Another Year Has Come and Gone…
Well, today is August the 4th -- the
anniversary of the Lizzie Borden murders. And, still, after
one-hundred-twenty-one years, no one has been convicted of the murders. In
fact, aside from Lizzie Borden, no one has ever been arrested and charged with
the murders. And, she was acquitted.
Was she guilty? Was she framed? Or, was
she merely in the wrong place, at the wrong time? We may never know. Although,
there have been some tantalizing suggestions that the descendants of Miss
Borden's attorney have found files regarding the case; and they may (or may
not) release them in the future.
The facts of the case still remain.
On the morning of August 4th, 1892 the
quiet, residential neighborhood -- only a few hundred yards from busy,
commercial streets and the police station -- was shattered when the cry of
murder went up. The police focused quickly on the only other two people at home
at the time: Andrew Borden's youngest daughter, Lizzie; and the maid, Bridget
Sullivan.
The police (as so many others, after
them, have) contended that since they were the only two surviving people within
the house and yard -- and because of the house's rather peculiar layout, and
close proximity to the street -- that it had to be (in today's' vernacular) an
inside job. But, was it?
Throughout the years, authors and armchair
detectives have put forward numerous theories:
That Lizzie suffered from a rare form
of epilepsy that causes periods of 'brownouts', when the person might do things
they've been thinking about, or dreaming -- things they would never consider
doing when completely conscious. Which could explain Abby's death, but not
Andrew's -- since Lizzie was certainly completely in control when he arrived
home.
That Lizzie and Bridget were involved
in a lesbian relationship, and were caught in a compromising position by Abby,
Lizzie's stepmother, causing the two of them to kill Abby. And then they had no
choice but kill Andrew. Okay, except that Bridget was outside washing windows
when Abby was murdered. Andrew was seen arriving home about 10:40, and was dead
by 11:00. And both women were completely free of blood, or even evidence they'd
washed.
One story insists that the murders were
committed by Lizzie's ill-legitimate half-brother, William. And, that while she
didn't expect him to murder anyone, she did help arrange for him to meet with
his father about securing some sort of inheritance. Again,
I could see this…until
they keep talking. This person says that the father and son argued, that
William (who apparently always carried a hatchet with him in a bag AND spoke to
it) killed his father, and when Abby heard them, he chased her upstairs -- cornering
and killing her in the guest bedroom.
The trouble with this theory is that
EVERYONE who saw the bodies stated that the blood around Abby's body was thick,
dark and had begun to separate; while Andrew's blood was bright red and still
dripping. Even without the report of the couple's stomach contents -- which
completely supported the fact that Abby had been murdered an hour to an hour
and a half BEFORE Andrew -- it makes no sense. It might have been the very dawn
of forensics, but you still can't argue with science.
Although Lizzie was imprisoned for
nearly a year, tried and acquitted, she suffered for the rest of her life. She
was elated at the end of the trial, only to learn that there was a great
difference between being found not guilty and innocent.
So why was she acquitted? Was it
because the jury (all men) didn't believe she did it -- because she was a
God-fearing woman? Or, could it have been that these twelve Victorian men just
couldn't wrap their heads around the idea of a mere woman carrying out -- with
or without help -- such a brutal murder?
What do you think?