Ello :)
Recently i've been reading a book called unsolved crimes by Sarah Herman and as i've always showed a keen interest in unsolved mysteries, my love for buzzfeed unsolved spiralled into researching into unsolved crime myself and sharing my opinion. This is going to be a little series on the blog, where i delve into certain unsolved crimes that fascinate me and give my personal opinion upon solving it.
For my first one, I wanted to study the case of the Borden parent's deaths and uncover whether i really think it was Lizzie Borden that committed the crime - or was there more to the case than meets the eye.
"Lizzie Borden took an axe,
And gave her mother forty whacks,
When she saw what she had done,
She gave her father forty one. "
The Crime:
On 4th August 1892, in Massachusetts, USA 70 year old father of 2, Andrew Jackson Borden and his second wife, Abby Durfee Grey Borden were found dead in the Borden household after being brutally murdered with an axe.
On the day of the murders, Mrs Borden was upstairs dusting and Bridget, their live-in maid, had been cleaning the windows as instructed after the whole household have fell ill through a vomiting bug, everyone except Emma - Lizzie's sister- who was out of town. Bridget chatted with the neighbour's maid over the fence, and headed back inside around the time Mr Borden arrived home. Bridget heard Lizzie's laughter upstairs, she later exhausted left Lizzie, who was ironing handkerchiefs in the dining room, while she took a nap upstairs.
Ten minutes later, Bridget was summoned by Lizzie yelling:" Come down...father's dead! Somebody's come in and killed him!"
Mr Borden had been attacked with a small, sharp hatchet, hit at least ten times in the face. A commotion occurred as Bridget informed neighbours and a doctor. That was when Lizzie told her she'd heard her stepmother come home and she was probably upstairs. Bridget, together with a neighbour, went to check and found Mrs Borden lying on the floor of guest room, similarly mutilated. It's believed she was struck 18 times times with the same weapon- however unlike Mr Borden, Abby's body was cold - it was estimated she had died some time before her husband.
The Suspects:
Bridget- the live-in maid: Bridget was napping at the time of these horrific events or at least that has what has been said. Although Bridget has an alibi thanks to Lizzie Borden, it doesn't mean that they couldn't have worked together to plot the killings. It was thought that Mr Borden was a fairly wealthy man meaning that Lizzie would have motive in killing her father - if she cut a deal with the maid to split the money - it is likely they worked together.
Lizzie Borden: Lizzie is the main suspect in this case- the reason why is because she has both motive and timing for the crime. When Bridget went to take a nap upstairs, the only three people awake in the house were Mr and Mrs Borden and Lizzie - meaning she was the prime suspect. Lizzie had motive to kill both of her parents - as they were a wealthy family, money was signed in the will over to the girls when both parents passed away. Another motive Lizzie has for killing her parents is that it is thought that Lizzie's father abused both her and her sister Emma,ad that somehow these memories that were repressed resurfaced - causing her to act out violently. They also believed that Mr Borden remodelled the house to allow him easy access for the abuse of his daughters and enabling the need for Abby to need to go upstairs in order to access her own bedroom.
Lizzie's demeanour is what first attracted the police to her as a suspect. She simply didn't behave in the way you would have expected her too. Officer Harrington noted that:"there was not the least indication of agitation, no sign of sorrow or grief, no lamentation of the heart, no comment on the horror of the crime, and no expression of a wish that the criminal be caught"- although it's possible she didn't kill them and her behaviour is explained by her abusive father that she finds their deaths deserved it is highly likely that she did kill her parents.
The Unknown man: During the inquest Lizzie mentioned a man who had come to the house to do business in the fortnight before her father's death. She said that she overheard the man say how he would like "that store" and that his father refused. She also told police how the conversation they started having became increasingly louder and her father ordered him out. It was identified as both murders where crimes of passion so an argument could have lead to their killings.
John Vinnicum Morse (Andrew's brother-in- law from his first marriage): Morse had stayed at the Bordens' and had been with Andrew inthe town's business district that morning. However he had a number of witnesses attesting to his whereabouts at the time the crime was committed.
The Conclusion:
In conclusion, although it seems very much like an anti climax i believe Lizzie Borden was the convict of this crime, however i don't think she worked alone. As researched showed, it believed that Lizzie and her sister were victims of child abuse from her father, which would explain Lizzie's demeanour when her father died. She was cleared in court due to the lack of forensic evidence against her, with no blood stained clothes or fingerprints the case remained unsolved. However the sudden burning of one of her dresses and her demeanour towards the police certainly points towards her being the perpartraitor of the crime. I also believe that Bridget the house maid was involved in some way, as both herself and Lizzie ended up having an alibi for the events, if Lizzie cut a deal with the maid seeing that Lizzie should benefit from her parents' departure then the maid could have offered a false story, implying she heard no noises and she was "napping" upstairs.
That's my conclusion anyway, looking at all the evidence and circumstances at the time it is clear that Lizzie, although may not have committed the crime herself was the main instigator of the crime. She has motive, access and opportunity to commit the crime.
Who do you think committed the crime?
That's it for today!
See you next time!
S xoxo
