2. The Crime
Andrew Borden, Lizzie
Borden’s father, and
Abigail Borden, Lizzie
Borden’s
stepmother, were
murdered by hatchet
to the head on August
4, 1892.
3. Investigation
Suspects
Lizzie Borden ( Daughter of Andrew
Borden)
A tall male intruder
Evidence found by police
No signs of force entry
A handless hatchet was found in the
tool box in the coal cellar
Days before the murder Lizzie Borden
attempted to purchase prussic acid
Lack of footprints in the dusty
barn, where Lizzie was supposed to be
during the murder
Arrest
Lizzie Borden was arrested for double
murder of her father and stepmother
4. Trial
Evidence used in court
The Handless Hatchet, which was clean of
substances and had a broken handle
The fact that she attempted to by prussic
acid prior to the murders
Defense
Lizzie’s testimony at the original inquest was
ruled inadmissible because of the morphine
prescribe by her doctor to help with her
mental illness
The morphine would cause confusion and
memory loss
Verdict
Not Guilty
5. Aftermath and Media
Afterwards
Lizzie returned to her life but everything was strained. Lizzie's relationships with
neighbors, family and friends were tense and filled with speculation of her
likely guilt. She never married.
She bought a new house with the money she inherited and remained in Fall
River
Public Opinion
There was a large amount of curiosity and intrigue with the case because:
She was a wealthy
She was a woman
She was being tried for murder
There were two types of public opinion: the working middle to lower class
and the higher class
The working class thought she was guilty and thought her wealth bought her
innocence, brought a lot of attention to the case
The higher class minded their business and stayed very quiet of the case, since
Andrew was of higher class they respected him as one of their own. It was a
“Hush, hush” sort of situation.
6. I Believe…
Were their any influences with the case?
I believe the way they handled the case was
influenced by her family's social class but not the
verdict. The prosecution could not find any physical or
rather any evidence at all that could concretely say
that Lizzie Borden murdered her parents. The United
States goes by innocent until proven guilty, and there
were not any evidence that could singularly say that
Lizzie Borden was guilty. One thing I do find skeptical is
the fact that the police did not want to use forensics to
analyze the hatchet. It may have made the case, but
we will never know. I do think that may have been
influenced my her family’s wealth.
7. I Believe…
The Verdict
Based upon the evidence provided and used, no, I do not think the
verdict was wrong. But without the evidence and just using speculation
and gut feelings, yes, I believe it was wrong. If they had found some sort
of physical evidence of her killing her parents, then the evidence
provided during the trial, like the fact that she tried to purchase prussic
acid, would be a sign of premeditation. She would have been
convicted of first degree murder! But since there was no evidence of
her killing her parents, we are just left with speculating and coming up
with theories of why she should would kill her parents and how she did it.
Lizzie didn't like her step-mother and was under the control of her father.
She had some motivation to kill and, if she murdered them, the
cleverness to impeccably cover her tracks was amazing.
