Lizzie Borden--Spinster or Murderer

Lizzie Borden—Spinster or Murderer
Lizzie was born on July 19, 1860 — the youngest child of Andrew Jackson Borden and Sarah Morse Borden. According to en.wikipedia.com, an online encyclopedia, Lizzie was a young, unmarried woman who lived with her parents in Fall River, Massachusettes. Her mother died when she was two years old, and a few years later Andrew married Abby Durfee Grey. Lizzie never acknowledged Abby as her stepmother by always calling her Abby (“Lizzie Borden”). 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 crime was that an unknown person whacked Andrew Borden in the head ten times. According to an online encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Abby Borden got nineteen (“Lizzie Borden”). Up until getting murdered, Abby and Andrew lived a pleasant life. All of Massachusetts was shocked when they heard the news that the Abby and Andrew Borden had been victims of an ax murderer, according to an article written by a popular website, askmen.com. The many suspects included: John Morse, the visiting uncle of the Borden children; Lizzie and her sister Emma, a mysterious and unnamed lover of Lizzie 's; Bridget, the maid; and William Borden, Andrew 's cousin, who was said to be Andrew Borden’s own illegitimate child. (Alexander). Lizzie Borden was the guilty one.
The details of the murder report were very thorough. When Lizzy woke up that morning, Uncle John was awake, so Lizzie stayed upstairs. He had left the house at 8:45, and Bridget was upstairs when Mr. Borden was killed. Andrew returned shortly after 10:40. Lizzie set up the ironing board and began to iron handkerchiefs. At 11:15: Police received notification of the murder. Officer Mullaly questioned Lizzie about the presence of hatchets in the house. Sergeant Harrington and another officer, having questioned Lizzie as to her whereabouts during the morning, examined the barn loft where she said she had been looking for metal for fishing sinkers. Upstairs, Deputy Marshal John Fleet questioned Lizzie, asking her if she had any idea of who could have committed the murders. Lizzie denied all knowledge. Saturday was the day of the funerals for Andrew and Abby Borden (Aiuto “The Trial”).
The murder investigation, frenzied and uncertain as it was, can be reconstructed from the four official judicial events in the Lizzie Borden case: The inquest, the preliminary hearing, the Grand Jury hearing, and the trial. (Aiuto “The Investigation”)
The Lizzie Borden trial had more evidence against her than for her. “At the inquest, a local pharmacist stated during the inquest that Lizzie attempted to purchase prussic acid from him a day before the crime” (“Lizzie Borden”). She would have to do her business another way. One of the main arguments, in her defense, was that there was no sign of blood on her dress, but it was reported that she burned a white dress in the oven a few days after the murder (“Lizzie Borden”). Another piece of evidence was found at karisable.com, a database of research, that said, “A detective saw a foot-long stick in the flames. He found a hatchet head washed and rolled in furnace ash in the basement.” (Sable “Lizzie Andrew Borden”).
Lizzie had an extremely weak case. Her only testimony during all of the legal proceedings was at the inquest. Although she did not publicly testify, the record of Lizzie’s testimony at the secret inquest was entered in the judicial reports. It seems like the whole town was trying to hide something. On Saturday, June 10, the prosecution attempted to enter her testimony from the inquest into the record. On Monday, when court resumed, the justices disallowed the introduction of Lizzie 's contradictory inquest testimony. For the most part, the defense called witnesses to verify the presence of a mysterious young man in the vicinity of the Borden home, and Emma Borden to verify the absence of a motive for Lizzie as the murderer (Aiuto “The Trial”). Lizzie was found not guilty due to substantial evidence (Sable).
Both of the sisters had benefits from the murder. According to the Encyclopedia of American Crime, Lizzie and Emma inherited their parent’s five hundred thousand dollar estate. Emma and Lizzie split their inheritance money and Emma moved out after an argument in 1905. The two sisters never spoke again (Sifakis 90-91). It was at this time that Lizzie began to refer to herself as "Lizbeth" (Aiuto “The Trial”). It seems to me like that was a play to get away from all the controversy that Lizzie would remind her of. Lizzie left Emma nothing in her will.
Lizzie Borden died on June 1, 1927, at age 67, after a long illness from complications following gall bladder surgery (“Lizzie Borden”). Despite everything that the jury said, there is no doubt that Lizzie Borden did, in fact, murder her parents and should have been convicted. But what seems even more suspicious was the fact that many of the town seemed to defend her. The evidence was stacked against her and the only reason she was found innocent was because she was a frail young female in a male dominate jury and they felt pity on her. Lizzie Borden will be forever remembered, not for fame, but for infamy from the famous nursery rhyme:
“Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks,
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty one.” Works Cited
Alexander, Bernie. “The Lizzie Borden Murders.” September 26, 2005.
Auito, Russell. “The Investigation.” September 26, 2005.
Auito, Russell. “The Trial.” September 26, 2005. “Lizzie Borden.” Wikipedia. September 26, 2005.
Sable, Kari. “Lizzie Andrew Borden.” November 1, 2005.
Sifakis, Carl. Borden, Lizzie (1860-1927). New York, N.Y: Facts on File, 1982.

Cited: Alexander, Bernie. “The Lizzie Borden Murders.” September 26, 2005. Auito, Russell. “The Investigation.” September 26, 2005. Auito, Russell. “The Trial.” September 26, 2005. “Lizzie Borden.” Wikipedia. September 26, 2005. Sable, Kari. “Lizzie Andrew Borden.” November 1, 2005. Sifakis, Carl. Borden, Lizzie (1860-1927). New York, N.Y: Facts on File, 1982.