"Lizzie Bordon took an axe; and gave her mother forty whacks..." begins the now familiar gruesom lyric that details the cirumstance of a familial murder that occured 122 years ago today, when Andrew Borden and his wife Abby were brutally murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts, home. The prime suspect? Mr. Borden's doe-eyed 32-year-old daughter, Lizzie, who stood to inherent her parent's small fortune. "Miss Lizzie's" life, as well as her subsequent trial for the murders was one of the most eagerly followed court events in American history, and it continues to fascinate history and mystery buffs – and even ghost hunters – to today.
On August 4, 1892, Abby Borden was killed in her upstairs bedroom while Andrew was killed as he napped in the living room a short time later, reported The Fall River Herald, a newspaper at the time of the murders. According to the newspaper, the couple died from blows to the head from an axe and were bludgeoned beyond recognition.
According to the The Fall River Herald, during questioning, Lizzie told police she was outside working in the family's barn before coming inside and finding the lifeless bodies of her father and step-mother. The family's maid, Bridgette Sullivan, had told police she was washing windows upstairs when she heard Lizzie scream. No one was seen entering or leaving the house. The New York Herald reported nothing from the home was stolen during the time of the murders, which, if the murderer was a stranger, was surprising since the Borden's were wealthy.
While questioning, Lizzie was said to be detached and stated Mrs. Borden was not her mother, only her step-mother. And on August 7, Emma, Lizzie's older sister, saw Lizzie burning one of her dresses. Even The New York Herald reported "...there are ascertained facts with which Miss Lizzie's story does not fit."
Two weeks after the murders, Lizzie was arrested and charged with her parents' murders. But on June 20, 1893, Lizzie Borden was acquitted of murder and resumed her normal life, though rumors about her guilt continued to haunt her until her death at age 66 on June 1, 1927.
Now, 120 years later, the mystery of who killed the Bordens remains unanswered. Some theorists believe Lizzie's uncle committed the crimes; others say Lizzie got revenge on her abusive father.
To commemorate the anniversary of the murders, employees of The Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast – the grizzly murder scene that is now a popular inn – is reenacting the crimes to help visitors decide for themsleves just who murdered Andrew and Abby on that fateful hot August afternoon.
