- Born
- Died
- Birth nameElizabeth Andrew Borden
- Height5′ 4″ (1.63 m)
- Lizzie Borden has mystified and fascinated crime buffs for over a century. Few cases in American history have attracted as much attention as the hatchet murders and the unlikely defendant: a church-going, respectable "spinster" daughter charged with parricide, a crime worthy of Classical Greek tragedy. On August 4, 1892, a heavy, hot summer day in Massachusetts, a maid discovered the bodies of Andrew Borden, 70, a wealthy developer, and his second wife Abby, a short obese woman of 64. Mr. Borden's face had been struck 11 times while he slept on the couch; Mrs. Borden had been struck 19 times from the back. A broken hatchet was found in the basement. The day after the Bordens' funeral, a neighbor observed Lizzie burning a stained dress in the kitchen stove. The neighbor's testimony prompted Lizzie to be charged with the murders. The chaotic and stumbling murder investigation against Lizzie was circumstantial, without incriminating physical evidence or clear motive. After a trial in June 1893 and one hour of jury deliberations, Lizzie was found not guilty on all charges. Lizzie and her sister Emma moved into a 13-room stone Victorian house named Maplecroft. In 1904, she met actress Nance O'Neil, and the two became inseparable, prompting rumors of a romantic relationship. Lizzie died at age 67, after a long illness. Emma coincidentally died nine days later, after a fall down the stairs of her house. They were buried together in the family plot, along with their mother, stepmother, and father. Despite popular belief of Lizzie's guilt, it remains technically an unsolved crime.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous
- Was involved in the most sensational courtroom dramas of the 1890s when on August 4, 1892, her father, Andrew Borden and stepmother, Abby Durfee were found brutally slain at her home on 92 Second Street, Fall River, Massachusetts.
- Portrayed by Lillian Gish in a 1934 play called "Nine Pine Street".
- "Lizzie Borden took an axe And gave her mother forty whacks. And when she saw what she had done, She gave her father forty-one." (A famous verse that was sung around the time of the murders and is still well known today.)
- Distant cousin of actress Lynn Borden.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content