822–1892). She was the third child born to the couple, ahead of Lizzie was Emma Lenora, and Alice Esther. Alice died of hydrocephalus at 22 months.

Andrew Borden (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 (equivalent to $10.8 million in 2025).

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 sister Emma 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 emigrated 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 carried infections and diseases. 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 (equivalent to $179,000 in 2025). 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 laying down on the sofa for a nap, a detail contradicted by the crime-scene photos which shows 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's 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.