Hello, and welcome. I have a classic for you today, but before we get into it, I have a little announcement.
I will only be uploading one story a week from now on, attempting to do two full stories a week, Starbucks, and my other projects- its too much. I feel rushed to put out stories, and I want to make sure they are good ones, so for now, I will just be uploading on Wednesdays.
Let's go.
Let's talk about Lizzie Borden, a personal favorite of mine, and this is going to be a two-parter. This week we will be covering the true-crime side of the story, and next week, the paranormal side.
Lizzie Andrew Borden was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, on July 19, 1860. Her mother, Sarah Anthony nee Morse, died when she was only three years old. Three years later, her father would remarry.
(source; Rollingstone)
Abby Borden never became a mother-figure for Lizzie. Lizzie hated her and referred to her as "Mrs. Borden," because in her mind, Abby only married her father for money.
This isn't to say that Lizzie had a good relationship with her father. Rumors had it that Andrew Borden abused Lizzie both physically and sexually.
Lizzie's older sister, Emma Lenora Borden, was heavily involved in the church. I am talking about every event, Emma is there. She never married, and the sisters had few friends, especially later in life.
Anyway, though, the family was one of the wealthiest in the area they lived modestly. They still did not have electricity or indoor plumbing, which was common among the wealthy at this point.
If Lizzie did kill her parents, what if it was for an indoor bathroom? I mean, it's Massachuttes, it's north, it gets cold there. Who wants to go outside every time they have to pee?
Andrew was in the furniture and casket business at first. Apparently, those go hand-in-hand—furniture for the living and the dead. Later he switched to the textile industry and started making bank.
They also had a live-in-maid that they called Maggie, but her name was Bridget Sullivan, and she immigrated from Ireland. After the murders, Maggie noted how distant the sisters were from their parents.
They wouldn't even eat together. Poor Maggie, she has to serve each meal twice. She's like come on guys; I am on my feet all day, just eat in the same damn room.
Another thing that Maggie noted was a fight that broke out only weeks before the murders. Andrew had been killing the pigeons that would get into the barn with a hatchet. You know, like a fucking asshole. Well, Lizzie didn't like her father murdering innocent little birds and got upset. Her father, being a monster, kept killing the birds. Lizzie and Emma left for Bedford for a few weeks after this incident.
Another interesting thing about the Borden family's home life is the reality exchanged within the family. As cheap as Andrew was, he gave multiple properties away to Abby's extended family. Just houses for everyone. Abby got a house too, and the sister's bought their childhood home from their father for $1. The day before the murders, they sold it back to him for $5,000.
Interesting.
Okay, let's talk about murder.
It's August 4. 1892, and the Borden's have a guest staying over, John Morse, the sister's uncle from their mother's side. The Strange thing is, they rarely ever talked to this uncle, so it was out of the ordinary for him to be staying with them.
Morse left the house at 8:48 am for town to visit his niece and to buy a couple of oxen-as you do.
Andrew went for a walk from 9-10:30 am.
During this time, Abby was upstairs cleaning up the guest bedroom where Morse was staying.
The first blow hit Abby above the right ear, slicing through her forehead and nose. After hitting the floor, she was struck 17-19 more times in the back of the head, causing just a tiny mess-kidding, it was a bloodbath.
(Source: CBS News)
Andrew came back at 10:30 am and had to knock on the door to be let in. When Maggie tried to let him in, she noticed the door was jammed. At that moment, she heard Lizzie giggling from upstairs.
Lizzie then appears and helps her father change out of his boots and into his slippers. When asked where Abby was, she told him she was visiting a sick friend, and she led him to the couch. Moments later, he would fall asleep and never wake up. Investigators believe he was attacked in his sleep because his eyelids were sliced.
Andrew received 10-11 blows with either an ax or a hatchet at about 11 am. Shortly after that, Lizzie called out to Maggie- "Maggie, Come quick! Father's dead. Somebody came in and killed him".
(Source: CBS News)
Now for what I would like to call, The Tales of Lizzie because this girl cannot keep her story straight.
The first time she talks to investigators, she said she was in the barn when her father came home and heard a struggle. Two hours later, when they asked her, she said she didn't hear anything.
Then they asked her about Abby. Lizzie told them she was visiting a sick friend and left a note about it. Of course, they wanted to see the letter, this woman just found her father hacked to pieces, and she is cool as a cucumber. They are suspicious.
Lizzie Borden is the queen of resting bitch face, and they pick on her for it. As someone who has RBF, please, just leave us alone and never, never, never tell us we need to smile more. I might hack you into a few pieces too.
Anyway, Lizzie tells them the note is upstairs and can't be bothered to get it. Maybe she didn't want to be the one to find two dead bodies in one day. One body is fine; two is pushing it.
Poor Maggie and the neighbor, Mrs. Churchill, go upstairs to get the note, and they find Abby. She is lying facedown in the guest bedroom with 17 blows to the head.
Apparently, things get more serious when two people are hatcheted to death and authorities searched the house.
The murder weapon, a hatchet with a freshly broken handle, was located in the basement. Of course, it was the fucking basement.
The sisters were brought in for questioning, but no evidence pointed directly at them until August 7. The sister's friend, Alice Russell, walked in on Lizzie, burning a dress on the stove. First of all, why is she burning it on a stove? I'm sure they have a fireplace or something- super secret hiding place? Bury it. I don't know. I just wouldn't think of burning it on the stove. Second of all, why is this lady just walking into their house? Third, if you are burning evidence, why not lock your fucking doors? I am just saying.
Lizzie said there was paint on the dress and she couldn't wear it. Okay, paint, sure.
So Lizzie gets interrogated on August 8, and it gets better. Lizzie is prescribed morphine to calm her nerves during the whole ordeal. This covers up for her RBF- it's not me, it's the morphine, guys.
Continuing with the tales of Lizzie...
They ask Lizzie what she was doing before her father got home that day. The first time she said she was reading a magazine in the kitchen. The second time she was ironing in the dining room. Take three; she was coming downstairs to help her father with his slippers.
Remember, it's not me, it's the morphine, Investigator.
Lizzie was arrested in August and remained there until her trial in June 1893. She plead innocent throughout her trail, and RBF was not her friend. It made her a celebrity. Lizzie's face was everywhere.
Interesting enough, on June 1, 1893, five days before the trail, there was another hatchet murder. Bertha Manchester of Bedford, Massachusetts, was murdered in her kitchen.
This was something until 1894 when Jose Correa deMello was arrest for Manchester's murder. Authorities thought he could be responsible for the Borden murders, but he didn't immigrate to the United States until April 1893.
Okay, brace yourself for this next bit.
Since the blows were primarily to the heads, authorities thought it fit to remove them from the bodies. Then, they presented Mr. and Mrs. Borden's skulls to the court, and Lizzie fainted.
That was all it took. The jury met for an hour and a half before deeming Lizzie innocent. At that point, she says that she is "the happiest woman alive."
They refused to believe that a little 5'4'' tall woman could butcher two people like that. I guess if she did it, sexism worked in her favor. Go the 1800s! But no, not really.
So, was it Lizzie? Did she murder her father and stepmother? I mean, she hated them, that was obvious, but how much?
One rumor is that Lizzie was a lesbian and that she was romantically involved with Maggie. Some people think that Abby walked in on them, and Lizzie killed her. How did she have the hatchet then? That's some foreplay.
Who knows if this was true. Maggie got married to some guy and moved to Butte, Montana.
On Maggie's deathbed, she told her sister that she lied in court to protect Lizzie. I think it's safe to say it was Lizzie; however, there are a bunch of suspects. I got a lot of these from the Lizzie Borden page, so check it out.
The link is in the portion of the source.
They literally questioned everyone.
Peleg Brightman was questioned because his neighbor saw him digging in his backyard and instantly thought he was burying the hatchet.
How is that your first thought? Not, Oh good for Peleg for gardening, nope, he's hiding the hatchet. He did a couple of jobs for Andrew Borden, but that was it,
Another suspect was Bearsley Cooper, the local shady-guy and Western dealer. What the hell is a Western dealer? I am going with they sell Western stuff and moving on.
They even questioned the neighbor who was eating the Borden's pears from over the fence. Poor guy just wanted some pears, and now he is being asked for murder.
In the end, they never caught the killer. The sisters moved to the fancy part of town and finally got that indoor bathroom that they always wanted.
(Source: The Herold News) (I am in love with this house and need to visit it)
They also hired five maids, a housekeeper, and a Couchman. Oh yeah, and Lizzie named the house Maplecroft. For what reason, I don't know.
Since Abby was killed first, the house went back into Andrew's name. After Andrew's death, the house and everything else went to the sisters.
Though Lizzie wasn't convicted of the murders, rumor had it she did it. I'm sure you are all familiar with the rhyme:
Lizzie Borden took an ax,
And gave her mother forty whacks;
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty-one.
Apparently, Lizzie liked to keep things interesting. She was caught shoplifting just for fun a few times, and she would throw some wild parties.
In 1905 Lizzie threw a party for her good friend Nance O'Neil. During the party, the sisters got into a fight and never spoke again.
Rumor has it that Lizzie and Nance were together, but nothing was ever confirmed.
On June 1, 1927, Lizzie died of pneumonia in Fall River. Nine days later, Emma died of chronic nephritis or kidney disease, at 76 years old.
They were buried side by side in Oak Grove Cemetery.
Maplecroft has since been converted into bed and breakfast. Yes, you can sleep in Lizzie's bed- if you dare. Oh yeah, the property is big-time haunted now, but that's next week's story.
I hope you enjoyed this classic murder story, and hopefully, I sounded semi-coherent.
Anyway, don't forget to subscribe and tell your friends.
Until next time,
-Tye
Always Cite Those Sources:
Allard, Deborah. “Lizzie's Borden Meatloaf Recipe.” The Herald News, Fall River, MA, The Herald News, Fall River, MA, 5 Aug. 2016, www.heraldnews.com/article/20151031/NEWS/151039347.
Eschner, Kat. “Lizzie Borden Didn't Kill Her Parents (Maybe).” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 20 June 2017, www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/lizzie-borden-didnt-kill-her-parents-maybe-180963721/.
“Lizzie Borden.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 May 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lizzie_Borden.
Maranzani, Barbara. “Lizzie Borden: Murderess or Media Sensation?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 3 Aug. 2012, www.history.com/news/9-things-you-may-not-know-about-lizzie-borden.
“Suspects in the Borden Case.” Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum and Library, lizzieandrewborden.com/suspects-in-the-borden-case.htm.
Yuko, Elizabeth. “Lizzie Borden: Why a 19th-Century Axe Murder Still Fascinates Us.” Rolling Stone, Rolling Stone, 25 June 2018, www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/lizzie-borden-why-a-19th-century-axe-murder-still-fascinates-us-250467/.
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