did she do it

A detailed Summary of did she do it

Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother 40 wacks' and when she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41. The popular children's rhyme may be entertaining and catchy, but the fact remains that no one really knows whether or not Lizzie was the grand murderess that killed her father and step mother. On August 4th, 1892, one of the most said murder mysteries took place in Fall River, Massachusetts. Now, when the evidence is reviewed, the facts are not that vague and doubts are melted away. Elizabeth Anne Borden, suspected of killing her step mother and her birth father was let go due to her class in high society, and the fact that she was a female in a time that people could not believe that a lady would do such a monstrous thing.

The story is as follows. On a summer day in Fall River two bodies were discovered. Both were brutally struck with the blunt edge of an object which was speculated to be an axe or hatchet. Mrs. Borden was found slumped over on the floor. "As opposed to 40 wacks, as the song suggests, Abbey Borden, was struck by 19 blows of an axe or hatchet to the back of her head and neck " (Toney ,Dark Rose Cellar). On Mr. Borden, the axe was rained on him 11 times to the face so that "his close friend an

d physician Dr. Bowen, deemed him unrecognizable"(Toney, Dark Rose Cellar).

Many people often discuss the motives for not just Lizzie, but others who were suspected of the murders. For Lizzie, it was said to be rumors of a new will. "The new will, according to Uncle John, would leave Emma and Lizzie each with $25,000, with the remainder of Mr. Borden's half million dollar estate--well over ten million in present-day dollars--going to Abbey."(Russel, Crime Library). If it not for the fact the her testimony

Her class in high society is an important factor in her release. Why would a lovely upstanding lady like herself want to commit such a brutal act upon her parents? There are many speculations as to why. Some say that she never got along with her step mother, and her father was a rigid old man that was strict with her, despite the fact that she was a grown woman. From the trial standpoint, her class in society came to her advantage indefinitely. "Pillsbury felt the pressure building from Lizzie's supporter, particularly women's groups and religious organizations" (Russel, Crime Library). Another factor was that the jurors , there were 12 jurors...farmers and tradesmen, all of which were high class citizens that must have known Lizzie and her father because Fall River really wasn't a big town.

In the last ten years or so, there have been many critics who believe that the trails were fixed and there is always new evidence being presented. One of the most controversial of these new findings is the Knowlton Papers. These documents were kept by the lead prosecutor Hosea Knowlton. There are several accounts that he did not disclose in the trial that are now published in a book. Some of these accounts are that of Bridget Sullivan, the maid in the Borden home. Bridget claimed that she, Mr. Borden and

Many things have appeared throughout the years after the infamous trial. There have been numerous rumors such as "a lesbian relationship with a popular stage actress of that time" and "alleged confessions" (Toney, D

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Approximate Word count = 1380
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People