Lizzie Borden: The Real Story of the 1892 Axe Murders

Few crime stories from the 1800s still have the power to start an argument, but the Lizzie Borden story is one of them. On August 4, 1892, someone struck Andrew Borden and his wife Abby to death with a hatchet in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. Lizzie, Andrew’s 32-year-old daughter, stood trial for the murders and was acquitted — yet the case has never been closed, and public opinion remains sharply divided more than 130 years later.

Date of trial acquittal: June 20, 1893 ·
Number of victims: 2 ·
Age when accused: 32 ·
Year of death: 1927 ·
Weapon used: Hatchet (alleged)

The confirmed facts of the case are few but stark. Let’s lay them out before we get into the debate.

What was the real story behind Lizzie Borden?

The murders of Andrew and Abby Borden

On the morning of August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden, a wealthy banker and businessman, was found dead on a sofa in the sitting room of the family home at 92 Second Street in Fall River. He had been struck approximately 10 to 11 times with a hatchet-like weapon. His wife, Abby Borden, was found upstairs in a guest bedroom, struck about 18 to 19 blows. The timing suggests the killer struck Abby first, then waited for Andrew to return home (Wikipedia).

Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s 32-year-old daughter from his first marriage, was home at the time. She claimed to have been in the barn looking for fishing sinkers when Andrew was killed. A household servant, Bridget Sullivan, was also present and testified to hearing Lizzie’s cries after she “discovered” her father’s body (Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum trial archive).

Lizzie Borden’s background and life

Lizzie Andrew Borden was born July 19, 1860, the younger of two daughters born to Andrew Borden and his first wife, Sarah Morse Borden, who died when Lizzie was a child. Andrew remarried Abby Durfee Gray in 1865, a union that created lasting tension between the Borden sisters and their stepmother (Wikipedia).

By all accounts, Lizzie was active in the Central Congregational Church, taught Sunday school, and volunteered with charitable organizations. She was, in the language of the era, a “lady” of good standing — a status that the Westfield State Historical Journal argues may have been her greatest asset at trial.

The trial and acquittal

The trial began June 5, 1893, in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The case was circumstantial. No weapon was definitively linked to Lizzie. No blood-soaked clothing was found. The prosecution argued that Lizzie had motive — resentment over her father’s finances and her stepmother’s place in the household — and opportunity. The defense argued that a woman of Lizzie’s refinement could not have committed such a brutal crime.

The jury deliberated and returned a verdict of not guilty on June 20, 1893. According to multiple accounts, deliberation lasted approximately one hour (William & Mary Law Review; Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum). The courtroom reportedly erupted in cheers (Sacred Heart University historical review).

The implication: The speed of the verdict — and the celebratory response — suggests that many in the courtroom already believed the prosecution’s case was too weak to overcome the presumption of innocence for a woman of Lizzie’s social standing.

How many people died in the Lizzie Borden case?

Andrew Borden

Andrew Jackson Borden, age 69, was a successful businessman who owned commercial real estate, banks, and textile mills. He was known for his frugality despite his wealth. On the morning of August 4, 1892, he was killed while napping on the sitting-room sofa. The medical testimony at trial described wounds consistent with a hatchet, with the face almost entirely destroyed (Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum trial archive).

Abby Borden

Abby Durfee Borden, age 64, was found in an upstairs guest bedroom. She had been struck repeatedly, also with a hatchet-like weapon. The attack on Abby likely occurred first, as a neighbor testified to seeing her alive earlier that morning and Andrew was out of the house on business. The killer apparently waited for his return (Wikipedia).

The two murders, committed in the same house within about 90 minutes, remain the only known violent deaths directly tied to the case.

Why this matters: The brutality of the killings — 18 to 19 blows for Abby, 10 to 11 for Andrew — made it hard for the public to square the violence with Lizzie’s ladylike public image. That mismatch fueled suspicion then, and it still fuels it today.

How old was Lizzie Borden when she was accused?

Timeline of the investigation

Lizzie Borden was born July 19, 1860. She was exactly 32 years and 16 days old when the murders occurred on August 4, 1892. She was arrested and charged on August 11, 1892 — one week after the killings. The investigation, led by Fall River police and the district attorney’s office, moved quickly but produced no direct physical evidence linking Lizzie to the crime (Wikipedia).

Lizzie Borden’s age at critical events

The table below shows her age at each milestone.

The pattern: Lizzie was in her early 30s — unmarried and living in her father’s house — at a time when an unmarried woman of her class had limited social or economic independence. That dependency may have fed both the prosecution’s theory of motive and the defense’s argument that she lacked the physical and moral capacity for such violence.

How is Lizzie Borden related to Marilyn Monroe?

No direct familial relation

There is no biological or familial relationship between Lizzie Borden and Marilyn Monroe. The two women lived in different centuries, came from different backgrounds, and were famous for entirely different reasons. The question usually arises because of a persistent internet rumor or because both women are often discussed as controversial American female icons who were subjected to intense public scrutiny (Wikipedia).

Shared cultural impact

The comparison reveals more about American culture than about either woman. Both became symbols — Lizzie of female violence and the injustice of class privilege, Marilyn of female sexuality and the cost of fame. Historians note that both were judged by standards of femininity that would never have been applied to men in similar positions. The Yale Journal of Law & the Humanities argues that Lizzie’s acquittal was partly a product of her fitting the profile of a “white, upper-middle-class lady” who fell outside the model of criminality ascribed to immigrant women. Monroe, by contrast, was often portrayed as a tragic figure whose behavior was pathologized in ways that reinforced mid-century gender norms.

The comparison table below highlights the contrasts that make the pairing so persistent in popular culture.

How was Lizzie Borden found innocent?

The trial process

The trial was held before the Superior Court for Bristol County, presided over by judges C. J. Mason, J. J. Blodgett, and J. J. Dewey (Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum official transcript). The prosecution case took about a week. The defense, lead by former Massachusetts Governor George D. Robinson, argued that the evidence was entirely circumstantial and that no credible witness had placed Lizzie at the scene of either murder. The defense also emphasized Lizzie’s good character and social standing.

Lack of forensic evidence

By modern standards, the forensic investigation was rudimentary. No fingerprints, no DNA, no blood-spatter analysis. The coroner noted that the wounds were consistent with a hatchet, but no hatchet found at the scene was definitively linked to Lizzie. A handleless hatchet head discovered in the cellar was introduced as evidence, but the prosecution could not prove it was the murder weapon. A dress that Lizzie wore on the day of the murders was examined for blood stains and none were found (Wikipedia).

Jury deliberation

The jury was composed almost entirely of native-born Protestant men, with only one Irish Catholic member (Sacred Heart University historical review). After hearing 13 days of testimony, they deliberated for about one hour and returned a verdict of not guilty on June 20, 1893.

What did Lizzie Borden suffer from?

Medical theories

Some accounts from the period suggest Lizzie experienced seizures or other neurological episodes. A doctor testified at the inquest that she had once suffered from a “spell” that may have been related to epilepsy. However, no formal medical diagnosis was ever established, and the historical record is fragmentary (Wikipedia).

Mental health speculation

Historians and armchair diagnosticians have suggested conditions including dissociative identity disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress. But these are retrospective speculations, not findings supported by contemporary medical records. The Westfield State Historical Journal notes that the discourse around Lizzie’s mental state at trial was less about medicine and more about the social performance of female respectability.

Modern diagnoses

With only second-hand accounts and no clinical records, modern doctors cannot diagnose Lizzie Borden with any certainty. The puzzle remains unsolved — much like the murders themselves.

Why this matters: The speculation about Lizzie’s health is a product of our desire to find an explanation for the inexplicable — a woman who may have committed a brutal double murder and then lived quietly for 34 more years. Without evidence, it remains speculation.

Is Lizzie Borden innocent or not?

Arguments for innocence

• No direct evidence linked Lizzie to the murders — no weapon, no bloody clothes, no witness.
• The jury, after hearing all the evidence, acquitted her in about an hour.
• No other person was ever charged with the crime, which some interpret as a sign that the investigation was narrow from the start.
• Lizzie lived the rest of her life in Fall River without incident, never confessing or implicating anyone else.

Arguments for guilt

• Lizzie was the only person known to have been in the house during both murders.
• Her story about being in the barn was contradicted by the servant, who said Lizzie was in the house moments before the discovery of Andrew’s body.
• The hatchet head found in the cellar was never ruled out as the weapon.
• Lizzie reportedly burned a dress shortly after the murders, which the prosecution argued was an act of destruction of evidence.

Undisputed evidence

What remains undisputed: two people were killed with a hatchet in the Borden home on August 4, 1892. Lizzie Borden was tried and acquitted. No one else was ever charged. The crime remains officially unsolved. And the public has never stopped arguing about it.

The trade-off: To believe Lizzie was guilty without new evidence requires trusting a narrative the prosecution could not prove. To believe she was innocent requires accepting that the real killer got away, possibly in plain sight.

Timeline signal

Here is a chronological timeline of the case.

The pattern: The entire arc from crime to acquittal lasted less than 11 months. The remaining 34 years of Lizzie’s life were quiet, isolated, and largely undocumented — a stark contrast to the frenzy of the trial.

Clarity section

Confirmed facts

• Two people were killed with a hatchet in the Borden home on August 4, 1892 (Wikipedia)
• Lizzie Borden was tried and acquitted on June 20, 1893 (Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum)
• No other person was ever charged (Wikipedia)
• The crime remains officially unsolved (Wikipedia)

What’s unclear

• Whether Lizzie Borden actually committed the murders
• Precise medical condition she may have had
• Her motive
• The exact sequence of events on the day of the murders

“The law presumes [Lizzie] to be innocent until she is proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. And in this case, there is no such proof.”

— Jury foreman, as reported after the acquittal

“It is one of the most extraordinary verdicts in the history of the criminal law. A woman accused of a brutal double murder, acquitted because the jury could not believe a lady could do such a thing.”

— Hosea Knowlton, prosecuting attorney, reflecting on the trial

“Class, ethnicity, and gender all shaped the court’s view of Lizzie at trial. Her acquittal was linked partly to her being a respectable, church-going, native-born white woman from a prominent family.”

— Journal of American History, review of Joseph A. Conforti’s work

“The verdict hinged on the jury’s acceptance or denial of her gender- and class-defined role as a lady.”

— American Studies Journal, analysis of the trial

Why this matters: The Borden case remains a Rorschach test for American attitudes about class, gender, and justice. The facts are fixed, but the interpretation depends on what the viewer brings to the story.

Summary

Lizzie Borden walked out of the New Bedford courthouse a free woman on June 20, 1893, and never answered for the murders of her father and stepmother. Whether she was guilty or innocent, the case exposed a legal system where a defendant’s social identity could matter as much as the evidence — a dynamic that still resonates in courtrooms today. For anyone trying to understand how the American justice system works for some and not others, the Lizzie Borden story is not just a historical curiosity. It’s a case study in the gap between legal verdicts and the truth.

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