Lizzie Borden

A detailed Summary of Lizzie Borden

The Lizzie Borden case has mystified and fascinated those interested in crime forover on hundred years. Very few cases in American history have attracted as much attention as the hatchet murders of Andrew J. Borden and his wife, Abby Borden. The bloodiness of the acts in an otherwise respectable late nineteenth century domestic setting is startling. Along with the gruesome nature of the crimes is the unexpected character of the accused, not a hatchet-wielding maniac, but a church-going, Sunday-school-teaching, respectable, spinster-daughter, charged with parricide, the murder of parents, a crime worthy of Classical Greek tragedy. This is a murder case in which the accused is found not guilty for the violent and bloody murders of two people. There were the unusual circumstances considering that it was an era of swift justice, of vast newspaper coverage, evidence that was almost entirely circumstantial, passionately divided public opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the accused, incompetent prosecution, and acquittal.

Not much is described of Lizzie Andrew Borden's childhood. On March 1, 1851, Emma Lenora Borden was born to Andrew and Sarah Borden, and on July 19, 1860, Lizzie had arrived. While Lizzie was at the young age of t

After the acquittal, Lizzie legally changed her name to Lizabeth, moved out of the house on 92 Second Street. Emma and Lizzie inherited $200,000.00 each from their father's death; their first purchase was a lovely home on The Hill at 7 French Street, the most fashionable place in Fall River, in which Lizzie named Maplecroft.

When the police finally arrived after the murders, Lizzie acted more like a concerned citizen rather than a daughter in shock. Many suspects had been eliminated, but it was inevitable that Lizzie would become the prime one, especially that after they learned she had tried to purchase ten cents worth of prussic acid poison the week before from Eli Bence, a clerk at Smith's Drug Store. Adelaide Churchill, the neighbor who stayed with Lizzie until the doctor arrived, testified in court that she did not see any blood on Lizzie's dress when she left at noon. According to Mrs. Churchill, "I stood in front of her, rubbing both her hands and fanning her, and I did not see any blood on her face, nor any disarrangements of her hair. Such a spotless appearance seems impossible if Lizzie had committed the crime, for she had at best 20 minutes after her father fell asleep to strike him eleven times about the head, hide the murder weapon, and clean all evidence off her clothes and body.

One eye had been cut in half and out of its socket, his nose had been severed, and there were eleven distinct cuts within a fairly small area extending from the eye and nose to the ears, four of them crushing the skull. The wounds were so severe that the first eleven must have killed him.

At 3:00 p.m. the bodies of Andrew and Abby were carried into the dining room, where Dr. Dolan performed the autopsies. Emma Lenora Borden returned just before seven from visiting friends in Fairhaven after hearing of the occurrence by telegraph. The police continued to investigate for weeks to come, but nothing of significance was found. The morning after the funeral, Miss Russell-a neighbor-witnessed Lizzie burning a dress in the kitchen stove, she claimed that it was stained with paint and was of no use.

"I did not regard her as my mother, though she came there when I was young. I decline to say whether my relations between her and myself we those of mother and daughter or not. I called her Mrs. Borden and sometimes Mother."

Furthermore, the prosecution never proved the weapon was an axe. When Officer Mullaly asked if there were hatchets in the house, Lizzie replied with, "Yes, they are everywhere." Bridget and Mullaly went down to the basement and found four hatchets: one rusty claw-headed hatchet, two that were dusty, and one that had dried blood and hair on it (later determined as cow's blood and hair.

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Approximate Word count = 1826
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People