The Trial of Lizzie Borden

Lizzie Borden was a woman accused of murdering her father and stepmother on August 4, 1892 in Fall River, Massachusetts. The circumstances were unprecedented for the time, and the trial, becoming known as the “Trial of the Century,” spawned a media frenzy that was a national sensation. I think the name ‘Lizzie Borden’ is still familiar to Americans today, and perhaps to those in other parts of the world as well who are interested in unsolved crimes.

The Trial of Lizzie Borden, 2019, by Cara Robertson, is my choice for the topic True Crime for the 2024 Nonfiction Reader Challenge.

The two victims, Andrew Borden and his second wife Abby, were hacked to death with an axe or hatchet, causing multiple blows to their skull and neck. In total, there were 29 wounds. Andrew’s face was unrecognizable, being described by a police officer as “a mass of raw meat.” It was determined that Abby was killed first, and Andrew about an hour later. That made it unlikely that the murderer was an intruder.

At the time of the murders, there were only two people in the house: Lizzie and the housemaid Bridget Sullivan. For various reasons, the police eliminated Bridget as a suspect, and were left with only Lizzie.

But there were many problems with considering Lizzie as an axe murderer. First of all, the Bordens were well-to-do, upstanding members of the community. Lizzie was a “lady,” who attended church services regularly and did charitable works. And, of course, she was a woman. How could a well-bred woman commit such a bloody, brutal murder – and of her own father?

In addition, no blood had been found on her or her clothing, and the motive ascribed to her seemed rather weak. (She was angry with her father for giving a member of Abby’s family a piece of his extensive property a few years before.)

And yet, she gave contradictory accounts of what she had been doing prior to and during the murders, and – most damning of all – she didn’t behave the way spectators believed a woman in this circumstance should behave. She was calm, quiet, and didn’t cry or faint after the murders or during the entire trial.

It’s not a spoiler alert to say that Lizzie Borden was acquitted. However, if there were no intruders and the two women at home didn’t commit the murders, then who did? That’s the question that remains to this day. And, to this day, people are divided about whether Lizzie really did commit the crime. The case has generated many ideas to either suggest a different suspect or to explain how Lizzie could have done it.

In the book, Cara Robertson focuses only on the trial itself. The first two chapters give the background of the Borden family and the people involved, as well as an overview of the crime itself – supporting the information with accounts from contemporary police and newspaper reports. Also included is an overview of Lizzie’s life after the trial – remaining in Fall River but being shunned by the residents. She never spoke or wrote about the trial or her experience.

Throughout the book, Robertson uses information and direct quotes from the trial record, newspaper articles, and police notes. She gives insight into aspects that were specific to the time, which helps to give a full and clear report of the entire case. But she does not express her opinion about whether Lizzie was guilty or not. That might be frustrating to many readers, but with the facts presented so thoroughly, they can make up their own minds about the verdict – or be left wavering between the two options (which is what I’ve been doing!).

Either option just doesn’t seem possible.