The gruesome deaths of Borden's parents became a national obsession in the 1890s. Despite the jury’s verdict, the accused's guilt remains a mystery.
Jurors trooped past a gaggle of anxious journalists and bystanders as the superior court in New Bedford, Massachusetts, began what would be considered the crime of the century—the 19th century. The defendant was no movie star, super athlete, or international spy. She was a Sunday school teacher, accused of murders so gruesome that they are still the stuff of legend more than 130 years later.
That changed on August 4, 1892, when Lizzie’s cries rang through her family’s house late that Thursday morning. She had discovered her 69-year-old father’s bludgeoned body on the couch in the family parlor. Further investigation upstairs yielded her 64-year-old stepmother’s body, maimed and lying dead on the floor of the guest bedroom.
Almost immediately, the trial focused on whether Lizzie, an upper-class woman, was capable of committing the crimes—and whether her relationship with her parents was respectful or acrimonious. Testimony revealed that Lizzie and Emma lived increasingly separate lives from their parents, eating by themselves and inhabiting their own wing of the house.
Police had been in and out of the Borden residence for days following the murders, leading to an outcry about improper evidence gathering. The prosecutors did not present a definitive murder weapon—a key weakness exploited by the defense, who claimed the murder was either the work of a random peddler or an acquaintance who resented the Bordens’ prosperity and social standing.
Even now, would-be detectives speculate about the real story of the murders. Did Lizzie attempt to poison her parents? Had Lizzie nearly been murdered herself by a culprit who fled when they realized she had discovered her parents’ bodies?
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