HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892
axe murder An axe murder is a murder in which the victim was struck and killed by an axe or hatchet. List of axe murders The following are some notable cases. * Wenno von Rohrbach, the first Master of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword, was killed by ...
s of her father and stepmother in
Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount ...
. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ostracism from other residents, Borden spent the remainder of her life in Fall River. She died of pneumonia at age 66, just days before the death of her older sister, Emma. The Borden murders and trial received widespread publicity throughout the United States, and along with Borden herself, they remain a topic in American popular culture to the present day. They have been depicted in numerous films, theatrical productions, literary works, and folk rhymes and are still very well-known in the Fall River area.


Early life

Lizzie Andrew Borden was born July 19, 1860, in
Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount ...
, to Sarah Anthony Borden (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Morse; 1823–1863) and Andrew Jackson Borden (1822–1892). Her father, who was of English and Welsh descent, grew up in very modest surroundings and struggled financially as a young man, despite being the descendant of wealthy and influential local residents. Andrew eventually prospered in the manufacture and sale of furniture and
casket A casket jewelry box is a container that is usually smaller than a chest, and in the past were typically decorated. Whereas cremation jewelry is a small container, usually in the shape of a pendant or bracelet, to hold a small amount of ashes. ...
s, then became a successful property developer. He was a director of several textile mills and owned considerable commercial property; he was also president of the Union Savings Bank and a director of the Durfee Safe Deposit and Trust Co. At his death, his estate was valued at $300,000 ( and $9,630,000 in 2022). Despite his wealth, Andrew was known for his frugality. For instance, the Borden home lacked
indoor plumbing Tap water (also known as faucet water, running water, or municipal water) is water supplied through a tap, a water dispenser valve. In many countries, tap water usually has the quality of drinking water. Tap water is commonly used for drinking, ...
although, at the time, it was a common accommodation for the wealthy. It was in an affluent area, but the wealthiest residents of Fall River, including Andrew's cousins, generally lived in the more fashionable neighborhood, "The Hill", which was farther from the industrial areas of the city. Borden and her older sister, Emma Lenora Borden (1851–1927), had a relatively religious upbringing and attended Central Congregational Church. As a young woman, Lizzie was very involved in church activities, including teaching Sunday school to children of recent immigrants to the United States. She was involved in religious organizations, such as the Christian Endeavor Society, for which she served as secretary-treasurer, and contemporary social movements, such as the
Woman's Christian Temperance Union The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an international Temperance movement, temperance organization, originating among women in the United States Prohibition movement. It was among the first organizations of women devoted to social ref ...
. She was also a member of the Ladies' Fruit and Flower Mission. Three years after the death of Lizzie's mother, Sarah, Andrew married Abby Durfee Gray (1828–1892). Lizzie stated that she called her stepmother "Mrs. Borden" and demurred on whether they had a cordial relationship; she believed that Abby had married her father for his wealth. Bridget Sullivan (whom they called Maggie), the Bordens' 25-year-old live-in maid, who had emigrated to the U.S. from Ireland, testified that Lizzie and Emma rarely ate meals with their parents. In May 1892, Andrew killed multiple
pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...
s in his barn with a hatchet, believing they were attracting local children to hunt them. Lizzie had recently built a roost for the pigeons, and it has been commonly recounted that she was upset over his killing of them, though the veracity of this has been disputed. A family argument in July 1892 prompted both sisters to take extended "vacations" in
New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American p ...
. After returning to Fall River, a week before the murders, Lizzie chose to stay in a local rooming house for four days before returning to the family residence. Tension had been growing within the Borden family in the months before the murders, especially over Andrew's gifts of real estate to various branches of Abby's family. After their stepmother's sister received a house, the sisters demanded and received a rental property (the home they had lived in until their mother died), which they purchased from their father for $1; a few weeks before the murders, they sold the property back to their father for $5,000 (). The night before the murders, John Vinnicum Morse, the brother of Lizzie and Emma's deceased mother, visited and was invited to stay for a few days to discuss business matters with his brother-in-law, Andrew. Some writers have speculated that their conversation, particularly about property transfer, may have aggravated an already tense situation. For several days before the murders, the entire household had been violently ill. A family friend later speculated that
mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...
left on the stove to use in meals over several days was the cause, but Abby had feared poison, given that Andrew had not been a popular man.


Murders


August 4, 1892

John Morse arrived in the evening of August 3 and slept in the guest room that night. After breakfast the next morning, at which Andrew, Abby, Lizzie, John, and the Bordens' maid Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan, were present, Andrew and John went to the sitting room, where they chatted for nearly an hour. Morse left around 8:48  to buy a pair of oxen and visit his niece in Fall River, planning to return to the Borden home for lunch at noon. Andrew left for his morning walk sometime after 9 . Although the cleaning of the guest room was one of Lizzie and Emma's regular chores, Abby went upstairs sometime between 9:00  and 10:30  to make the bed. According to the forensic investigation, Abby was facing her killer at the time of the attack. She was first struck on the side of the head with a hatchet, which cut her just above the ear, causing her to turn and fall face down on the floor, creating contusions on her nose and forehead. Her killer then struck her multiple times, delivering 17 more direct hits to the back of her head, killing her. When Andrew returned at around 10:30 , his key failed to open the door, so he knocked. Sullivan went to unlock the door; finding it jammed, she uttered a curse. She would later testify that she heard Lizzie laughing immediately after this; she did not see Lizzie, but stated that the laughter was coming from the top of the stairs. This was considered significant as Abby was already dead by this time, and her body would have been visible to anyone on the home's second floor. Lizzie later denied being upstairs and testified that her father had asked her where Abby was, to which she replied that a messenger had delivered Abby a summons to visit a sick friend. Sullivan stated that she had then removed Andrew's boots and helped him into his slippers before he lay down on the sofa for a nap (a detail contradicted by the crime-scene photos, which show Andrew wearing boots). Sullivan then informed Lizzie of a department store sale, Lizzie said Sullivan was welcome to come along with her, but Sullivan felt unwell and went to take a nap in her bedroom instead. Sullivan testified that she was in her third-floor room, resting from cleaning windows, when just before 11:10  she heard Lizzie call from downstairs, "Maggie, come quick! Father's dead. Somebody came in and killed him." Andrew was slumped on a couch in the downstairs sitting room, struck 10 or 11 times with a hatchet-like weapon. One of his eyes had been split cleanly in two, suggesting that he had been asleep when attacked. His still-bleeding wounds suggested a very recent attack. Dr. Bowen, the family's physician, arrived from his home across the street and pronounced both victims dead. Detectives estimated that Andrew's death had occurred at approximately 11:00 


Investigation

Lizzie Borden's initial answers to the police officers' questions were at times strange and contradictory. Initially she reported hearing a groan, or a scraping noise, or a distress call, before entering the house. Two hours later she told police she had heard nothing and entered the house not realizing that anything was wrong. When asked where her stepmother was, she recounted Abby receiving a note asking her to visit a sick friend. She also stated that she thought Abby had returned and asked if someone could go upstairs and look for her. Sullivan and a neighbor, Mrs. Churchill, were half-way up the stairs, their eyes level with the floor, when they looked into the guest room and saw Abby lying face down on the floor. Most of the officers who interviewed Borden reported that they disliked her attitude; some said she was too calm and poised. Despite her "attitude" and changing alibis, nobody bothered to check her for bloodstains. Police did search her room, but it was a cursory inspection; at the trial they admitted to not doing a proper search because Borden was not feeling well. They were subsequently criticized for their lack of diligence. In the basement, police found two hatchets, two axes, and a hatchet-head with a broken handle. The hatchet-head was suspected of being the murder weapon as the break in the handle appeared fresh and the ash and dust on the head, unlike that on the other bladed tools, appeared to have been deliberately applied to make it look as if it had been in the basement for some time. However, none of these tools were removed from the house. Because of the mysterious illness that had stricken the household before the murders, the family's milk and Andrew's and Abby's stomachs (removed during autopsies performed in the Borden dining room) were tested for poison; none was found. Residents suspected Lizzie of purchasing 'hydrocyanic acid in a diluted form' from the local drugstore. Her defense was that she inquired about the acid in order to clean her furs (despite the local medical examiner's testimony that it did not have antiseptic properties). Lizzie and Emma's friend, Alice Russell, decided to stay with them the night following the murders while Morse spent the night in the attic guest room (contrary to later accounts that he slept in the murder-site guest room). Police were stationed around the house on the night of August 4, during which an officer said he had seen Borden enter the cellar with Russell, carrying a kerosene lamp and a slop pail. He stated he saw both women exit the cellar, after which Borden returned alone; though he was unable to see what she was doing, he stated it appeared she was bent over the sink. On August 5, Morse left the house and was mobbed by hundreds of people; police had to escort him back to the house. On August 6, police conducted a more thorough search of the house, inspecting the sisters' clothing and confiscating the broken-handled hatchet-head. That evening a police officer and the mayor visited the Bordens, and Lizzie was informed that she was a suspect in the murders. The next morning, Russell entered the kitchen to find Borden tearing up a dress. She explained that she was planning to put it on the fire because it was covered in paint. It was never determined whether it was the dress she had been wearing on the day of the murders.


Inquest

Borden appeared at the inquest hearing on August 8. Her request to have her family attorney present was refused under a state statute providing that an inquest must be held in private. She had been prescribed regular doses of
morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a pain medication, and is also commonly used recreationally, or to make other illicit opioids. There ...
to calm her nerves, and it is possible that her testimony was affected by this. Her behavior was erratic, and she often refused to answer a question even if the answer would be beneficial to her. She often contradicted herself and provided alternating accounts of the morning in question, such as saying she was in the kitchen reading a magazine when her father arrived home, then saying she was in the dining room doing some ironing, and then saying she was coming down the stairs. She also said she removed her father's boots and put slippers on him, while police photographs clearly showed him still wearing his boots. The
district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
was very aggressive and confrontational. On August 11, Borden was served with a warrant of arrest and jailed. The inquest testimony, the basis for the modern debate regarding her guilt or innocence, was later ruled inadmissible at her trial in June 1893. Contemporaneous newspaper articles noted that Borden possessed a "stolid demeanor" and "bit her lips, flushed, and bent toward attorney Adams;" it was also reported that the testimony provided in the inquest had "caused a change of opinion among her friends who have heretofore strongly maintained her innocence." The inquest received significant press attention nationwide, including an extensive three-page write-up in '' The Boston Globe''. A grand jury began hearing evidence on November 7, and Borden was indicted on December 2.


Trial and acquittal

Borden's trial took place in New Bedford starting on June 5, 1893. Prosecuting attorneys were Hosea M. Knowlton and future
United States Supreme Court Justice The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...
William H. Moody; defending were Andrew V. Jennings, Melvin O. Adams, and former
Massachusetts governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...
George D. Robinson. Five days before the trial's commencement, on June 1, another axe murder occurred in Fall River. This time the victim was Bertha Manchester, who was found hacked to death in her kitchen. The similarities between the Manchester and Bordens' murders were striking and noted by jurors. However, Jose Correa de Mello, a
Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...
immigrant, was later convicted of Manchester's murder in 1894, and was determined not to have been in the vicinity of Fall River at the time of the Borden murders. A prominent point of discussion in the trial (or press coverage of it) was the hatchet-head found in the basement, which was not convincingly demonstrated by the prosecution to be the murder weapon. Prosecutors argued that the killer had removed the handle because it would have been covered in blood. One officer testified that a hatchet handle was found near the hatchet-head, but another officer contradicted this. Though no bloody clothing was found at the scene, Russell testified that on August 8, 1892, she had witnessed Borden burn a dress in the kitchen stove, saying it had been ruined when she brushed against wet paint. During the course of the trial, defense never attempted to challenge this statement. Lizzie Borden's presence at the home was also a point of dispute during the trial; according to testimony, Sullivan entered the second floor of the home at around 10:58  and left Lizzie and her father downstairs. Lizzie told several people that at this time, she went into the barn and was not in the house for "20 minutes or possibly a half an hour". Hyman Lubinsky testified for the defense that he saw Lizzie Borden leaving the barn at 11:03  and Charles Gardner confirmed the time. At 11:10 , Lizzie called Sullivan downstairs, told her Andrew had been murdered, and ordered her not to enter the room; instead, Borden sent her to get a doctor. Both victims' heads had been removed during autopsy and the skulls were admitted as evidence during the trial and presented on June 5, 1893. Upon seeing them in the courtroom, Borden fainted. Evidence was excluded that Borden had sought to purchase
prussic acid Hydrogen cyanide, sometimes called prussic acid, is a chemical compound with the formula HCN and structure . It is a colorless, extremely poisonous, and flammable liquid that boils slightly above room temperature, at . HCN is produced on an in ...
(hydrogen cyanide) purportedly for cleaning a sealskin cloak, from a local druggist on the day before the murders. The judge ruled that the incident was too remote in time to have any connection. The presiding Associate Justice, Justin Dewey (who had been appointed by Robinson when he was governor), delivered a lengthy summary that supported the defense as his charge to the jury before it was sent to deliberate on June 20, 1893. After an hour and a half of deliberation, the jury acquitted Borden of the murders. Upon exiting the courthouse, she told reporters she was "the happiest woman in the world". The trial has been compared to the later trials of
Bruno Hauptmann Bruno Richard Hauptmann (November 26, 1899 – April 3, 1936) was a German-born carpenter who was convicted of the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The Lindbergh kidnap ...
,
Ethel and Julius Rosenberg Julius Rosenberg (May 12, 1918 – June 19, 1953) and Ethel Rosenberg (; September 28, 1915 – June 19, 1953) were American citizens who were convicted of spying on behalf of the Soviet Union. The couple were convicted of providing top-secret i ...
, and O.J. Simpson, as a landmark in publicity and public interest in the history of American legal proceedings.


Speculation

Although acquitted at trial, Borden remains the prime suspect in her father's and stepmother's murders. Writer Victoria Lincoln proposed in 1967 that Borden might have committed the murders while in a fugue state. Another prominent suggestion was that she was physically and
sexually abused Sexual abuse or sex abuse, also referred to as molestation, is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using force or by taking advantage of another. Molestation often refers to an instance of sexual assau ...
by her father, which drove her to kill him. There is little evidence to support this, but incest is not a topic that would have been discussed at the time, and the methods for collecting physical evidence would have been quite different in 1892. This belief was intimated in local papers at the time of the murders, and was revisited by scholar Marcia Carlisle in a 1992 essay. Mystery author Evan Hunter, in his 1984 novel ''Lizzie'', suggested that Borden committed the murders after being caught in a tryst with Sullivan. McBain elaborated on his speculation in a 1999 interview, speculating that Abby had caught Lizzie and Sullivan together and had reacted with horror and disgust, and that Lizzie had killed Abby with a candlestick. When Andrew returned she had confessed to him, but killed him in a rage with a hatchet when he reacted exactly as Abby had. McBain further speculates that Sullivan disposed of the hatchet somewhere afterwards. In her later years, Borden was rumored to be gay, but there was no such speculation about Sullivan, who found other employment after the murders and later married a man she met while working as a maid in Butte, Montana. She died in Butte in 1948, where she allegedly gave a death-bed confession to her sister, stating that she had changed her testimony on the stand in order to protect Borden. Another significant suspect is John Morse, Lizzie's maternal uncle, who rarely met with the family after his sister died, but had slept in the house the night before the murders; according to law enforcement, Morse had provided an "absurdly perfect and over-detailed alibi for the death of Abby Borden". He was considered a suspect by police for a period. Others noted as potential suspects in the crimes include Sullivan, possibly in retaliation for being ordered to clean the windows on a hot day; the day of the murders was unusually hot – and at the time she was still recovering from the mystery illness that had struck the household. A man named William Borden, suspected to be Andrew's illegitimate son, was noted as a possible suspect by writer Arnold Brown, who surmised in his book ''Lizzie Borden: The legend, the truth, the final chapter'' that William had tried and failed to
extort Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, al ...
money from his father. However, author Leonard Rebello did extensive research on William Borden in Brown's book and was able to prove he was not Andrew Borden's son. Although Emma had an alibi at Fairhaven, about from Fall River, crime writer Frank Spiering proposed in his 1984 book ''Lizzie'' that she might have secretly visited the residence to kill her parents before returning to Fairhaven, to receive the
telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...
informing her of the murders.


Later life

After the trial, the Borden sisters moved into a large, modern house in The Hill neighborhood in Fall River. Around this time, Lizzie began using the name Lizbeth A. Borden. At their new house, which Lizbeth dubbed "Maplecroft", they had a staff that included live-in maids, a housekeeper, and a coachman. Because Abby was ruled to have died before Andrew, her estate went first to Andrew and then, at his death, passed to his daughters as part of his estate. A considerable settlement, however, was paid to settle claims by Abby's family. Despite the acquittal, Borden was ostracized by Fall River society. Her name was again brought into the public eye when she was accused of shoplifting in 1897 in
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
, Rhode Island. In 1905, shortly after an argument over a party that Lizbeth had given for actress
Nance O'Neil Gertrude Lamson (October 8, 1874 – February 7, 1965), known professionally as Nance O'Neil or Nancy O'Neil, was an American stage and film actress who performed in plays in various theaters around the world but worked predominantly in the Unite ...
, Emma moved out of the house and never saw her sister again.


Death

Borden was ill in her last year following the removal of her
gallbladder In vertebrates, the gallbladder, also known as the cholecyst, is a small hollow organ where bile is stored and concentrated before it is released into the small intestine. In humans, the pear-shaped gallbladder lies beneath the liver, altho ...
; she died of pneumonia on June 1, 1927, in Fall River. Funeral details were not published and few attended. Nine days later, Emma died from chronic nephritis at the age of 76 in a nursing home in Newmarket, New Hampshire, having moved to this location in 1923 both for health reasons and to avoid renewed attention following the publication of another book about the murders. The sisters, neither of whom had ever married, were buried side by side in the family plot in Oak Grove Cemetery. At the time of her death, Borden was worth over $250,000 (). She owned a house on the corner of French Street and Belmont Street, several office buildings, shares in several utilities, two cars and a large amount of jewelry. She left $30,000 () to the Fall River Animal Rescue League and $500 ($ in ) in trust for perpetual care of her father's grave. Her closest friend and a cousin each received $6,000 ($ today)—substantial sums at the time of the estate's distribution in 1927 —and numerous friends and family members each received between $1,000 ($ in ) and $5,000 ($ in ).


In culture

Scholar Ann Schofield notes that "Borden's story has tended to take one or the other of two fictional forms: the tragic romance and the feminist quest ...  As the story of Lizzie Borden has been created and re-created through rhyme and fiction it has taken on the qualities of a popular American myth or legend that effectively links the present to the past." The Borden house is now a museum, and operates a
bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...
with 1890s styling.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
Pieces of evidence used in the trial, including the axehead, are preserved at the Fall River Historical Society.


Folkrhyme

The case was memorialized in a popular skipping-rope rhyme, sung to the tune of the then-popular song " Ta-ra-ra Boom-de-ay." Folklore says that the rhyme was made up by an anonymous writer as a tune to sell newspapers. Others attribute it to the ubiquitous, but anonymous, "
Mother Goose The figure of Mother Goose is the imaginary author of a collection of French fairy tales and later of English nursery rhymes. As a character, she appeared in a song, the first stanza of which often functions now as a nursery rhyme. This, howeve ...
". In reality, Borden's stepmother suffered 18 or 19 blows; her father suffered 11 blows. The rhyme has a less well-known second verse:


Depictions

Borden has been depicted in music, radio, film, theater, and television, often in association with the murders of which she was acquitted. Among the earlier portrayals on stage was John Colton and Carleton Miles's 1933 play ''Nine Pine Street'', in which
Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893February 27, 1993) was an American actress, director, and screenwriter. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was called the "First Lady of American Cinema", ...
played Effie Holden, a character who is based on Borden. The play was not a success and ran for only 28 performances. In 1947 Lillian de la Torre wrote a one-act play, ''Goodbye, Miss Lizzie Borden''. Other retellings include ''
New Faces of 1952 ''New Faces of 1952'' is a musical revue with songs and comedy skits. It ran on Broadway for nearly a year in 1952 and was then made into a motion picture in 1954. It helped launch the careers of several young performers including Paul Lynde, Ali ...
'', a 1952 Broadway musical with a number titled "Lizzie Borden" which depicts the crimes, as well as
Agnes De Mille Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMill ...
's ballet ''
Fall River Legend ''Fall River Legend'' is a ballet by American choreographer Agnes de Mille. While the ballet tells the infamous story of Lizzie Borden, it notably alters the outcome of court case, with Borden receiving a guilty verdict rather than an acquittal. D ...
'' (1948) and the Jack Beeson opera '' Lizzie Borden'' (1965), both works being based on Borden and the murders of her father and stepmother. Other plays based on Borden include '' Blood Relations'' (1980), a Canadian production written by
Sharon Pollock Sharon Pollock, (19 April 1936 – 22 April 2021) was a Canadian playwright, actor, and director. She was Artistic Director of Theatre Calgary (1984), Theatre New Brunswick (1988–1990) and Performance Kitchen & The Garry Theatre, the latter ...
that recounts events leading up to the murders, which was made into a television movie in Calgary. ''Lizzie Borden'', another musical adaptation, was also made starring Tony nominee Alison Fraser.
Carmen Matthews Carmen Sylvia Mathews (May 8, 1911 – August 31, 1995) was an American actress and environmentalist. Biography Mathews was born in Philadelphia. She studied first at Bennett Junior College and then in London at the Royal Academy of Dram ...
played Lizzie Borden in the ''
Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was rena ...
'' season 1 episode "The Older Sister", with
Joan Lorring Joan Lorring (born Madeline Ellis; April 17, 1926 – May 30, 2014) was an American actress and singer known for her work in film and theatre. For her role as Bessy Watty in '' The Corn Is Green'' (1945), Lorring was nominated for the Academy A ...
as Emma and Hitchcock's daughter Pat as the servant Margaret. The episode aired on January 22, 1956, and takes place in 1893, with a determined woman reporter trying to interview the sisters one year after the murders and end with the revelation that Emma committed the murders. A March 24, 1957, episode of '' Omnibus'' presented two different adaptations of the Lizzie Borden story: the first a play, "The Trial of Lizzie Borden", with
Katharine Bard Katharine Bard (October 19, 1916 – July 28, 1983) was an American actress. She appeared in the films ''The Decks Ran Red'', '' The Interns'', ''Johnny Cool'', ''Inside Daisy Clover'' and ''How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life''. She appear ...
as Lizzie; the second a production of the ''
Fall River Legend ''Fall River Legend'' is a ballet by American choreographer Agnes de Mille. While the ballet tells the infamous story of Lizzie Borden, it notably alters the outcome of court case, with Borden receiving a guilty verdict rather than an acquittal. D ...
'' ballet with
Nora Kaye Nora Kaye-Ross (January 17, 1920 – February 28, 1987) was an American prima-ballerina known for her ability to perform dramatic roles. Called the ''Duse of Dance'' after the acclaimed actress Eleonora Duse, she also worked in films as a chore ...
as "The Accused". In 1959, ''The Legend of Lizzie'' by Reginald Lawrence attracted praise for
Anne Meacham Mary Anne Meacham (July 21, 1925—January 12, 2006) was a noted American actress of stage, film and television. Born and raised in Chicago, Meacham left to study drama at Yale University, graduating with a degree in 1947. New York stage Meach ...
in the title role, but still closed after just two performances. The folk singing group The Chad Mitchell Trio recorded the
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
song "Lizzie Borden" for its live 1961 album ''Mighty Day on Campus''. Released as a single, it reached #44 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in 1962.
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
commissioned ''
The Legend of Lizzie Borden ''The Legend of Lizzie Borden'' is a 1975 American historical mystery television film directed by Paul Wendkos and starring Elizabeth Montgomery—in an Emmy-nominated performance—as Lizzie Borden, an American woman who was accused of murdering ...
'' (1975), a television film starring Elizabeth Montgomery as Lizzie Borden, Katherine Helmond as Emma Borden, and
Fionnula Flanagan Fionnghuala Manon "Fionnula" Flanagan (born 10 December 1941) is an Irish stage, television, and film actress. For her contributions to the entertainment industry, she was given the IFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Flanagan is known fo ...
as Bridget Sullivan; it was later discovered after Montgomery died that she and Borden were in fact sixth cousins once removed, both descending from 17th century Massachusetts resident John Luther. Rhonda McClure, the genealogist who documented the Montgomery-Borden connection, said: "I wonder how Elizabeth would have felt if she knew she was playing her own cousin."
Lifetime Lifetime may refer to: * Life expectancy, the length of time a person is expected to remain alive Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Lifetime (band), a rock band from New Jersey * ''Life Time'' (Rollins Band album), by Rollins Band * ...
produced '' Lizzie Borden Took an Ax'' (2014), a speculative television film with
Christina Ricci Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress. Known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge, Ricci predominantly works in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box office hits. She has receive ...
portraying Borden, which was followed by '' The Lizzie Borden Chronicles'' (2015), a limited series and a sequel to the television film which presents a fictionalized account of Borden's life after the trial. A feature film, '' Lizzie'' (2018), with
Chloë Sevigny Chloë Stevens Sevigny (, born November 18, 1974) is an American actress, model, filmmaker and fashion designer. Known for her work in independent films, often appearing in controversial or experimental features, Sevigny is the recipient of se ...
as Borden and Kristen Stewart as Bridget Sullivan, depicts a lesbian tryst between Borden and Sullivan which leads to the murders. In 2015, '' Supernatural'' aired an episode entitled " Thin Lizzie". In the episode, Sam (
Jared Padalecki Jared Tristan Padalecki (born July 19, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the role of Sam Winchester in the TV series ''Supernatural''. He grew up in Texas and rose to fame in the early 2000s after appearing on the televis ...
) and Dean Winchester ( Jensen Ackles) investigate the "Lizzie Borden house" after several people are murdered with an ax. They originally suspect that the ghost of Lizzie Borden is the one who is responsible for the murders, but they then discover that she isn't the murderer. The events of the murders and the trial, with actors portraying the people who were involved in them, have been reenacted on a number of documentary programs. In 1936, the radio program ''Unsolved Mysteries'' broadcast a 15 minute dramatization titled "The Lizzie Borden Case", which presented a possible scenario in which the murders were committed during a botched robbery attempt by a tramp, who then escaped. Television recreations have included episodes of ''
Biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or ...
'', ''
Second Verdict ''Second Verdict'' is a six-part BBC television series from 1976. It combines the genres of police procedural and docudrama, with dramatised documentaries in which classic criminal cases and unsolved crimes from history were re-appraised by fict ...
'', ''
History's Mysteries ''History's Mysteries'' is an American documentary television series that aired on the History Channel. Overview The 154 episodes of the series were produced from 1998 to 2011. Each season consisted of 12 to 14 one-hour episodes that focused on ...
'', ''Case Reopened'' (1999), and ''Mysteries Decoded'' (2019). The Lizzie Borden case was partly dramatized on an episode of the 2022
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
podcast series ''
Lucy Worsley Dr Lucy Worsley (born 18 December 1973) is a British historian, author, curator, and television presenter. She is joint chief curator at Historic Royal Palaces but is best known as a presenter of BBC Television series on historical topics. Earl ...
's Lady Killers''.


In literature

Borden has been depicted in several literary works, including: *"The Fall River Axe Murders", a short story by
Angela Carter Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picare ...
, was published in her collection '' Black Venus'' (1985). *Another Borden-inspired story by Carter was "Lizzie's Tiger", in which Borden, imagined as a four-year-old, has an extraordinary encounter at the circus. The story was published in 1993 (posthumously) in the collection ''
American Ghosts and Old World Wonders ''American Ghosts and Old World Wonders'' is a List of works published posthumously, posthumously published anthology of short fiction by Angela Carter. It was first published in the United Kingdom in 1993 by Chatto & Windus Ltd. and contains a c ...
''. *''Miss Lizzie'', a 1989 novel by Walter Satterthwait, takes place thirty years after the murders and recounts an unlikely friendship between Borden and a child, and the suspicions that arise from a murder. *Australian author Sarah Schmidt's 2017 novel ''See What I Have Done'' tells the story of the murders and their aftermath from the points of view of Lizzie and Emma Borden, Bridget Sullivan, and an imagined stranger. It won the MUD Literary Prize for a debut novel. *In
Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...
's novel '' Sleeping Murder'', the main character Miss Marple says that murder "was not proven in the case of
Madeleine Smith Madeleine Hamilton Smith (29 March 1835 – 12 April 1928) was a 19th-century Glasgow socialite who was the accused in a sensational murder trial in Scotland in 1857. Background Smith was the first child (of five) of an upper-middle-class ...
and Lizzie was acquittedbut many people believe both of those women were guilty."


See also

* A. J. Borden Building * Corky Row Historic District * List of unsolved murders


Notes


References


Works cited

* * * * * * * * * * * * * King, Florence. ''WASP, Where is Thy Sting?'' Chapter 15, "One WASP's Family, or the Ties That Bind." Stein & Day, 1977, (1990 Reprint Edition). * * * Masterton, William L. ''Lizzie Didn't Do It!'' Boston: Branden Publishing Company, 2000, . * * * * Pearson, Edmund Lester. ''Studies in Murder'' Ohio State University Press, 1924. * * * * Radin, Edward D. ''Lizzie Borden: The Untold Story'' Simon and Schuster, 1961. * * * * * * * *


Further reading

* Asher, Robert, Lawrence B. Goodheart and Alan Rogers.
Murder on Trial: 1620–2002
' New York: State University of New York Press, 2005, . * Davidson, Avram. "The Deed of the Deft-Footed Dragon" in several collections, most recently ''The Other Nineteenth Century'', ed. Grania Davis and Henry Wessels. New York; TOR, 2001. * de Mille, Agnes. ''Lizzie Borden: A Dance of Death.'' Boston: Little, Brown and Co., 1968. * Martins, Michael and Dennis Binette. ''Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River''. Fall River: Fall River Historical Society, 2011. 1,138 pages with much previously unavailable information including letters written by Lizzie Borden while in jail and photographs of her in later life.
''Parallel Lives'' Official Website
* Robertson, Cara. ''The Trial of Lizzie Borden''. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2019. * Sullivan, Robert. ''Goodbye Lizzie Borden.'' Brattleboro, VT: Stephen Greene Press, 1974. . * Jordan, Jim d, "The Fall River Murders and the Trial of Lizzie Borden Vols. I & II. https://www.amazon.com/Fall-River-Murders-Lizzie-Borden/dp/B08XN9G96F/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&s
Vol. I
https://www.amazon.com/Fall-River-Murders-Lizzie-Borden/dp/B08XN7J1TZ/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr
Vol. II


External links

*
The Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum & Library

Tattered Fabric: Fall River's Lizzie Borden


(1893), full text detailing crimes
Lizzie Borden Moot Court, with tribunal made up of U.S. Supreme Court justices and Stanford University Law School professors. September 16, 1997
{{DEFAULTSORT:Borden, Lizzie 1860 births 1927 deaths 1892 crimes in the United States 19th-century American women 20th-century American women American folklore American people of English descent American people of Welsh descent Axe murder Cornell family Deaths from pneumonia in Massachusetts People acquitted of murder People from Fall River, Massachusetts Woman's Christian Temperance Union people