Mysteries of History-1892

A short lesson in history.

Mysteries of History

“Did Lizzie Borden kill her parents?”

 

On August 4^th, 1892, in the industrial city of Fall River, Massachusetts, a macabre crime was committed which left a wealthy husband and wife brutally murdered by an assailant with a hatchet. This case only unveiled one suspect and

A jury of twelve men had acquitted that only individual. According to the Bristol County court records, not another person has ever been brought forth. After 119 years a question still plaques the Commonwealth:  Did Lizzie Borden really murder her father and stepmother.

On that fatal summer morning, according to courtroom testimony, Lizzie was in the barn collecting lead for fishing sinkers. Mrs. Borden was on the second floor cleaning one of the guest rooms. Bridget Sullivan, the house cleaner, had gone to her room on the third floor to lie down. Mr. Borden awkwardly lay on the couch in the front sitting room. Lizzie was the last person to talk with Mr. Borden before the murder occurred. Emma, Lizzie’s older sister, was across the river supposedly visiting friends in Somerset. She had been away for exactly fourteen days.

The Victorian Police of Fall River conducted an investigation to the best of their ability and quickly concluded that Lizzie had to be the culprit. Mrs. Borden suffered nineteen hatchet wounds to the back of her head. Bridget claimed that she did not hear a sound, only being one floor above. Mr. Borden asked Lizzie for a cup of tea and spoke briefly for a few minutes. Then, Lizzie went to the barn to collect lead. Mr. Borden received twenty-eight wounds to the face and, once again, no one heard a sound.

Once the police had named Lizzie as being the only suspect, she was arrested and transported to Taunton Jail. At that time, Fall River did not have the facilities to house females. Emma visited Lizzie everyday bringing her food, clothing, and news about Lizzie’s attorney. A Taunton police matron overheard Emma and Lizzie talking one day about what happened and the police matron testified that Lizzie confessed to Emma about the crime.

It took the Commonwealth almost a complete year to bring Lizzie Borden to trial. The family attorney did not handle criminal cases so he employed another family friend, the former Governor of Massachusetts, who became a congressional representative in Washington, DC to come back to the Commonwealth to help Lizzie. The trial lasted two weeks and the District Attorney brought forward all the evidence that had been collected, save for the actual murder weapon, which had never been found, and the defense attorney rebutted all evidence with good grounds to do so. When the time came to deliberate, one juror told a newspaper reporter “We all voted unanimously, not guilty, on the first round but we stayed out for an hour just to make look good.”

When the news of the acquittal was made public, it did not stop the neighbors from ostracizing her. Shortly after the trial, Lizzie changed her name to Lizabeth. She and Emma sold the family house at 92 Second Avenue and moved to a house where she always wanted to live, up on the hill.

Many questions still come to minds of historians about the events of August 4^th, but no one will ever know the truth. If you would like to learn more about this case, visit the library and step back in time.

 

Author's Note

Please be honest.