40 Facts About Lizzie Borden

1.

Lizzie Andrew Borden was an American woman who was tried and acquitted of the August 4,1892, axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts.

2.

Lizzie Borden died of pneumonia at age 66, just days before the death of her older sister, Emma.

3.

Lizzie Andrew Borden was born July 19,1860, in Fall River, Massachusetts, to Sarah Anthony Borden and Andrew Jackson Borden.

4.

Lizzie Borden was a director of several textile mills and owned considerable commercial property; he was president of the Union Savings Bank and a director of the Durfee Safe Deposit and Trust Co.

5.

For instance, the Lizzie Borden residence lacked indoor plumbing even though, at the time, it was a common accommodation for the wealthy.

6.

Lizzie Borden 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.

7.

Lizzie Borden was a member of the Ladies' Fruit and Flower Mission.

8.

Lizzie Borden 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.

9.

Lizzie Borden 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.

10.

Lizzie Borden 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.

11.

Lizzie Borden stated that she thought Abby had returned and asked if someone could go upstairs and look for her.

12.

Police did search her room, but it was a cursory inspection; at the trial they admitted to not doing a proper search because Lizzie Borden was not feeling well.

13.

Residents suspected Lizzie Borden of purchasing "hydrocyanic acid in a diluted form" from the local druggist.

14.

Lizzie Borden's defense was that she inquired about the acid in order to clean her furs.

15.

Lizzie Borden stated he saw both women exit the cellar, after which Lizzie returned alone; though he was unable to see what she was doing, he stated it appeared she was bent over the sink.

16.

The next morning, Russell entered the kitchen to find Lizzie Borden tearing up a dress.

17.

Lizzie Borden explained that she was planning to put it on the fire because it was covered in paint.

18.

Lizzie Borden had been prescribed regular doses of morphine to calm her nerves, and it is possible that her testimony was affected by this.

19.

Lizzie Borden's behavior was erratic, and she often refused to answer a question even if the answer would be beneficial to her.

20.

Lizzie Borden 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.

21.

Lizzie Borden's trial took place in New Bedford starting on June 5,1893.

22.

The similarities between the Manchester and Lizzie Borden murders were striking and noted by jurors.

23.

Lizzie Borden told several people that at this time, she went into the barn and was not in the house for "twenty minutes or possibly a half an hour".

24.

Mystery author Evan Hunter, in his 1984 novel Lizzie Borden, suggested that Lizzie Borden committed the murders after being caught in a tryst with Sullivan.

25.

McBain elaborated on his speculation in a 1999 interview, speculating that Abby had caught the two together and had reacted with horror and disgust, and that Lizzie Borden had killed Abby with a candlestick.

26.

Lizzie Borden made a confession to Andrew when he returned home but killed him in a rage with a hatchet when he reacted exactly as Abby had.

27.

Lizzie Borden further speculated that Sullivan disposed of the hatchet somewhere afterwards.

28.

Around this time, Lizzie began using the name Lizbeth A Borden.

29.

Lizzie Borden's name was again brought into the public eye when she was accused of shoplifting in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1897.

30.

Lizzie Borden was ill in her last year following the removal of her gallbladder; she died of pneumonia on June 1,1927, in Fall River.

31.

At the time of her death, Lizzie Borden was worth over $250,000.

32.

Lizzie Borden 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.

33.

Lizzie Borden left $30,000 to the Fall River Animal Rescue League and $500 in trust for perpetual care of her father's grave.

34.

The Lizzie Borden house is a museum, and operates a bed and breakfast with 1890s styling.

35.

Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks.

36.

In reality, Lizzie Borden's stepmother suffered eighteen or 19 blows; her father suffered eleven blows.

37.

Andrew Borden now is dead, Lizzie hit him on the head.

38.

Lizzie Borden has been depicted in music, radio, film, theater, and television, often in association with the murders of which she was acquitted.

39.

Lifetime produced Lizzie Borden Took an Ax, a speculative television film with Christina Ricci portraying Borden, which was followed by The Lizzie Borden Chronicles, a limited series and a sequel to the television film which presents a fictionalized account of Borden's life after the trial.

40.

The Lizzie Borden case was partly dramatized on an episode of the 2022 BBC Radio podcast series Lucy Worsley's Lady Killers.