1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: No doubt you've heard of Lizzie Borton. She of course 2 00:00:02,640 --> 00:00:05,600 Speaker 1: was a very proper New England heiress who in eighteen 3 00:00:05,680 --> 00:00:09,440 Speaker 1: ninety two allegedly hacked her father and stepmother to death 4 00:00:09,480 --> 00:00:12,920 Speaker 1: with an axe and then was acquitted and a hugely 5 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:16,760 Speaker 1: publicized but very speedy trial. But did she do it? 6 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:20,320 Speaker 1: If so, what motivated her and why was she acquitted? 7 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:24,200 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The post trial life of Lizzie bordon 8 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: after those infamous forty wax has been compared to Oj 9 00:00:28,320 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: Simpson's life after his acquittal. That's next on the backstory. 10 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:39,360 Speaker 1: We're back with the backstory. Lizzie Borden was born on 11 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:43,640 Speaker 1: July nineteenth, eighteen sixty to Andrew and Sarah Borden. Her 12 00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: dad had grown up in a family that was historically wealthy, 13 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: but he was part of a family branch that didn't 14 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:52,160 Speaker 1: have much money, and that could explain a whole lot 15 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:55,280 Speaker 1: more about the story than you might think. Andrew Borden 16 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,640 Speaker 1: worked really hard to grow his wealth. He started a 17 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:02,120 Speaker 1: casket company, which was successful. He went on to become 18 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,880 Speaker 1: the president of a major bank in his hometown of 19 00:01:04,920 --> 00:01:08,360 Speaker 1: Fall River, Massachusetts. He bought a lot of property and 20 00:01:08,400 --> 00:01:12,120 Speaker 1: he was the director of three major cloth mills. Problem is, 21 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,200 Speaker 1: he was always afraid of losing his money, and that 22 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:19,080 Speaker 1: impacted the family's lifestyle. When Lizzie was two years old 23 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:22,480 Speaker 1: and her sister Emma was twelve, their mother died. It 24 00:01:22,560 --> 00:01:26,240 Speaker 1: was March twenty sixth, eighteen sixty three, and pretty quickly 25 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:29,399 Speaker 1: Andrew decided he needed a wife and his girls needed 26 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:33,520 Speaker 1: a mother. Enter Abby Gray. She was thirty seven years old, 27 00:01:33,720 --> 00:01:35,920 Speaker 1: considered to be an old maid by the time she 28 00:01:35,959 --> 00:01:38,440 Speaker 1: and Andrew got married, but it was a marriage that got 29 00:01:38,520 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: them both what they wanted. She got respect and social 30 00:01:42,040 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: status and money, and he got a housekeeper and someone 31 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: to raise his daughters. It wasn't the perfect life. Despite 32 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,920 Speaker 1: all his money, Andrew had never given them a home 33 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:55,440 Speaker 1: that matched their social status. He bought a two family house, 34 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:58,320 Speaker 1: which he converted into a one family, but it was 35 00:01:58,320 --> 00:02:01,559 Speaker 1: in a more working class part of town near factories, 36 00:02:01,600 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: which was unusual for a family that today would be millionaires. 37 00:02:05,640 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: When he redid the house, he refused to put in electricity, 38 00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,400 Speaker 1: running water, or even bathrooms. Meantime, Lizzie and Emma never 39 00:02:13,520 --> 00:02:17,079 Speaker 1: married and were embarrassed to bring friends and potential boyfriends 40 00:02:17,120 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: to their home. Friend say Lizzie was in a difficult spot. 41 00:02:20,960 --> 00:02:24,799 Speaker 1: Although she was very involved in her church and charitable activities, 42 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:28,800 Speaker 1: she wasn't particularly pretty and she had a difficult home life. 43 00:02:29,040 --> 00:02:32,560 Speaker 1: She couldn't match up with guys beneath her in social status, 44 00:02:32,840 --> 00:02:36,040 Speaker 1: but guys who did match your status weren't interested in 45 00:02:36,080 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: an unattractive young woman who lived in a sketchier part 46 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:42,480 Speaker 1: of town. There were a few young guys interested in her, 47 00:02:42,520 --> 00:02:46,160 Speaker 1: but her dad considered them inferior and would chase them off, 48 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:49,640 Speaker 1: claiming they were just fortune hunters. On top of that, 49 00:02:49,720 --> 00:02:53,600 Speaker 1: the relationship between Lizzie and her stepmother Abby was less 50 00:02:53,600 --> 00:02:56,400 Speaker 1: than warm. She was convinced that Abby had married her 51 00:02:56,480 --> 00:02:59,840 Speaker 1: dad for his money. By the time she turned thirty two, 52 00:03:00,080 --> 00:03:02,800 Speaker 1: Lizzie was more and more frustrated with her lot in life. 53 00:03:03,360 --> 00:03:06,320 Speaker 1: There was tension with her stepmother and arguments with her 54 00:03:06,360 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: father over money. He'd apparently decided to give some money 55 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,560 Speaker 1: and real estate to Abby's family, which upset both Lizzie 56 00:03:13,600 --> 00:03:17,359 Speaker 1: and Emma. Plus, her dad infuriated Lizzie by using an 57 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,320 Speaker 1: axe to kill some pigeons she'd been caring for in 58 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:24,200 Speaker 1: the family's barn. That was the spring of eighteen ninety two. 59 00:03:24,520 --> 00:03:26,960 Speaker 1: Then in July of that year, the sisters had a 60 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:30,639 Speaker 1: really intense argument with their parents. They decided to leave 61 00:03:30,680 --> 00:03:34,200 Speaker 1: town for a short vacation. When they came home, Lizzie 62 00:03:34,240 --> 00:03:36,920 Speaker 1: opted to stay in a boarding house for several days. 63 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:40,400 Speaker 1: Now it's the morning of August fourth, eighteen ninety two, 64 00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:44,240 Speaker 1: Emma is once again out of town, and Lizzie claims 65 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: she was in the barn that morning. When she came 66 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:49,760 Speaker 1: back into the house, she found Andrew and Abbey. They'd 67 00:03:49,760 --> 00:03:52,920 Speaker 1: been hacked to death. Abby's head had been split open. 68 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,760 Speaker 1: She had been struck eighteen times with an axe. Abby 69 00:03:56,880 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: was found in the guest room, while Andrew was killed 70 00:03:59,320 --> 00:04:02,119 Speaker 1: on the sitting room couch, his head and face, they say, 71 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,400 Speaker 1: nearly destroyed by multiple blows from the same hatchet. Who 72 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,920 Speaker 1: could have done this? Lizzie was the primary suspect since 73 00:04:09,960 --> 00:04:13,160 Speaker 1: the story she told the cops had a lot of inconsistencies, 74 00:04:13,520 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: plus there had been no forced entry into the house, 75 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: but the live in housekeeper insisted she hadn't heard anything 76 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:22,320 Speaker 1: and she believed that Lizzie was in the barn during 77 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:25,800 Speaker 1: the morning. During the trial, there was testimony that Lizzie 78 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:28,880 Speaker 1: had tried to buy cyanide the day before the murders, 79 00:04:28,920 --> 00:04:32,560 Speaker 1: allegedly to clean something. There was also some brief talk 80 00:04:32,600 --> 00:04:36,000 Speaker 1: that perhaps she'd been sexually abused by her father, But 81 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:40,320 Speaker 1: throughout the case, Lizzie stayed totally calm, except when the 82 00:04:40,400 --> 00:04:43,599 Speaker 1: cracked skulls of Andrew and Abbey were brought into the 83 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: courtroom as evidence for the jury to see. Newspapers just 84 00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:52,400 Speaker 1: like today, were all over this story, talking about the contradictions. 85 00:04:52,640 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: The upright church lady accused of a horrific, bloody crime. 86 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: The public loved it, and within days the case was 87 00:05:00,279 --> 00:05:05,360 Speaker 1: national obsession. Fall River's quiet little streets filled with reporters, 88 00:05:05,400 --> 00:05:08,800 Speaker 1: sketch artists, and folks who were just curious. But in 89 00:05:08,839 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: the end, the lack of definitive forensic evidence for one thing, 90 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,960 Speaker 1: the murder weapon was never confirmed, led to her acquittal. 91 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,599 Speaker 1: As she left the courtrooms, he told the press, I'm 92 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:23,160 Speaker 1: the happiest woman in the world. Lizzie was thirty two 93 00:05:23,320 --> 00:05:26,640 Speaker 1: years old when the murders occurred. She inherited a huge 94 00:05:26,680 --> 00:05:29,720 Speaker 1: amount of money when she was found not guilty. Pretty 95 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,520 Speaker 1: soon she fell into a sketchy circle of friends, partiers, 96 00:05:33,560 --> 00:05:37,920 Speaker 1: theater people, bohemian artist types. She and her sister bought 97 00:05:37,920 --> 00:05:41,280 Speaker 1: a fancy new house with all the amenities they always wanted, 98 00:05:41,320 --> 00:05:45,240 Speaker 1: including live in maids and cooks. She was quickly spending 99 00:05:45,279 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: her newfound wealth. At one point she was suspected of 100 00:05:48,800 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: taking on a well known actress as a lesbian lover, 101 00:05:51,920 --> 00:05:54,760 Speaker 1: which was the last straw forer Emma, who moved out 102 00:05:54,920 --> 00:05:58,880 Speaker 1: and never spoke to her sister again. Finally, Lizzie just 103 00:05:58,920 --> 00:06:02,520 Speaker 1: couldn't escape hermous name. She had chosen not to leave 104 00:06:02,560 --> 00:06:06,080 Speaker 1: Fall River, even though it meant she was constantly under suspicion. 105 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:10,240 Speaker 1: Lizzie died in nineteen twenty seven. She was sixty six 106 00:06:10,400 --> 00:06:13,920 Speaker 1: years old. She planned her own funeral weirdly. She left 107 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: a list of the people she wanted to be invited, 108 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:19,720 Speaker 1: but when they arrived, they were told the funeral had 109 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:22,640 Speaker 1: taken place the night before. That was the way she 110 00:06:22,680 --> 00:06:26,240 Speaker 1: wanted it. She left her fortune to friends and family 111 00:06:26,320 --> 00:06:29,640 Speaker 1: and to causes she loved animals. She was buried with 112 00:06:29,720 --> 00:06:32,400 Speaker 1: the rest of her family at Oak Grove Cemetery in 113 00:06:32,520 --> 00:06:36,239 Speaker 1: Fall River. Her sister Emma died just nine days later 114 00:06:36,520 --> 00:06:39,839 Speaker 1: after falling and breaking her hip. The case has been 115 00:06:39,880 --> 00:06:43,160 Speaker 1: compared to the O j. Simpson murder trial that happened 116 00:06:43,480 --> 00:06:48,320 Speaker 1: one hundred years after Lizzie's trial. An upstanding citizen suspected 117 00:06:48,360 --> 00:06:52,240 Speaker 1: of a terrible, bloody crime who rightly or wrongly, is 118 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:56,400 Speaker 1: found not guilty, but afterwards lives a life as an 119 00:06:56,440 --> 00:07:01,839 Speaker 1: ostracized outsider. So the question is Lizzie Borden guilty? Did 120 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:03,799 Speaker 1: she get away with it because she was a church 121 00:07:03,839 --> 00:07:07,440 Speaker 1: going society girl or did someone else wield the acts. 122 00:07:08,160 --> 00:07:11,680 Speaker 1: Either way, it seems the real killer got away with murder. 123 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:15,360 Speaker 1: Hope you're enjoying the Backstory with Patty Steele. Please leave 124 00:07:15,400 --> 00:07:18,520 Speaker 1: a review and follow or subscribe for free to get 125 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:22,120 Speaker 1: new episodes delivered automatically. Also feel free to dm me 126 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:23,680 Speaker 1: if you have a story you'd like me to cover. 127 00:07:23,840 --> 00:07:28,160 Speaker 1: On Facebook, It's Patty Steele and on Instagram Real Patty Steele. 128 00:07:34,560 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: I'm Patty Steele. The Backstory is a production of iHeartMedia, 129 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: Premiere Networks, the Elvis Durand Group, and Steel Trap Productions. 130 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:46,320 Speaker 1: Our producer is Doug Fraser. Our writer Jake Kushner. We 131 00:07:46,400 --> 00:07:49,800 Speaker 1: have new episodes every Tuesday and Friday. Feel free to 132 00:07:49,880 --> 00:07:52,840 Speaker 1: reach out to me with comments and even story suggestions 133 00:07:52,920 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: on Instagram at real Patty Steele and on Facebook at 134 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,920 Speaker 1: Patty Steele. Thanks for listening to the backstory with Patty Steele, 135 00:08:00,280 --> 00:08:03,400 Speaker 1: the pieces of history you didn't know you needed to know.