The name Lizzie Borden was once known almost all over the world, and not at all in the way it was customary to talk about women at the end of the 19th century. Her name was associated with one of the bloodiest criminal cases that are only on the unsolved list in the United States. Even now, it is not known for certain whether Elizabeth was the murderer of her stepmother and father, or whether she became an innocent victim, but, despite the huge amount of evidence, the court completely acquitted her. This article will talk about what led to the emergence of the legend of Lizzie Borden, and what kind of impact it had on the world.
The beginning of the story
Nursery rhymes, clumsy lines of ridicule accompanied Lizzie Borden throughout the rest of her life. She was completely acquitted by the jury and the judge, but the rumor of the people itself pronounced her sentence. People continued to consider her the killer of people who interfered with her life, since the official criminal was never identified. But what happened immediately before the murder?
Lizzy Borden's biography begins in a small Massachusetts town in the USA called Fall River. She was born in 1860year, and just a couple of years later, the mother died, leaving her daughter in the care of her father. Unfortunately, Andrew Borden, who longed for a son, had a negative attitude towards his daughter, who was born, moreover, some time after the death of his wife, he married a grumpy woman, Abby Darfi Gray, who only aggravated the situation between them more.
Unhappy childhood
It is known that Lizzy Borden's childhood was not distinguished by happiness. Her father, despite the fact that he was a fairly rich man, was distinguished by incredible stinginess. He did not want to spend money on anything, not even on his children. The house of Lizzie Borden, in which the murder later took place, was already old and neglected even during her childhood, and her father did not even think of updating it. The stepmother, a mercenary woman who married only because of her future husband's money, was disgusting with her children, both Lizzy and her older sister Emma.
All this led to the fact that the girl moved away from her family. She began to go to church often and was quite melancholic and dreamy. It is worth remembering that this was the 19th century, when women had practically no rights, and therefore she had to endure such an environment of utter poverty and misery for 32 years.
Previous events
Shortly before the crime, Lizzie's father is believed to have given part of his fortune to his wife's sister. It is not known for certain what prompted this stingy man to take such a chance, but this incredibly angered his daughter, who did not get a penny. She penetrated intoAbby's room and took some jewelry, which she blamed on the thieves. However, Mr. Borden quickly realized that it was his daughter who was the thief.
Besides this, 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 rather inadequately. For some reason, he thought that the man was attracted by Lizzy's pigeons, and therefore he took an ax and cut off their heads.
Morning August 4, 1892
It was on this day that everything changed in Lizzie's life. It was a sultry and hot summer, and therefore Sister Emma decided to leave with friends to enjoy nature. Elisabeth herself stayed at home because she was not feeling well after a previous food poisoning. In addition, the situation in the family was tense again.
It seemed to be a normal morning. Mr. Borden himself was away on business, Lizzie's uncle, 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, with the help of Bridget's maid. Nothing in the house foreshadowed the tragedy.
Death
It was Lizzie Borden's stepmother who was killed first. It is believed that this happened around 9:30, when a woman was washing the steps of the stairs. She died instantly, from the very first blow to the skull with an ax, but after that she received 19 more blows.
The house was quiet for a while. Only when a tired Mr. Borden returned home at 11 o'clock did the second chapter of the story begin. He was met by his daughter, who escorted her father into the living room to relax, andshe went to the kitchen. There, she had a little gossip with the maid, and then returned back. About ten minutes after the two 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 without even letting her into the room.
Following events
Soon Dr. Bowen appeared in the house and examined the body of Lizzie's father. It was established that he had received ten blows with an axe, which simply chopped up the body of the unfortunate man. The whole room was completely covered in blood.
All this attracted neighbors to the house, who decided to calm Elizabeth down. But she clearly didn't need it. As they say, she was completely calm and indifferent, which shocked her neighbors. In addition, when asked where her stepmother was, Lizzie replied that she seemed to have gone to visit someone, but had already returned. Soon the body of Mrs. Borden was found in a bloody pool.
Building a Case
The Lizzie Borden case was incredibly sensational at the time. However, she was not the first to fall under suspicion. At first, the police tried to expose the woman's uncle, John Morse, as the culprit, who behaved strangely at the time when he approached the house. Instead of entering through the front door as usual, he bypassed it and entered 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, andtherefore, by elimination, it was Lizzie who soon became the only suspect. In addition, she was constantly confused in her testimony, which could not be confirmed by anything. She invented enemies for her father who attempted on his life, as well as non-existent events. In addition, it was found that the day before the murder she had purchased 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 case was not avoided by any newspaper at the time, because it was quite resonant - the old maid killed the tyrant father and the hated stepmother. Lizzie Borden's ax became famous because it was the woman who was credited with committing the murder. No one believed in her innocence, so Elizabeth was soon taken in for questioning.
At this time, a preliminary investigation began. At that time, Lizzie was still listed in the case as a witness. She added significantly to her previous testimony by trying to show how she had not noticed her stepmother's body on the steps of the stairs as she had been told earlier. She allegedly remembered that she did not go upstairs, but was in the kitchen. Despite this statement, the police filed charges against her.
However, if the media was in favor of finding the woman guilty, then the provincial residents of the United States were on her side. In their opinion, the quiet Sunday school teacher should not even have been a possible candidate for the role of the accused, let alone become the defendant. So inthe country was dominated by the opinion of her innocence.
Acquittal
Much of Lizzy Borden's win can be attributed to her lawyer. They were George Robinson, former governor of the state. This case began at the time when he was in office, and it was he who appointed one of the judges in the case. That is to say, Robinson could have manipulated the independence of the investigation. At his suggestion, the court completely dismissed the testimony that Lizzie bought poisons at a pharmacy, so that it was not mentioned at all - thus, a whole group of evidence simply was not accepted for consideration.
The process in the case was long - for 10 days the hearings were held. Robinson simply smashed the prosecution, besides, Lizzie herself, with her frequent fainting spells in the dock, aroused pity among the jurors. "Does she look like a villain?" said Robinson in his closing speech, saying that one can only accuse such a woman if one believes that she is a villain. The jury did not see this in her, and therefore delivered a verdict of not guilty. She left the courtroom not only free, but rich.
Influence on popular culture
In 2014, the film "Lizzy Borden took an ax" was released, which tells the story of this woman. She lived in Fall River until her death in 1927, listening to accusatory rhymes in her direction. The police still believed that the court had acquitted the murderer, and therefore they no longer returned to this case. Besides, the killer with the ax did not reappear. Evennow that 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.
