"Lizzie Borden Took an Axe" | Full Episode | Forensic Files

foreign [Music] it's an amazing story it really is it's a story of one very unhappy family in a
house it is a morning like so many other Mornings in a small town in New England
a father a stepmother living with his two adult daughters lizzy32 and Emma 41. Lizzie was seen by the next door
neighbor and the neighbor asked what's the matter and she announces that her father has been killed
law enforcement Personnel arrived and found a gruesome murder two bodies a lot of blood there is a husband downstairs
ten wounds to his head and almost half of his face is obliterated and just on the second floor was his wife
she was face down with a tremendous amount of injury to the back of her head it seems like the most likely murder
weapon was a hatchet with a three and a half inch blade when someone is struck multiple times with a hatchet to the
Head that's personal [Music] you know one of the most fascinating parts of this case is that except for
around the bodies there's no blood found anywhere you would think that whoever was the perpetrator would be covered
with blood blood spatter nothing suspicion turned to the people in the house and the only people in the house
are his daughter and their housekeeper it was so shocking for the police to come to the conclusion
that the daughter had killed her father and stepmother you would have to believe
that this sweet seemingly harmless woman did this horrific thing women are as capable as men not only for the good but
for the bad as well [Music] on August the 4th 1892 Andrew and Abby Borden were hacked to
death in their Fall River Massachusetts home [Music] every generation has that one really
terrible case that we don't have any answers to there is only one plausible explanation
you believe killed Andrew and Abby Borden Lizzy Lizzie's responsible for these murders
it was Lizzie Borden who intended to murder and did murder Abby and Andrew Borden it was not until I read about
this case that I learned that I was wrong and all of us are wrong Lizzie Borden was acquitted so no one
has ever been held accountable for the crime but if not her then who this is somebody who may have
quite literally gotten away with murder [Music] she gave her a father 41. [Music]
foreign [Music] the crimes were so violent that many thought that Jack the Ripper
had come to America it was an unspeakable crime a double homicide that captured the attention of
the entire nation tonight on a special 48 hours we're taking a fresh look at a Cold Case a really cold case it occurred
in 1892 and we're presenting it to a new jury to see if they can separate fact from Fable the defendant was a 32 year
old daughter of the victims her name Lizzie Borden I began studying Lizzie Borden When I
Was An undergraduate Los Angeles author Cara Robertson has been living with Lizzie Borden for a long time I was
interested in trying to find a topic for my college thesis 30 years later her thesis became this a remarkably detailed
look at the accusations against Lizzie Borden and her high-profile trial published by Simon and Schuster
fundamentally the case was about whether or not someone like Lizzie Borden could
have committed these brutal crimes and in 1893 a jury of 12 men agreed she couldn't returning a unanimous verdict
of not guilty this was the kind of crime that was just could not have been committed by a woman but despite being
acquitted time and popular culture has Forever cast Lizzy as one of America's most notorious Killers so did she do it
or not to help get to the bottom of this mystery we brought together a team of pay
Consultants two extremely experienced lawyers my name is anastica nicolazzi I was a
prosecutor for 21 years at the Brooklyn DA's office my name is Matthew troiano I'm a
criminal defense attorney in New Jersey and equally seasoned investigators my name is Aaron rubis and I am a crime
scene investigator and a former homicide detective I'm Andrew schweikart I'm a criminalist
at the New York City office of the chief medical examiner from the perspective that this happened
over a hundred years ago I think it's relevant now the same way it was relevant then and it's just a
fascinating story that's that Story begins here Fall River Massachusetts 1892. prominent local businessman Andrew
Borden was wealthy but also Frugal choosing to live here with his second wife Abby Borden just a block from the
center of town the house is modest even by 1890s standards with almost no indoor
plumbing or gas lighting he was cheap he was known to be at the extreme end of Yankee frugality
[Music] wow you can't analyze the crime without seeing where it all took place so we
brought crime scene investigator Aaron rubis here what is important what do you really want to see for yourself I want
to be able to take myself back into the crime scene based on what I've read I want to be able to kind of put those
pieces together that are missing and she's able to do that because the house oddly enough so this is it is now a bed
and breakfast and restored in the style of the time complete with actual crime scene photos
here it is then displays to your left is a replica of Andrew Borden's skull and to your right is Abby I would
definitely say that whoever did this this was personal this was a lot of anger and a lot of
reach Lucy ports is a fairly unremarkable woman she was unmarried she was active
in her local church Emma Borden is Lizzie Borden's older sister always played a bit of a maternal role
with respect to Lizzie Emma at the time of the murders had been out of town for two weeks visiting friends and Abby
Borden how would you describe Abby Borden Abby Borden she she's often cast in the story as the you know the evil
stepmother but in fact she's she may well have been the nicest person in the in the house
which brings us to the late morning of August 4th 1892. Lizzie standing at the side door of the house tells her next
door neighbor Adelaide Churchill that her father has been killed and does the neighbor see any blood
unless The Neighbor comes over directly and sees absolutely no blood nothing on her face her hands her clothing nothing
she seems perfectly uh presented and this is how police found Lizzie's father stretched out on the couch in the
sitting room bludgeoned to death it's pretty brutal I mean his entire face is brutally bashed in
but what if Andrew's wife Abby Lizzie's sitting in the kitchen with that neighbor Adelaide Churchill offers
an answer she remarks that she thinks perhaps she hurt her stepmother come in at which point Bridget Sullivan and
Adelaide Churchill the next door neighbor go upstairs and find the body of Abby Borden this right over here is where
Abby Borden was found dead face down that scene is if anything more horrible Abby suffered 19 blows
[Music] she's face down a much of her the back of her head has been hacked [Music]
you can imagine the pressure that was on the police to come upon a scene like that
the Assumption at first was that it must have been a deranged Outsider because the crimes were so shocking but when it
became clear that you know no one had been spotted in the vicinity then suspicion turned to the people in the
house the house was Triple locked in the front door and the back door was locked
and the only door that could have been unlocked was the side door they had to find a suspect
and they fastened upon Lizzie Borden as an obvious choice she is the only one that could have
committed these crimes [Music] [Music] on Saturday August 6 while Andrew and Abby Borden were being laid to rest news
of their murder was spreading far and fast the brutality of the murders alone was
enough to make this Front Page News across the country I'm the Fall River Police Department was
beginning its investigation how would you describe the state of forensics in 1892. it was very primitive
I think in many ways it was the perfect time for somebody to potentially get away with a crime like this
besides police the Borden house was crowded with doctors reporters neighbors and even several passersby so anything
really that was discovered at that crime scene was seriously compromised because
we don't know when or by whom it was deposited they take up pieces of carpet they count blood stains they search for
evidence blood on any clothing what they find though are more questions and answers
one fact is clear Abby was killed before Andrew his death was so recent that his injuries were
noted to have been oozing wet liquid blood he was also warm to the touch on the other hand Abby who was upstairs had
matted coagulated blood dark blood on her injuries she was also called to the touch
five days later during a police inquest Lizzie gives her version of what happened that morning
five people wake up in the Borden house Andrew and Abby Borden Lizzie Borden the
housemaid Bridget Sullivan and Lizzie's Uncle John Morse Andrew's brother-in-law
John Morse visiting from out of town was staying in the guest room this is where
John Morse had stayed the night before we know that John Morse left in the morning to go visit other relatives in a
different part of town and Andrew Borden walked into the center of town to visit
some of the buildings that he owned Abby Borton went upstairs to clean up the guest room Lizzie says that she was in
the dining room she was actually ironing and Bridget Sullivan was outside washing windows when about 9
30 in the morning police believe Abby Borden fell to the floor murdered Abby Borden was a short woman but she weighed
about 200 pounds and did Lizzie hear anything at all she claims not to have heard anything
according to Lizzie's testimony Andrew returned home at 10 45 greeting both the housekeeper and Lizzie and then retired
to that sitting room to take a nap on the couch according to the medical examiner 45 minutes later Andrew Borden
was also dead that was the opportunity right there he's on that couch and he's sleeping
and there was your opportunity police were sure they had the when but there was still the question of why what
was the motive Lizzie may have given police that answer during the inquest Lizzy and her sister Emma both really
desired to live a way better life and they really resented their father for not providing that for them
Andrew decided essentially to bail out his wife's half sibling by buying a house and putting it
in Abby's name and thereafter you find that the house is a scene of a cold war clearly Lizzie was not happy that that
house was going to go to her Stepmother's sister but enough to provide a motive for that kind of
vicious killing they were brutal certainly brutal enough to Mark the perpetrator with evidence I would think
that there would definitely be blood on her and yet you know one of the most fascinating
parts of this case is that except for around the bodies there's no blood found anywhere
Lizzie Borden is the killer how did she not have any blood spatter on her her neighbor said she was spotless so where
was the blood police searched the house and only found two instances of blood evidence a minute spot on one of
Lizzie's undergarments and a bucket of bloody cloths in the cellar washroom Lizzie gave them a very personal
explanation for both she was menstruating I think that was such a personal issue
that let's face it who's going to challenge that if we were to have that today could we show okay is this Lizzy's
blood or is it Andrew and Abby's blood also puzzling and very suspicious Lizzie's choice to burn a dress in the
kitchen stove the day after her father's funeral Lizzy and Emma claimed that the
dress had been stained with paint and it needed to be burned and they thought that was as good a time as any for me
the most valuable piece of evidence is the dress that Lizzie burned if she's responsible for this it would have blood
from the victims on it and that would be very difficult for Lizzie to explain and
with no dress there was nothing to explain it seemed the more they looked the less
investigators found until down in the cellar it's in here that the hatchet was found a particular Hatchet
head was found in a box of abandoned tools it became known as the handelus hatchet and would be a subject of debate
for years to come it only had a piece of a handle and according to the police it
was a fresh break this particular Hatchet head almost looked like it had been deliberately
covered with a layer of Ash it's about three and a half inches of a cutting blade and that seemed consistent with
the wounds on Andrew and Abby's body she could have quickly rinsed off that hatchet head thrown it in a pile of Ash
to obliterate any lingering blood and then just tossed it in the cellar to make it look like an old piece of junk I
mean there are endless places in this house to hide stuff if it was the murder weapon police later
discovered it might not have been Lizzie's first weapon of choice someone who was identified as Lizzie
Borden tried to buy prussic acid the day before the murders in 1892 prostic acid a lethal poison was
only available with a doctor's prescription the woman said that she needed it to put an edge on a steel skin
cape and we know that Lizzie Borden did in fact have seal skin capes but the pharmacist said he never heard of it
used that way and refused to sell it to her and then because she was unable to get
the poison she turned instead to a readily available household implement the hatchet that's right
it would seem the police came to the same conclusion at the close of the inquest the chief of police placed
Lizzie Borden under arrest for murder [Music] on June 5th 1893 ten months after her arrest Lizzie
Borden sat in the Superior Court in New Bedford Massachusetts in this very chair
on trial for murder the first day of Lizzie Borden's trial attracted a massive crowd
reporters were detailed from around the country people waited for hours online it was called the trial of the century
the 19th century what I think is striking is that many of the people most interested in the case
were women but why why are these women willing to put aside their lives to attend the trial this was the trial of a
woman who seemed to have transcended the limits of her sex in such a violent way
the women I think were curious to see the monster while they were welcome to watch at the
time women were not allowed to sit on the jury there won't be in fact uh women jurors
until 1951 in Massachusetts despite the rigid standards of the times the proceedings of the trial were
surprisingly familiar to our Consulting attorneys from what I've read you could take this trial transcript and put it
into 2020 and it would basically be the same both the prosecutors and the defense attorneys came in with a lot of
the same arguments that I would imagine today in front of a panel of three judges and
a jury of 12 men the prosecutor began his opening statement with a simple premise that Lizzie Borden is the only
person with the opportunity and the motive to have committed the crimes but it was how he wrapped up his open
that stunned the courtroom he alludes to the fact that he has the skulls of the victims the actual heads of the
victims in the courtroom yes and uh Lizzie Borden responds by fainting [Music] over the next week the jury hears from a
parade of prosecution witnesses the prosecution works very methodically and lays out the evidence
evidence of who was killed first if Andrew had been killed first and automatically Abby's family will get
part of the money where she's killed first everything is just for the girls evidence matching the skulls to the
suspected murder weapon to show that the dimensions of the injuries on the skull aligned with the
dimensions of the most probable murder weapon which was the hatchet and testimony of Lizzie's ability to
wield that hatchet the medical experts all said that a woman of ordinary build and ordinary strength could have
committed the murders but there is one thing the judges don't allow the jury to hear some of the
prosecution's best evidence is kept from the jury most notably her alleged attempts to buy
prussic acid before the murders if she's out there getting poison that is absolutely something the jury should
consider when two people in her home were found dead the next day was it right to keep that out as a defense
attorney Shore right hugely prejudicial not really relevant after nine days the prosecution rests and Lizzie's defense
team goes to work the defense is much more interested in in telling a story that she's just an ordinary person
caught in this unbelievably horrible situation clearly there's a lack of evidence and
then there's a second part of hey we just don't think that she did this the defense needed only two days of witness
testimony to make its case and it's a case for reasonable doubt you cannot answer the questions that have to be
answered here and that's reasonable doubt what was perhaps the most powerful defense
the most powerful witness in her defense was her sister Emma Emma testified that
it was her idea rather than Lizzie's to burn the dress which makes it seemed like it was a much more
innocent thing to do Lizzie Borden never testified and after three weeks the trial ended with closing arguments but
before the jury was charged Lizzie did have the last word and she says I am innocent I leave it to
my counsel to speak for me and with that the case went to the jury the courtroom is packed people are also
standing out in the corridors and around the front of the building waiting for some kind of word
they didn't have to wait long the jury took less than two hours to reach a verdict
the foreman it's reported almost can't contain his excitement that just says not guilty just blurts it out flirts it
out yeah and at that point Lizzie Borden falls into her chair as if shot and puts her head on the rail
meanwhile the courtroom erupts into cheers and there are Cheers outside that could be heard a mile away
maybe this is the prosecutor of me but I was shocked she was acquitted it is so clear to me
as much as it can be that she is guilty now whether or not they thought it was not guilty or innocent who knows but
they certainly didn't think she was guilty and I think at the end of the day they just didn't want to believe that
such a terrible horrific crime could have been done by somebody like Lizzie Borden
but now in 2020 would a jury of men and women come to the same conclusion there is only one person who reasonably could
have committed this crime who did commit this crime and that is the defendant Lizzie Borton
[Music] thank you in 1893 Lizzie Borden was found not guilty by a jury of 12 men
who couldn't believe a woman was capable of such acts of extreme violence but how would a jury of men and women
vote today in 2020 to try and answer that question we hired a jury recruiting firm
to find us a panel of men and women who had never heard of Lizzie Borden and then paid them to decide the case
this is not a retrial but a presentation argued by our Consulting attorneys in their own words without any guidance
from us this is the case of Lizzie Borden the rules are simple only evidence presented in the original trial
could be presented here and all facts should be presumed to be true good morning everyone prosecutor Anna siga
nicolazzi and defense attorney Matthew troiano good morning ladies and gentlemen deliver their opening
statements this case is about bitterness resentment and fear greed was what drove
Lizzie Borden to do what she did just one night before these two Innocents are bludgeoned in their own home the
defendant goes to see a friend she out of nowhere volunteered she'd been feeling depressed and so
worried about many nameless faceless enemies that her father had and she left with this
I'm afraid something's going to happen Lizzie Borden is guilty of her parents her father and her Stepmother's murder
and the evidence by the end will prove that to you beyond any reasonable doubt thank you
this is a woman of 32 years old who is accused of the most vicious and heinous murder that one could imagine what would
you expect to see around the person and on the person that did this blood a lot of blood right there's no blood on
her at all there's no blood on her hands there's no blood on her face there's no
blood anywhere on her the reality here ladies and gentlemen is the evidence is lacking the story is
good but the evidence is lacking and if you are going to come back and convict somebody of this crime you
better get a little bit more than a story thank you next prosecutor nicolazzi calls on our experts people
call Crime Scene detective Aaron rubis to explain the evidence the locked doors the hatchet the pale of bloody rags and
that burned dress but it's the blood evidence or rather the lack of it that is her
biggest challenge it is my belief that this was done from someone facing him and directly almost over top of him
and it's fair to say that even with that number of wounds there was not a whole lot of blood that's correct with Abby
Borden how many wounds were observed on her body there were 19 wounds observed on Mrs
Borden 18 to the back of her head on the right side and one at the base of her neck possible to commit those murders
and not get on you based on the type of wounds that we had absolutely did he have any
defensive wounds none that were observed and why wouldn't the victims fight back
if someone sees someone who is familiar could that contribute to lack of initial
defensive wounds possibly did they recover anything in terms of any possible weapon
a hatchet head is there anything about the size of the actual Hatchet that was recovered that would preclude
a woman from using it no no matter the size no matter the size I have nothing further
for the defenses cross-examination troiano again focuses on that lack of blood so you would agree that at the
point that obviously the object hits that source of blood there's going to be blood that comes out from it is that
correct yes I think that does depend on the specifics but yes but certainly as far as you know there was no dress that
was found that would have had blood spatter on it is that correct correct the only blood that is on an article of
clothing was a 1 16 inch size Pinhead spot of blood on an underdress underneath an outer dress that's correct
that was the only piece of blood that was detected any blood on that hatchet not that was observed and in 1892 with
no scientific testing available observation was the best and only tool at hand no other apparent blood anywhere
else or quite frankly anywhere in the house is that correct other than blood in the immediate two
areas of the two homicides and potential Blood on the pail in the cellar there was no mention of blood elsewhere in the
case record I think that's all I have thank you and then both lawyers make their final argument
to the jury I think what you've heard over the course of the last couple hours or
questions but not proof and not proof beyond the Reasonable Doubt very much like a jigsaw puzzle
but I suggest that when you look at all those pieces it's not one that is overly
tough to solve you are not here to find a solution to the puzzle but you are here to decide if a crime was committed
and if this person the defendant Lizzie Borden committed it and all the pieces of evidence say yes there is no direct
evidence here right and the circumstantial evidence is so very weak that it can't be enough so think those
things through I know you will so thank you very much the evidence is all there when you use all of it and use your
common sense it is proof of one thing Lizzie Borden the defendant bludgeoned her stepmother and her father to death
and for that you should find her guilty thank you and with that once again Lizzy's fate is
in the hands of a jury I feel like it has to be somebody familiar with the house but what's different this time is
that these lawyers get to hear the jury deliberate think of the murder weapon the hatchet you chopping at someone
there's no blood whatsoever foreign [Music] more than a century after Lizzie Borden
went on trial for murder this jury of eight people have been asked to wrestle with many of the same questions
it's an unheard of opportunity to be in the room for an actual deliberation but it quickly becomes clear that there are
no easy answers for our jurors Frank James Michelle Amy Michael Darrell Larissa and Jennifer what are the big
concerns here the prosecutor said resentment bitterness and greed it just seems like
Overkill if she wasn't going to lose everything either she's a sociopath or possibly not
guilty but and that's my only question I feel like to go for first degree murder of both victims there has to be
malice and forethought and I don't believe that was proven you know you could I mean these are two
different counts so if you wanted to you could decide that she's guilty of one and not guilty of the other Abigail was
struck 19 times like you said it's Overkill but there's still a lot of like like I said unknowns in terms of how do
they clean that that up I can't figure out how she could have done it and been standing there
with nothing like nothing on her like house and everything normal I feel like it has to be somebody familiar with the
house also familiar with the victims because they clearly familiar with the attacker
I'm not convinced Beyond a reasonable doubt that she's guilty I don't buy it but I don't think the
standard is completely convinced it's beyond A Reasonable Doubt but that doesn't mean completely unlike the
original jury this panel has no trouble believing a woman could kill the question is was it this woman if she
doesn't know how to kill a pig or livestock then she knows how to do it right and they believed she had
the motive she hated her stepmother but there were still questions Wiley Bridget alive why leave the bloody
Rags just hanging out let's forget about our accomplices or her motivation the question is did she do it after more
than an hour of deliberation so do you want to you know take a boat from everybody on two different counts the
vote on the charge of first degree with the death of Abby Borton uh guilty uh guilty
guilty guilty guilty guilty I keep going back to she looks guilty but I'm not convinced
so I'm back to not guilty here's the last one you're out guilty yeah guilty you're sure yes positive on
that one on the charge of first degree with Andrew Borden guilty guilty guilty guilty
guilty guilty not guilty not guilty while Jarrell was confident Lizzie had planned to kill Abby he believed the
murder of her father was purely spontaneous I just I don't know if that premeditation factored in with Dad
and with that the foreman published the jury's verdict on the charge of first-degree murder of Abby Borden we
are a hung jury and on the charge of first-degree murder for Andrew Jackson Borden we are also a
hung jury there's still something profoundly unsettling about the idea that a woman
who seems normal committing a crime like this we heard most of these jurors vote to
tears yeah there was a lot there were a number of them that were expressing doubt and you know you wonder is that a
misunderstanding of the standard or is it just they're making a call right it was fascinating but at the same time
troubling at times I think if you really broke it down those that voted for guilty at the end really did Express
that they did think it was her and that the evidence had proven it while they may not have expressed it that clearly
in that one thought so is it fair to say that we've not solved the mystery of Lizzie Borden and it will be argued for
another 120 something years feel like we've solved the mystery of Lizzie Borden we just haven't solved
whether she should have been found guilty or not because it's a very different question
I think that that's the best way to say it and maybe that's the beauty of of the
system and maybe it's not clearly Lizzie Borden didn't care what people thought of her after her
acquittal she wasted little time getting on with her life she stayed in Fall River just not in this home she and her
sister Emma promptly vacate the cramped family house that was a source of some dissatisfaction inheriting almost 350
thousand dollars from their father's estate which would be 10 million dollars in today's money Lizzie and Emma bought
the house they always wanted at the top of the hill in the wealthy part of town she changed her name from Lizzie to
Lizbeth and she named her house maplecroft it seemed well unseemly to many in the
community very soon there are people who start to wonder if it wasn't Lizzie Borden then
who was it Lizzie Borden finds herself unwelcome at the church where she had spent so much of her time and which had
provided the foundation of her support during the trial 12 years later even Lizzie's sister Emma
turns her back on her Emma was deeply troubled by something that was going on in the house
such that she felt it was necessary to severed all ties with her sister who never married finished out her life
as a recluse alone in her home with her dogs until her Death in June of 1927. did Lizzie ever talk to the Press did
she ever give her side of the story no Lizzie Borden remained silent coincidentally Emma living in New
Hampshire died just nine days later they were both laid to rest here alongside their father and their stepmother
today Fall River Massachusetts Embraces the woman who brought so much notoriety to the town
Lizzie Borden Took an Ax and gave her mother 40 whacks when she saw what she had done
she gave her father 41. [Music] last May Lizzie Borden's house was sold for 1.8 million dollars it is still a
museum and bed and breakfast a twisted love triangle an ominous ultimatum told him it was here to pick
one a deadly decision and a surprising clue one of the biggest pieces of evidence was a KFC bag the murder of
honorabkina 48 Hours next on CBS [Music]

Did Lizzie Borden really hack her parents to death? A surprising answer and an inside look at the haunting crime scene. "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reports. Watch more full episodes of "48 Hours" on Pluto TV.

True crime. Real justice. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Lizzie Borden was acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother; modern jurors reconsider her guilt.

Key points

The Gruesome Murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally murdered in their home, shocking the nation.
Lizzie Borden's Trial. The trial of Lizzie Borden captivated the nation, raising questions about gender and justice.
The Verdict. After a brief deliberation, the jury declared Lizzie not guilty, shocking many.
The Lack of Blood Evidence. The defense emphasizes the absence of blood on Lizzie, questioning how she could commit the murders without getting any on her.
The Jury's Verdict. The jury deliberates and ultimately declares a hung jury on both murder charges against Lizzie Borden.
Lizzie's Life After Acquittal. After her acquittal, Lizzie changes her name and moves to a new house, Maplecroft.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Lizzie Borden was acquitted so no one has ever been held accountable for the crime.

Reflecting on the outcome of Lizzie Borden's trial.

2:59WatchDec 6, 2022

Tension

75/ 100High tension

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