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Borden murders

Also known as: Lizzie Borden case

Active

1892–1892

Region

Fall River, Massachusetts, USA

State

MA

Kind

Single

Status

Acquitted

Victims

2

On the morning of August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden and his wife Abby were killed with a hatchet in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. Andrew's daughter Lizzie, 32, who was in the house, was arrested a week later and tried for both murders in New Bedford in June 1893. The jury acquitted her on June 20, 1893, and no one else was ever charged. Lizzie Borden lived the rest of her life in Fall River and died in 1927.

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Victims

We remember the people whose lives were taken.

• Abby Durfee Gray Borden, 64 · August 4, 1892

  Andrew Borden's second wife, married in 1865; stepmother to Lizzie and Emma.

• Andrew Jackson Borden, 69 · August 4, 1892

  A wealthy Fall River businessman and property owner.

Timeline of locations

1. August 4, 1892
   Borden house, Fall River (now a museum) (Crime scene)

   Abby Borden was killed in the upstairs guest room between about 9:30 and 11 a.m.; Andrew Borden was killed on the sitting-room sofa shortly after 11 a.m. The house is now a museum and bed and breakfast.

2. August 12, 1892
   Jail in Taunton (Other, approximate area)

   After pleading not guilty on August 12, 1892, Lizzie Borden was held in the jail in Taunton, north of Fall River, until her trial.

3. June 5, 1893
   Courthouse, New Bedford (Court / trial, approximate area)

   Lizzie Borden was tried before a panel of three judges. On June 20, 1893, the jury found her not guilty.

Watch, listen, read

Sources

• The Trial of Lizzie Borden: Chronology (Famous Trials, Douglas O. Linder)
• The Trial of Lizzie Borden: An Account (Famous Trials, Douglas O. Linder)
• Lizzie Borden (Wikipedia)

Each location also lists its own sources in the data file.