Case overview
On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were killed with an ax in their Fall River, Massachusetts home while Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s daughter, was present in the house. Despite substantial public suspicion and a highly publicized trial, Lizzie Borden was acquitted in June 1893. The case remains unresolved because key evidence contradictions, limited forensic capability, and gaps in the timeline left fundamental questions unanswered.
The discovery
Bridget Sullivan, the Bordens’ live-in maid, was washing windows on the morning of August 4, 1892, when Lizzie called to her from the second-floor landing. Andrew Borden, a wealthy businessman, had been found dead in the downstairs sitting room. He had been struck approximately eleven times with a sharp instrument, likely a hatchet or small ax. His face was nearly unrecognizable.
Within minutes, Abby Borden, Andrew’s second wife and Lizzie’s stepmother, was discovered upstairs in a guest bedroom. She had been struck approximately nineteen times, also with a bladed weapon. Medical examiners later determined that Abby had been killed roughly ninety minutes before Andrew, meaning her body lay upstairs while Andrew returned home and was attacked.
Lizzie, age thirty-two, and Bridget Sullivan were the only known occupants of the house during the murders. Lizzie’s older sister Emma had been out of town. No signs of forced entry were found. Nothing of significant value had been taken.
The investigation and arrest
Fall River police and the Massachusetts State Police immediately focused on the household. Lizzie’s account of her movements that morning shifted across multiple statements. She said she had been in the barn loft looking for fishing equipment, then in the yard, then in the kitchen. She could not provide a consistent timeline. She also told investigators she had heard no sounds during the attack on her father, despite being in close proximity.
Investigators found a hatchet head in the basement with a freshly broken handle and no visible blood. Another hatchet was covered in dust and rust, suggesting it had not been used recently. A third hatchet appeared clean. No murder weapon was definitively identified.
Lizzie burned a dress in the kitchen stove days after the murders, claiming it was stained with paint. This act, witnessed by Emma and a family friend, became a focal point of suspicion. Prosecutors would later argue the dress had been bloodstained.
On August 11, 1892, a week after the killings, Lizzie was arrested and charged with three counts of murder: one for Abby, one for Andrew, and one joint count. She was held without bail.
The trial
The trial began on June 5, 1893, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was one of the most widely covered criminal proceedings in American history at the time. Newspapers across the country printed daily updates. Courtroom access was limited, but public interest was intense.
The prosecution, led by District Attorney Hosea M. Knowlton, built its case on circumstantial evidence. Lizzie had motive: she and Emma stood to inherit their father’s considerable estate. She had opportunity: no one else was credibly placed at the scene. Her inconsistent statements and the destroyed dress suggested consciousness of guilt. Witnesses testified that Lizzie had attempted to purchase prussic acid, a poison, the day before the murders, though the druggist refused the sale.
The defense, led by former Massachusetts Governor George D. Robinson, systematically challenged the prosecution’s narrative. They argued the timeline was too compressed for Lizzie to have killed Abby, cleaned herself, and appeared calm when her father came home. They questioned the lack of blood on Lizzie’s clothing and person. They introduced testimony suggesting an intruder could have entered and exited undetected. They portrayed Lizzie as a devout, churchgoing woman incapable of such violence.
Critical evidence was excluded. Lizzie’s inquest testimony, given without her attorney present, was ruled inadmissible. In that testimony, she had provided conflicting statements about her whereabouts. The judges also refused to allow the prussic acid evidence, deciding it was prejudicial and unrelated to the murders themselves.
Bridget Sullivan testified for the prosecution but provided no direct evidence implicating Lizzie. She confirmed the household tensions and Lizzie’s movements that morning but saw nothing incriminating. Dr. Edward S. Wood, a chemistry professor, testified that he found no blood on the dress Lizzie wore that day, though he acknowledged that blood could have been washed away.
The jury, composed of twelve men from surrounding towns, deliberated for just over an hour. On June 20, 1893, they returned a verdict of not guilty on all counts.
Aftermath and public perception
Lizzie’s acquittal did not restore her social standing. She and Emma inherited their father’s estate and purchased a large home in a more affluent section of Fall River. Lizzie adopted the name Lizbeth and lived there for the rest of her life. She was largely shunned by Fall River society. Former friends and church members distanced themselves. She rarely appeared in public without facing scrutiny.
Emma and Lizzie’s relationship deteriorated over the years. In 1905, they stopped living together, and Emma moved out following a dispute whose details were never made fully public. The two sisters never reconciled.
Lizzie died on June 1, 1927, at age sixty-six. Emma died nine days later. Neither ever married. Neither ever publicly discussed the murders in detail after the trial. No deathbed confession was recorded.
Press coverage and folklore
The Borden case became a media phenomenon. Newspapers employed courtroom sketch artists and published transcripts of testimony. Editorial coverage was divided. Some outlets portrayed Lizzie as a victim of circumstantial suspicion; others treated her as guilty despite the verdict. The gendered nature of the coverage was notable. Much of the prosecution and press commentary focused on Lizzie’s demeanor, her relationships with her parents, and her failure to display expected emotional responses.
Within years, the case entered American folklore. A rhyme emerged, author unknown: “Lizzie Borden took an ax / And gave her mother forty whacks. / When she saw what she had done, / She gave her father forty-one.” The rhyme is factually inaccurate but became culturally embedded. It reflected the public’s belief in Lizzie’s guilt regardless of the jury’s decision.
Evidentiary gaps and unresolved questions
The case remains unresolved in the historical record due to several contradictions. No murder weapon was definitively matched to the wounds. The hatchet head found in the basement had a broken handle and no blood, but it could not be excluded. The timeline problem persists: if Lizzie killed Abby ninety minutes before Andrew’s return, she would have had time to clean up. But no significant blood evidence was found on her or her clothing immediately after the murders.
The lack of forensic science available in 1892 is a key factor. Blood typing did not exist. Investigators could identify blood presence but not species or source. Fingerprint analysis was not yet used in American criminal investigations. Physical evidence was collected inconsistently and stored improperly.
No other suspect was seriously investigated. Some contemporaneous theories suggested an intruder, but no supporting evidence ever emerged. Bridget Sullivan was never considered a viable suspect. Some later speculation focused on Emma or on an unknown assailant with a financial or personal motive, but no substantiated alternative theory gained traction.
The destruction of the dress remains one of the case’s most debated elements. Lizzie burned it days after the murders in front of witnesses. Her explanation—that it was paint-stained—was plausible but suspicious in timing. The prosecution argued it was evidence destruction. The defense argued it was mundane. The dress itself was never recovered or tested.
Where to look next
- Documentary: “Lizzie Borden Had an Axe” (Lifetime)
- Book: “The Trial of Lizzie Borden” by Cara Robertson
- Book: “Lizzie Borden: The Legend, the Truth, the Book of the Century” by Frank Spiering
