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Lizzie Borden Biography
Lizzie Borden is best known for her arrest and trial for the
1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother. She was
acquitted in 1893.
Lizzie Borden - Relationship With Her Family (TV-14;
01:54) Lizzie Borden lived with their father and
stepmother into adulthood. Lizzie and her stepmother,
Abby Borden, were not close. She worried that Abby
Borden's family sought to gain access to her father's
money.
Synopsis
Born on July 19, 1860, in Fall River, Massachusetts, Lizzie
Borden and her sister, Emma, lived with their father, Andrew
Borden, and stepmother, Abby (Durfee Gray) Borden, into
adulthood. On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were
found murdered in their home. Lizzie was arrested and tried
for the axe murders. She was acquitted in 1893 and continued to live in Fall River until her death, on June 1, 1927.
The case was never solved.
Early Life
Lizzie Andrew Borden was born on July 19, 1860, in Fall River, Massachusetts, to Sarah and Andrew Borden.
Soon thereafter, Sarah Borden died. Andrew Borden remarried three years later, to Abby Durfee Gray. The family
lived well. Andrew Borden was successful enough in the fields of manufacturing and real estate development to
support his wife and two daughters, Emma and Lizzie, and employ servants to keep their home in order. Both
Emma and Lizzie lived with their father and stepmother into adulthood.
The relationship between the Borden sisters and their stepmother, Abby Borden, was not close. They greeted her
as "Mrs. Borden" and worried that Abby Borden's family sought to gain access to their father's money. Emma was
protective of her younger sister and, together, the two sisters helped to manage the rental properties owned by
Andrew Borden. The family attended the Congregationalist Church, an institution in which Lizzie was particularly
involved.
Borden Murders and Trial
On the morning of August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered and mutilated in their Fall River
home. Lizzie Borden alerted the maid, Bridget, to her father's dead body. He had been attacked and killed while
sleeping on the sofa. A search of the home led to the discovery of the body of Abby Borden in an upstairs
bedroom. Like her husband, Abby Borden was the victim of a brutal hatchet attack.
Policemen called to the scene suspected Lizzie immediately, although she was not taken into custody at that time.
Her sister, Emma, was out of town at the time and was never a suspect. During the week between the murders
and her arrest, Lizzie burned a dress that she claimed was stained with paint. Prosecutors would later allege that
the dress was stained with blood, and that Lizzie had burned the dress in order to cover up her crime.
Lizzie Borden was indicted on December 2, 1892. Her widely publicized trial began the following June in New
Bedford. Borden did not take the stand in her own defense and her inquest testimony was not admitted into
evidence. The testimony provided by others proved inconclusive. On June 20, 1893, Lizzie Borden was acquitted
of the murders. No one else was ever charged with the crimes.
Later Life
Lizzie and Emma Borden inherited a significant portion of their father's estate, which allowed them to purchase a
new home together. The Borden sisters lived together for the following decade. Although free, Lizzie was
considered guilty by many of her neighbors, and thusly never enjoyed acceptance in the community following her
trial. Her reputation was further tarnished when she was accused of shoplifting in 1897.
In 1905, Emma Borden abruptly moved out of the house that she shared with her sister. The two never spoke
again. Emma may have been uncomfortable with Lizzie's close friendship with another woman, Nance O'Neil,
although her silence on the issue has fueled speculation that she learned new details about the murders of her
father and stepmother. No member of the household staff ever offered additional information on the rift, even
following Lizzie's death.
Lizzie Borden died of pneumonia in Fall River, Massachusetts, on June 1, 1927. Emma Borden died days later in
Newmarket, New Hampshire.
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