The name Lizzy Borden at one time was known almost all over the world, and it was completely different from what was usually said about women in the late 19th century. Her name was associated with one of the most bloody criminal cases that are only on the list of unsolved in the United States. Even now it is not known for certain whether Elizabeth was the murderer of her stepmother and father or she became an innocent victim, but despite the huge amount of evidence, the court fully acquitted her. This article will talk about what led to the appearance of the legend of Lizzie Borden, and what kind of impact she had on the world.
The beginning of the story
Nursery rhymes, clumsy lines of ridicule accompanied Lizzy Borden throughout the rest of her life. She was completely acquitted by the jury and the judge, but the rumor of the people herself sentenced her. People continued to consider her a murderer of people who prevented her from living, since the official criminal had never been identified. But what happened immediately before the murder?
Lizzy Borden's biography begins in the small town of Massachusetts in the United States called Fall River. She was born in 1860, and only a couple of years later her mother died, leaving her daughter in the care of her father. Unfortunately, Andrew Borden, who was thirsting for a son, reacted negatively to his daughter, who was also born, and some time after the death of his wife, he married a grumpy woman, Abby Darfi Gray, who only intensified the situation between them.
Unhappy childhood
It is known that the childhood of Lizzy Borden was not distinguished by happiness. Her father, despite the fact that he was a fairly wealthy man, was incredibly stingy. He did not want to spend money on anything, not even on his children. The house of Lizzy Borden, in which the murder later occurred, was already old and neglected even during her childhood, and his father did not even think about updating it. The stepmother, a mercantile woman who married only because of the money of her future husband, disgusted the children, that of Lizzie, that of her older sister Emma.
All this led to the fact that the girl was estranged from the family. She began to go to church often and was rather melancholy and dreamy. It is worth remembering that it was the 19th century, when women had virtually no rights, and therefore she had to endure such an atmosphere of utter poverty and misery for 32 years.
Previous events
Shortly before the crime, it is believed that Lizzy's father passed part of his fortune to his wife’s sister. It is not known for certain what prompted this mean man to such a chance, but this incredibly angered his daughter, who did not get a penny. She entered Abby’s room and took some jewelry, blaming the thieves. However, Mr. Borden quickly realized that it was his daughter who was the thief.
In addition, another event occurred, namely the penetration of strangers into the garden of the house. Although no loss was found, the father of the family reacted quite inadequately. For some reason, he thought that the man was attracted by the pigeons of Lizzy, and therefore he took an ax and chopped off their heads.
Morning August 4, 1892
It was on this day that everything changed in Lizzy's life. It was a sultry and hot summer, and therefore sister Emma decided to leave with friends to enjoy nature. Elizabeth herself remained at home because she was not feeling well after the previous food poisoning. In addition, the situation in the family was again heated.
It would seem that it was a normal morning. Mr. Borden himself went away on business, Uncle Lizzy, her mother’s brother, John Morse, who was visiting the family at that time, went to visit other relatives, and Mrs. Borden did the usual cleaning, which was assisted by the maid Bridget. Nothing in the house foreshadowed the tragedy.
Death
It was stepmother Lizzy Borden who was killed first. It is believed that this happened around 9:30, when a woman washed the stairs. She died instantly, from the very first blow with an ax to the skull, but after that she was dealt another 19 blows.
The house was quiet for a while. Only when the tired Mr. Borden returned home at 11 o'clock, the second chapter of the story began. He was met by his daughter, who took her father to the living room for relaxation, and she went to the kitchen. There she gossiped a little with the maid, and then came back. About ten minutes after both women parted, the maid heard Lizzie screaming that her father had been killed. Bridget ran to the call, and going downstairs, she saw Elizabeth at the door of the living room. The woman sent her to the family doctor, not even allowing her to enter the room.
Subsequent events
Soon, Dr. Bowen also appeared in the house, who examined the body of Lizzy's father. It was found that he was struck ten blows with an ax, which simply chopped the body of the unfortunate. The whole room was completely covered in blood.
All this attracted neighbors to the house who decided to reassure Elizabeth. But she clearly did not need it. As they say, she was completely calm and indifferent, which shocked the neighbors. In addition, when asked where her stepmother was, Lizzie replied that she seemed to be going to visit someone, but had already returned. Mrs. Borden's body was soon found in a bloody puddle.
Case Formation
The case of Lizzy Borden was once incredibly sensational. However, she was not the first to fall under suspicion. At first, the police, as the culprit, tried to expose the uncle of the woman, John Morse, who was behaving strangely at the time he was approaching the house. Instead of entering, as usual, through the front door, he went around it and went through the back door. But his alibi was checked, and therefore he was excluded from the list of suspects.
The police were completely sure that one of the family members had a hand here, and therefore, by way of exclusion, it was soon Lizzy who remained the only suspect. Moreover, she was constantly confused in her testimony, which could not be confirmed by anything. She invented the father of enemies who attempted his life, as well as non-existent events. In addition, it was found that the day before the murder, she acquired cyanide and hydrocyanic acid in a pharmacy, and she did not even give an explanation why she did it. The circle of suspects gradually narrowed.
Media hype
This newspaper did not go around this time because it was quite resonant - the old maid killed the tyrant father and the hated stepmother. The ax Lizzy Borden became famous, because it was the woman who attributed the murder. No one believed in her innocence, so Elizabeth was soon taken for interrogation.
At this time, a preliminary investigation began. At that time, Lizzy was still listed in the case as a witness. She significantly supplemented her previous testimonies, trying to show how she had not noticed her stepmother's body on the steps of the stairs when she went down her, as she had been told before. She supposedly remembered that she did not go upstairs, but was in the kitchen. Despite this statement, the police charged her.
However, if the media was in favor of recognizing the woman as guilty, then the provincial residents of the United States spoke precisely on her side. In their opinion, a quiet Sunday school teacher should not even have been a possible candidate for the role of the accused, not to mention becoming a defendant. So the prevailing opinion of her innocence in the country.
The acquittal
In many ways, the win in the case of Lizzy Borden can be explained by her lawyer. They were George Robinson, a former state governor. This case began at a time when he was in his position, and it was he who appointed one of the judges in the case. That is, we can say that Robinson could manipulate the independence of the investigation. At his suggestion, the court completely dismissed the evidence that Lizzy was buying poisons at the pharmacy, so this was not mentioned at all - thus, a whole group of evidence was simply not accepted for consideration.
The trial was long - hearings were held for 10 days. Robinson simply defeated the prosecution, moreover, Lizzy herself, with her frequent fainting in the dock, aroused pity for the jury. “Does she look like a villain?” said Robinson in his closing speech, saying that you can only blame such a woman if you believe that she is a villain. The jury did not see this in her, and therefore they passed a verdict of not guilty. She left the courtroom not only free, but also rich.
Impact on popular culture
In 2014, the film "Lizzy Borden took an ax" was released, which tells the story of this woman. She lived in the Fall River until her death in 1927, listening to her poems with accusations. The police still believed that the court acquitted the murderer, and therefore did not return to this case. In addition, the killer with the ax no longer appeared. Even now, when more than 100 years have passed since the murder, this case remains controversial, and the true truth about that August day went to the grave with Elizabeth.