Introduction
You encounter a lasting American mystery whenever you hear the famous rhyme about Lizzie Borden and forty whacks. The brutal 1892 murders of Andrew and Abby Borden in Fall River, Massachusetts, continue to captivate public imagination because the true perpetrator was never officially found. You face an overwhelming volume of conflicting lore, yet contemporary accounts often obscure the gritty reality of the actual legal proceedings.
Cara Robertson addresses this confusion through an unprecedented examination of newly discovered archival materials, court transcripts, and private letters. A meticulous re-examination of the 1892 Lizzie Borden murder trial reveals how class bias, sensationalist journalism, and complex forensic evidence shaped one of America's most enduring legal mysteries. You discover how Victorian expectations of womanhood, local politics, and heavy press sensationalism fundamentally distorted the pursuit of justice.
The book traces the tragedy chronologically from the tense domestic atmosphere of the Borden home to the final courtroom verdict. You explore the initial police blunders, the flawed inquest testimonies, the sensational grand jury hearings, and the dramatic trial in New Bedford.
- How did the strict social hierarchy of Fall River influence early police suspicions?
- What role did Victorian gender norms play in shaping public sympathy for an unmarried female defendant?
- Why did the defense team successfully dismantle the prosecution's physical evidence?
- How did the yellow journalism of the era manufacture public hysteria around the case?
1. Household Friction and the Murders
Family Wealth and Frugality
Andrew Borden amassed a quarter-million-dollar fortune through hard work and extreme frugality. He paid cash for all land purchases and owned substantial real estate in Fall River.
Andrew began his career as a cabinetmaker providing coffins before expanding into banking, manufacturing, and real estate. Yet he maintained austere living conditions, such as removing the upstairs faucet during renovations and giving his grown daughters a minimal weekly allowance of four dollars.
His wealth alienated his daughters and created severe social friction because he refused to live in the elite Hill neighborhood. Instead, you found his properties located in the flats, far from the social status he could easily afford.
The Crime Scene
Tensions within the Borden household escalated sharply after Andrew Borden purchased a house for his wife Abby's half sister. This purchase prompted his daughters to demand equal property and to estrange themselves from Abby.
Lizzie stopped calling Abby mother and began referring to her as Mrs. Borden, her stepmother, telling her dressmaker that Abby was a mean good-for-nothing thing.
Severe economic frugality and domestic property disputes created a tense household atmosphere culminating in the brutal hatchet murders of Andrew and Abby Borden.
The members of the household suffered sudden, severe illness from leftover fish and mutton stew in the days preceding the murders. Abby visited family physician Dr. Seabury Bowen to express her belief that she had been poisoned by the summer complaint, while Andrew angrily blocked the doctor from entering the house.
After eating leftover swordfish on August 2, 1892, the elder Bordens spent a nauseated night, and the illness struck again after a meal of mutton stew.
Abby and Andrew Borden were subsequently hacked to death with an axe in broad daylight within a narrow timeframe while the surviving household members claimed to have heard or seen nothing. Abby was killed upstairs in the guest bedroom with nineteen blows while making the bed.
Andrew was killed downstairs on the sofa with ten blows while napping. Adelaide Churchill looked out her window and heard Lizzie call out that someone had killed her father.
2. Investigation and Inquest
Police and neighbors grew deeply suspicious of Lizzie Borden due to her unnatural calmness, conflicting accounts of her movements, and the absence of the mysterious note that supposedly lured Abby out.
Police suspicion quickly focused on Lizzie Borden due to her unnatural calmness, conflicting timelines, and an alleged pre-murder attempt to buy poison.
Officers noted Lizzie's lack of grief and emotional agitation, while the missing note from a sick friend—which Lizzie claimed caused Abby to leave the house—was never found. Emma and Lizzie offered a five thousand dollars reward for the arrest and conviction of the killer.
Officer Phil Harrington noted that Lizzie stood by the bed in a calm and collected manner without the least indication of agitation or sorrow.
The day before the murders, Lizzie Borden attempted to purchase a deadly poison under a false pretext at a local drugstore. Eli Bence, a clerk at D. R. Smith's drugstore, refused to sell Lizzie prussic acid without a doctor's prescription after she claimed she needed it to clean a sealskin cape.
On August 3, 1892, Lizzie entered D. R. Smith's drugstore on South Main Street and asked for ten cents' worth of prussic acid.
Shifting Alibis
District Attorney Hosea Knowlton conducted a rigorous, secret judicial inquest to probe the motives and opportunities of the surviving household members. Presided over by Judge Josiah C. Blaisdell, the secret inquest interrogated Bridget Sullivan and Lizzie Borden. Knowlton, characterized by a formidable presence and combative nature, sought to uncover any possible motive and break down conflicting timelines regarding the occupants' whereabouts during the murder windows.
Bridget Sullivan testified about her domestic duties and her desire to leave due to household friction, before being questioned by Knowlton and District Attorney staff.
At 10:00 a.m. a hack conveyed Lizzie to the inquest. At 2:00 p.m. Lizzie Borden took the stand.
Lizzie Borden offered inconsistent and evasive accounts of her actions and locations on the morning of the murders. Lizzie gave shifting statements about whether she was upstairs or downstairs when her father returned, claimed to be ironing handkerchiefs and reading magazines, and later stated she went to the upper story of the barn for lead sinkers, placing herself where she could not see intruders.
When questioned by Knowlton about her changing narrative of being upstairs versus downstairs when Andrew returned, Lizzie claimed she was too confused to remember what she had said. 15 to 20 minutes was the time Lizzie claimed she spent in the barn.
Arrest and Public Reaction
Following the inquest, Lizzie Borden was arrested for murder, sparking intense public polarization, sympathy campaigns, and accusations of class bias. Marshal Hilliard served the arrest warrant after consultation with Knowlton. Lizzie was transferred to the Taunton jail where she received special privileges. While middle-class reform groups and organizations like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union campaigned for her release and expressed sympathy, working-class commentary noted a stark double standard compared to how poor suspects would have been treated.
WCTU president Susan Fessenden circulated a petition demanding Lizzie's release on bail, arguing that thirty years of virtuous living should count in a doubtful case.
- 5'4" was Lizzie Borden's recorded height at arrest.
- 9.5 feet long and 7.5 feet wide were the dimensions of her Taunton jail cell.
- 100 outside clues were chased down by Marshal Hilliard in 10 days.
Andrew Jennings represented Lizzie during the proceedings as public debate intensified.
3. Legal Preparations and the Grand Jury
To counter the prosecution, the defense assembled a formidable legal team consisting of corporate lawyer Andrew Jennings, urbane Boston litigator Melvin O. Adams, and former Massachusetts governor George D. Robinson. Jennings hired Melvin O. Adams to handle expert cross-examinations. He later retained George D. Robinson, a folksy and persuasive former governor known for his jury appeal, for a hefty fee.
A robust legal defense requires assembling specialists who match the prosecution in local influence and courtroom skill.
George D. Robinson spent two hours meeting with Lizzie in jail and declared his belief in her innocence. This visit boosted her spirits despite her private misgivings.
- $25,000: George D. Robinson's purported fee
- $15,000: rumored individual earnings for Jennings and Adams
The Defense Team
The prosecution's key witness, servant Bridget Sullivan, established that Lizzie was the only person with the opportunity to commit the murders. Bridget was alone in the house with each victim while all doors remained locked. Bridget testified that she had locked the back doors the night before and found them locked in the morning. She recounted hearing Andrew Borden try the front door while Lizzie laughed at the top of the stairs.
Bridget Sullivan testified in a low, frightened tone while Emma Borden sat with her gloved hand shading her eyes. Lizzie displayed a slight emotional flush during the proceedings.
- 10 feet: the distance from the witness stand at which Bridget's low-toned replies became inaudible
Sanity and Indictment
The Boston Globe published a massive fabricated scoop known as the Trickey-McHenry Affair. The article falsely claimed Lizzie was pregnant, driven to murder by her father's ultimatum, and linked to stolen watches and a lawyer consultation. Star crime reporter Henry Trickey bought the elaborate hoax for $500 from unscrupulous private detective Edwin McHenry. The newspaper retracted the story and issued an apology within ten hours.
After fleeing to Canada to escape indictment, Henry Trickey died when he fell under the wheels of a westbound train near Hamilton, Ontario.
- $500: the price Henry Trickey paid Edwin McHenry for the fake case file
- 10 hours: the time within which the Boston Globe editors knew the story was a hoax and retracted it
The county grand jury indicted Lizzie Borden on three separate counts of murder, returning what is known as a true bill after a substantial vote. Although grand juries in Massachusetts traditionally only hear prosecution evidence to decide on indictments without defense participation, Hosea Knowlton offered Jennings an opportunity to present defense evidence.
On December 2, 1892, the grand jury indicted Lizzie Borden for the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden, resulting in three separate indictments.
- 23 men: the number of grand jurors drawn from county voting rolls
- 14 indictments: the total number of murder indictments in Massachusetts that year
Prosecutors privately investigated Lizzie Borden's sanity, reflecting nineteenth-century medical theories linking women's physiological cycles to potential criminal aberrations. State officials consulted asylum superintendents like Dr. George Jelly and Dr. Edward Cowles regarding whether the crimes indicated a maniac. Contemporary medical beliefs viewed menstruation as a systemic shock that could lower resistance to violent impulses.
Lizzie had testified at the inquest that she had fleas, a local euphemism for menstruation, in the days before the murders. This provided an explanation for bloody towels and spots of blood.
4. The New Bedford Trial Begins
The trial opened in New Bedford before a panel of three judges and a national press corps, featuring dramatic evidence and strict jury selection.
The trial venue was moved to New Bedford, a prominent whaling and textile center fifteen miles east of Fall River, over the defense's preference for Taunton. The Bristol County courthouse in New Bedford was built in 1831. You could travel between Fall River and New Bedford in 30 minutes by trolley train.
On December 12, 1892, defense attorney Jennings wrote to Attorney General Pillsbury expressing Lizzie's strong preference to stay in Taunton.
Jury Selection
Jury selection for the trial was a rigorous, all-day procedure conducted entirely by the chief judge questioning prospective male jurors summoned from outside Fall River. 150 prospective jurors were summoned, and jurors were paid 3 dollars daily for their service.
You can review the selection process through these required steps:
- Stand in an open space in front of the jury box exposed to view.
- Answer the judge's inquiries regarding relationship to the prisoner or victims.
- Disclose whether an opinion or bias regarding the case has been formed.
- State whether any moral or personal objections to the death penalty are held.
Out of the 150 men, 19 prospective jurors were dismissed due to death penalty scruples. After 101 total names reviewed before seating the jury, a final jury of twelve men was seated, led by foreman Charles I. Richards.
Opening Arguments
Lizzie Borden's ordinary appearance and remarkable self-possession during the trial starkly contrasted with the horrific nature of the crimes she was accused of. At 32 years of age, she displayed an exceptional ability to maintain absolute calm and emotional control under intense public scrutiny.
Julian Ralph described her as a plain-looking old maid with a calm demeanor, while Elizabeth Jordan characterized her as aloof as a Buddha in a temple.
Prosecutor William Moody delivered a comprehensive and compelling opening statement outlining the timeline of the murders and the strict security of the Borden house. Moody detailed the history of strained relations between Lizzie and her stepmother, the locked interior doors, and the physical impossibility of an outside intruder entering unnoticed. The distance between the Borden house and the police station measured 1,300 feet.
In a dramatic courtroom coup, Moody opened an ordinary handbag containing the actual skulls of Mr. and Mrs. Borden, causing Lizzie to faint.
The trial jury was taken on a hot, exhausting field trip to Fall River to physically inspect the interior and exterior of the Borden house and surrounding neighborhood. 350 spectators awaited the jury at the Borden house.
You can follow the exact path of the jurors on this field trip:
- Walk together as a group under police escort without asking questions.
- Inspect the interior and exterior of the Borden house and yard.
- Examine neighboring properties, alleyways, and surrounding stores.
- Retrace the last known movements and walks of Andrew Borden.
5. Witnesses, Evidence, and Verdict
Damaging testimony about a burned dress and police blunders over the hatchet collided with a masterly defense closing argument, resulting in a swift acquittal.
The Burned Dress
Alice Russell gave some of the most damaging circumstantial evidence against Lizzie. She testified that Lizzie intentionally burned a cheap light-blue cotton dress with dark figures on the Sunday after the murders by the kitchen stove.
When Alice Russell saw Lizzie standing by the stove with Emma on Sunday morning, Lizzie stated she was going to burn an old paint-stained dress. Alice warned her later that it was the worst thing she could have done.
Conflicting police testimony regarding the discovery and handling of the alleged murder weapon severely undermined the prosecution. Patrolman Michael Mullaly stunned the courtroom by casually disclosing that he had seen the rest of the hatchet handle inside the box containing the hatchets. This directly contradicted Assistant Marshal Fleet's testimony about the hoodoo hatchet.
The defense secured a major legal victory when the court ruled Lizzie's previous coroner's inquest testimony inadmissible as evidence. Marshal Rufus Hilliard carried an unserved arrest warrant in his pocket during the inquest, illustrating the coercive environment where Lizzie faced questioning without her counsel present. Over an hour of private deliberation by the judges preceded this ruling, which came seventy-three years before the Supreme Court's Miranda decision.
Acquittal and Legacy
George Robinson framed his closing argument for the defense by appealing to the jury's farmer instincts. He spoke for four hours, adopting a folksy manner to weave together the defense threads into a cloak of reasonable doubt.
Robinson described Lizzie standing quietly between the court and jury, invoking divine protection and comparing her to a little sparrow watched over by Providence.
The jury took less than an hour and a half of deliberations before reaching a verdict. An informal ballot revealed they were already unanimous, and they discussed the evidence briefly out of courtesy.
When the foreman declared Lizzie Borden not guilty at 4:38 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20, 1893, she sank back into her chair as if she was shot and placed her face on the rail. The courtroom erupted into cheering while Lizzie broke down in sobs.
10 Key Ideas
- Severe economic frugality and domestic property disputes created a tense household atmosphere culminating in the brutal hatchet murders of Andrew and Abby Borden.
- Police suspicion quickly focused on Lizzie Borden due to her unnatural calmness, conflicting timelines, and an alleged pre-murder attempt to buy poison.
- A robust legal defense requires assembling specialists who match the prosecution in local influence and courtroom skill.
- The Boston Globe published a massive fabricated scoop known as the Trickey-McHenry Affair to manufacture public hysteria around the case.
- On December 2, 1892, the grand jury indicted Lizzie Borden for the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden, resulting in three separate indictments.
- The trial opened in New Bedford before a panel of three judges and a national press corps, featuring dramatic evidence and strict jury selection.
- Julian Ralph described her as a plain-looking old maid with a calm demeanor, while Elizabeth Jordan characterized her as aloof as a Buddha in a temple.
- Damaging testimony about a burned dress and police blunders over the hatchet collided with a masterly defense closing argument, resulting in a swift acquittal.
- Patrolman Michael Mullaly stunned the courtroom by casually disclosing that he had seen the rest of the hatchet handle inside the box containing the hatchets.
- When the foreman declared Lizzie Borden not guilty at 4:38 p.m. on Tuesday, June 20, 1893, the courtroom erupted into cheering while Lizzie broke down in sobs.