Among the fascinating murder cases in American history, one of them is the axe murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. This incident reportedly took place in Fall River, Massachusetts, on August 4, 1892. The prime suspect behind this horrific crime was Andrew and Abby’s then-32-year-old daughter, Lizzie Borden. Officials arrested her and put her on trial. However, due to lack of evidence, she was let go.
The news of the murder case spread like wildfire during the American Gilded Age. After getting acquitted, Lizzie and her elder sister, Emma, moved out of the Borden House. The alleged killer soon changed her name to Lizbeth A. Borden. The sisters moved into a new house in The Hill neighborhood in Fall River. However, their relationship reportedly turned sour in 1905, after which Emma moved out.
Lizzie died on June 1, 1927, at the age of 66. She was suffering from pneumonia.
Why was Lizzie Borden the prime suspect in the murder of her parents?
Andrew Borden, a wealthy businessman, was Lizzie’s biological father, while Abby was her stepmother. Lizzie was just a little girl when her mother died and her father remarried. According to Britannica, on August 4, 1892, at 11:15 a.m., Lizzie alleged that she discovered her father’s dead body. He had been struck on the head with a sharp object several times. Furthermore, her stepmother’s mutilated corpse was discovered in the room upstairs.
Soon after, Lizzie became the prime suspect in the murder of her parents after officials learned that a day prior to the murder (August 3, 1892), she had bought a poisonous substance named prussic acid. She was also alleged to have burnt a dress in a stove a few days before the murder. Even though no murder weapon was found at the crime scene, officials discovered a well-cleaned axe in the basement.
Lizzie Borden was arrested shortly after. However, her trial didn’t begin until June 5, 1893. As mentioned earlier, due to lack of evidence, she was soon acquitted of her charges.
