Acquittal and Aftermath of the Case

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Potential savings will vary notot available in all states. As you might have noticed, if you're a very smart listener and I'm sure you are For the whole month of July, we're taking a virtual road trip through the whole of North America We'll be looking at cases through Canada, the US and Mexico tracing a gruesome journey across the continent And we're also taking a look back at some of our favorite classic cases and reminiscing about our big American memories from our last US. tour back in twenty twenty three And today, we're looking back at Ly Bord So Lizzie Borden, in the hardest state of all to say, for me Massachusetts. I have nailed it, I think after nearly a decade of doing this show. Thankk you for all of your help Obviously we're doing this because the World Cup is happening in North America. and apparently the Boston pub owners, the Boston bar owners, they have really lucked out because they got all of the early England games and all of the early Scotland games And they drank them dry. So they they're having a fucking very lucrative World Cup And we had a very, very good time in Massachusetts. I really enjoy Boston. I think the food there was great. We had a lot of good like seafood I remember that. We had some good lobster which I always think is very, very overrated, but it was very good down there. I'll give it to them And we did of course go to The Lizzie Borden House in Fall River. Is that where it was? Fall River? Yeah, am I making that up? Yeah. Yeah yeah. Oh my gosh, that was wild. It was actually so good. If you have time We've done a lot of sort of haunted places By far, The Lizzie Borden House is the best one. By far It was so good. It was so good because we also did some other ones on that. On not on that trip, O another trip, we went to the Cjuring house and that was Bomp bom. L boarding was good. I was scared. Yeah I felt a cat ghost run behind my legs. Oh my Godd. And do you remember when we were there and there was that like woman who ran in and she was like she took a picture and there was like a ghost in the mirror behind her. And I was just like What is happening? Like She was literally not like hereere's some pictures that people have taken in the past She was literally like, I just took this picture. What is that behind me? And I really, I couldn't explain it I couldn't explain it Either she worked there and she's just like a fantastic like you know, what they call it? a fantastic like actor plant, That's it. A fantastic plant slash actor or like it was legit. Or somebody in there is playing a trick on her, but it was really, really good. It was so baffling. I actually emailed after we left to ask if they would send me it And they're like whoever's in the Lizzie Borden office was just like, they never send it to us, but if they do, I'll let you know. Oh they were very nice as well there. We had a fantastic time and like we have told the story before, but while we're reminiscing We might as well tell you guys anyway. So while we were at the Lizzy Bordon House people who worked there told us that they used to have a ouija board that they would let people play on in the house and like people could go there, do it and you know Ghostly shit, whatever And they said that we stopped doing that after a particular incident where a group of people had been playing with the Ouija board And then they had taken it with them when they had left the Lizzie Bordon House And then it had turned up on their doorstep a couple of weeks later with a note on it that just said kiss do Terrified. And now no Ouija boards are allowed in there anymore No No, noope, no, no, thank you. no, thank you Yeah It's a wild case because I think we actually put off doing the Lizzie Borden story for quite a while because I think we both just thought o, we're not the biggest fans of pasto cases and we kind of thought it was a bit like Mh. But actually when we were there and we heard the story again and like you know it was retld to us by the people who worked there, I was like, actually it is quite an interesting story. And we did actually then go on and cover it and I actually really really enjoyed doing that episode. Soee I w want listen to it go listen to the Lizzie Borton episode again, because oh, it's here. Here it is. We've given it to you Here you go. Listen to it. We've made it so easy for you. Enjoy And yeah, we also full River as well. goo check out our full River cult episode because there's a load of weird shit that went on down there And we also, while we were there, saw the Aaron Hernandez courtroom. Yes, we most certainly did. What's all going on So have fun Enjoy. And we'll see you on the other side. In like two seconds goodybye Ii'm Suriti. I'm Hannah, and welcome to red handed. Yes. did it all? I can only The only thing in my head is Anthony Bourdain We're not doing Anthony Bortaine No, we're not doing Anthony Bortain. We are covering Past our case H don't usually go this route, but we We do occasionally like to dip our toes into the old and timey lakes was a testament to the impact of this particular case that the name Lizzy Borden has stuck in the American cultural zeitgeist for over one hundred and thirty years her arrest and subsequent trial State headline News across the U. S. Four years In fact, you could say it was the very first Trial of the century and that Lizzy Boreden was the very first American criminal superstar countless films, TV shows, books and plays written about her story In fact Dear old Lizzie even sat on the jury of the damned summoned by Satan himself in the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror four. She certainly does. I've forgotten about that But with all the speculation, scintillation and circus that surrounds this case, It's all become a bit of a fairy tale So come with us as we cut through the cobwebs and reveal what's real in the infamous case wielding Lizzie Borden And if you like us have sort of avoided Looking at this case because you're like, U it doesn't really seem that interesting. You are wrong. It is interesting. You are wrong? And we learned that we were wrong and now we're going to change your mind Let to the bottom of this iconic Black and White Times case. We need to go very, very far back indeed. so come with us all the way back to the thirteenth of september, eighteen twenty two two hundred years ago. And that was when Lizzie Warden's father Andrew Jackson Borden was born Little Baby Andrew's family were prestigious Just a few hundred years before, they hadd been wealthy, influential And they have their own coat of arms, which Americans go fucking nuts for And Parts of the Borden family still occupied quite lofty heights. If you go to Fall River, you will notice that everything is called Borden Yeah, becauseuse I was like It's just all branding of Lz B board and they're like, now, there's los of boards still here. And they just own various things and everything's called the board and whatever And if you will know which one's a Lizzie Borden house because it's the one that just still looks like it's in the past, it's great Oh and they also had the courthouse where they tried Was it Aron Hernandez American Gladiator fith. Yes, I think so Having courthouses named after you and streets and banks and stuff was not the world that Andrew Borden was born into. His dad, Abram, sold fish, and his mum Phoebe was a housewife And Andrew Borden grew up Pretty po idn't stay that way for long Andrew was a grafterfter. As a young man, he set up shop as a carpenter in Fall River, Massachusetts and quickly started to do very well for himself. Soon enough, he had a decent business selling coffins and furniture And then he moved into property development And then commercial real estate and then textile milling So eventually Andrew Borden went from Fish peddler's son to the equivalent of a multimillionaire Along the way, Andrew also married his first wife, Sarah He and Sarah were in their mid twenties when they got married in eighteen forty six and started very quickly to churn out some daughters The first was Emma born in march eighteen fifty one. Then came Alice, who was born in may eighteen fifty six tragically died of brain dropsy a few months before her second birthday up That's not funny. that's very sad. But brain dropsy. It does sound like they dropped her on her head. It certainly Oh oopsy dropsy. She's dead Brain Dropsy is in fact, I feel like we knew this at the time. I forgot what it is. I think dropsy is applied to lots of different things. I think you're right Apparently, according to Google, Brain Dropsy is a condition where too much cerebrrospinal fluid builds up in the brain's ventricles. Sounds horrible So yeah, one daughter down One daughter's still there. And then last, but by no means least, came the infamous Lizzie Andrew Bortter say Jamboninet. I just think The middle the father's name is the middle name is quite fun Anyway So then you've got Lizzie Andrew Bortter bore on the nineteenth of july, eighteen sixty. But then bad luck struck again. When on the twenty sixth of march, eighteen sixty three Lizzie and Emma's mom died of uterine congestion. which is another mildly whimsical medical term that doesn't really paint much of a picture by today's standards. Wandering whimb Anyway We're in the nineteenth century and death is always tragic, but people did move on quite fast back then Just three years after losing his wife, Andrew Borden, got remarried to a lady called Abby Gray And with the amount of chatter about this case and its old and timey setting, it's quite easy to get lost in stereotypes especially when it comes to Abby Grey Oft you'll see it written that Abby was either some kind of evil stepmother, Ala Tangled, or some young Hussy who moved in on Andrew to take all of his money So We should point out that Abby was born in eighteen twenty eight. Only six years after Andrew was And she was in her thirties when they got married. she's still very much within his age range. And on top of that, there's not really any evidence that she had anything but love and respect for Lizzie and her older sister Emma pererhaps not quite the wicked witch either. Whether that's what Lizzie thought is another matter Now obviously for Lizzie, who was just six when her new mum came along It must have been pretty jarring. It's no secret the kids don't always love a new stepparent. Wh we can't say exactly what the nature of Abby's relationship was with her two stepdaughters We know that it must have been at least amicable Because until a few months before Abby's death Lizzie and Ema Bton called Abby Mother So of course, this may just have been at their father's request. But there is also plenty of evidence that Abby really tried to put an effort in, especially with Lizzie A notable example is a silver plated cup Abby gave Lizzy a few years after she joined the family and delicately engraved on the side of this cup. W the words? Lizzy from Abby eight in sixty eight Both Emma and Lizzie were raised very religiously. obviously quite common for the time Lizzie was especially involved in the church and as a teenager, she taught immigrant kids to read and write at Sunday school I also think she spoke Chinese fluently Yeah. she's a very smart, smart lady She was also part of classic old time Christian women's societies and missions With names like Christian Endeavor Society and the Women's Christian Temperance Union And also something called the Ladies Fruit and Flower mission The Women's Christian Temperance Union I can't think of anything more boring. When it came to friends, Lizzie wasn't lacking It did seem like she had a couple of personality quirks She was described by friends as having a very sensitive nature being non communicative when she met new people, Coming back to the boring sounding Christian temperance society though. Maybe it's like when you name things are really boring things so that other people don't want to join. And the men don't know what they're actually up to. I mean, I hope to God. they were just getting on it. I really hope so. Jesus fucking loved it. like he wass fucking raging on the wine I reckon that's what was going down It was the future planlning Committee They're just getting wild These are. anti social habits were maintained by Lizzie into her grown uphood and her friends felt that they were often erroneously interpreted. In other words putting too fine a point on it. Lizzie Borden Eespecially if she didn't know you, hadn't met you before, came across as a huge bitch This is a paid advertement for betteretterHel Most Brits believe seeking support for their mental health is a good thing BetterHel's latest research suggests that many people still feel like there are barriers that stop them from actually taking that step. The twenty twenty six state of Stigma repeport survey two thousand Brits and revealed that eighty four percent believe getting support is wise. sixty seven percent say that society discourages people from it So what's going on here guys We get that it can sometimes feel easier to encourage someone else to access support than it is to do it for ourselves. But we should also give ourselves the same kindness we'd give our friends. I personally found therapy to be so valuable better helpel want to encourage more people to take their first step on that journey too. Having served over six million people globally, BetterHelp is one of the leading online therapy platforms with an average rating of four point nine out of five Bet help therapists work to a strict code of conduct, and they are fully qualified in the UK Don't let stigma stand in the way of support. Start therapy with better help. Sign up and get ten percent off at betterhelp. com slash red handanded. 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With Shopify notothings stand between your idea and a real business So go make it one Start your free trial at shhopify d. com slash red handanded. That's shhopify d. com slash red handanded Now one myth we cannot bust is that growing up Lizzie and Emma's dad Andrew ome massive tightoss. By the late eighteen eighties Andrew Borden was roughly worth about three hundred thirty thousand dollars equivalent of ten million dollars today Despite this, he was described in newspaper articles from the time as dressed very plainly almost to the point of shabbiness and was notorious for his quote shocking bad hats and threadbare ties. It's quite odd for new money. Yeah I think with him is like it's a big point of contention and possibly pretty big fucking motive I think it's maybe because he grew up so poor and's like I think that is quite a classic thing with people who grow up very, very poor and then if they get a lot of money, they're like, But I must hold it, just in case just in case. So yes, needless to say, the man of the house was quite the scrimper And most infamously, this extended to the Barden home which he purchased in eighteen seventy two Borden House, which still stands and we have stood in is on ninety second Street Fall River, Massachusetts In eighteen seventy two, that was the cheap side of town. A few decades earlier, it had been quite affluent But by the time Andrew Borden purchased the soon to be family home It was known as the place where newly arrived migrant families would set themselves up. One slightly unusual thing about the house on ninety second Street was that it wasn't designed to be a family home A three story house was actually designed to house two families That's not that unusual. But What Andrew did with the house or what he didn't do That's really what made it bizarre Always keeping an eye on those pennies, Andrew didn't really go to any great lengths to make the house fit for a single family He just knocked down a few walls, added a couple of staircases, and called the whole thing a done job As a result, the Borden home had no corridors, no passageways, and no easy way to move around the house Rooms simply had doors, which led to other rooms. getting from one end of the boardenhouse to another involve walking through a maze of offices, living rooms, dining rooms, bathrooms, and even people's bedrooms On top of this, the majority of the doors had large locks on them Now that might sound a bit spooky But actually, Andrew Borden had his reasons reasons which we'll come back to later on The most famously strange thing about the Bordden house was its total lack of indoor plumbing N not unusual for a house at the time in itself, but it was extremely unusual for a man of Andrew Borden's wealth and social standing And it is widely reported that both Emma and Lizzie Borden, who continuue to live at the Borden family home into their thirties and their forties pretty strongly. getting plumbing put in that wasn't helped by the fact that several of the much poorer immigrant families which lived nearby did have taps and toilets inside, and they're sitting there on their millions shitting in a bucket outside And may I remind you, Massachusetts gets really fucking cold. However While the Borden Girls didn't love the lack of modern conveniences in the house, A myth that we absolutely can bust iss that Lizzie and Emma didn't love their dad Both Lizzie and Emma were very close to their father And in fact, Andrew Borden wore a ring on his pinky finger, which Lizzie had worn and then given to him as a gift when she was a teenager. This ring was absolutely not Andrew Borden's style. He didn't wear any other jewelry and the ring itself was designed for a woman which is why he could only wear it on his little finger But he wore that ring until the day he died So clearly One point at least Andrew and Lizzy got on okay. That is until Somewhere in eighteen ninety When everything started to change It was then that things at the Bordenhouse started to get a little bit We it At the age of thirty. Lizzy went on a European tour with some of her gal pals. see, she's fucking on it And she was gone for quite a while. She was out on this trip from July to November And it seems that once you returned The atmosphere in the house started to shift Classic Gapiar Classic Gapiar antics. You come back, you found yourself, you understand the world. She's been to Europe, She's seen all that indoor plumbing. She's like, what the fuck dad They're saying that the last house I bought didn't have indoor plumbing And I bought that twenty twenty four. still mankakes me off. So yes, basically tensions have started to grow in the Borden house mostost notably around how Andrew was spending his money The notorious Titus had a sudden change of heart and had recently started gifting bits of his sizable real estate empire. to his and more importantly to his wife, Abby's family Now this did not go down well with Lizzie at all who started to insinuate to friends and family Th she thought her stepmom Abby was after her dad's And then in june eighteen ninety one, the Borden Home was robbed. Someone ransacked Abby Borden's belongings, stealing a large amount of money, jewelry and some train tickets as well At the time, Andrew Borden kept the whole thing quiet, telling the local police that absolutely nobody outside the family was to know about the incident. This was about the time that Andrew Borden had all of those big fat locks installed in the house Some of these locks could be opened by any of the people who lived there the lock to his and Abby's bedroom could only be accessed via a single key This key was kept hanging in plain sight The idea being that only people living in the house knew what that key was for And if anyone took the key off the hook, Andrew Borden would notice almost as though pointoing the finger for the robbery someone who lived in that house already The next two significant things happened in quick succession The first being that Andrew Borden gave his wife Abby Now this is often misreported as him giving Abby's sister a house, but that isn't true Abbys sister had gotten into a bit of a sticky financial situation and Andrew had given the house to Abby to rent to her sister until she got back on her feet. However It seems that this was interpreted by the Borden sisters as their father playing even more fast and loose, with his money and therefore their future money And this did not go down well at all. In fact, it was around this time that Lizzie stopped calling Abby Mother and started calling her in the most pasto fucking Jerry spring a passive aggressive way Mrs Borden On top of this, Lizzie and Emma demanded that they be given a house as well. And Andrew, their father obliged. selling them one of his rental properties for a single dollar They sold it back to their father for over five grand just a few months later. making obviously a massive profit in the process. It seems like the Bard and sisters were more interested in making a point and a quick buck than they were actually interested in taking charge of their dad's estate And money is a big thing. Even when we went to the house, there was all the stories we were told of there's like pennies that have been left well not pennies. cents that have been left everywhere. I think they could be pennies. I think they come from all over the world. Yeah. Currency, loose change that's been left all over the house. And they tell you very clearly Do not take any of the money And they told us the story of somebody who did at apart knee What did they say? they could hear voices or like pulling and tugging, basically telling them to put the money back where they found it. And I don't think it was an isolated incident as well. I think it happens quite a lot. And the second significant thing that happened Strangely involves Pigeons diseased ratbirds. Not very far from the Borden House itself, the family owned a barn Inside this barn, Lizzy built a kind of makeshift roost to encourage local pigeons to make it to their home Lizzy Balen was quite the animal lover and apparently cared for these pigeons as if they were her pets. And she built quite a bond with her feathered friends like Mike Tyson. When she returned to that roost one day in may nineteen eighty two Lizie Borton found every single last one of her little pigeon friends And not some loose fox Meddling kids Lizzy's own father, Andrew Borden, had gone up to the barn with a hatchet and killed every single one of those birds. Back at the house, the housekeeper who's called Bridget Sullivan, but the sisters call her Maggie because that was the name of their childhood housekeeper They are so outrageous. I rememember this. or was there a different story where somebody else did this? And I was like, I can't be bothered to learn your name. You'll just be Maggie as well Oh my go alsoso How the fuck do you murder pigeons with an axe? Fat is the opposite of shooting fish in a barrel, isn't it? Yes I really feel like should we make this a brand new saying here at Red handed when you're trying to do the impossible It's like you're trying to murder pigeons with an axe. But he does it. He does it I don't understand. Are they like tied to their Footstools? Whered you keep a pigeon on a footstool? probably In a dovecat. , mayaybe just smash the dove gun, maybe. But it didn't sound like she'd buil a proper, I don't know. Back at the Borden House, Maggie not Maggie was cooking dinner, and when the hatchet faced father returned, explaining that he'd killed all of her Avian associates, Lizzie flew off the absolute handle. And his reasoning was that he thought the pigeons were encouraging local boys to go into their barn and that's why he had to kill them all Sure, Andrew Soince july eighteen ninety two, with tensions at fever pitch after the Pigeon massacre. Both of the Bard and sisters went for some much needed time away. This time they took a tour of Massachusetts Visiting friends and family The sisters returned eventually in August But in a sign of the tensions in the house Lizzy actually spent her first few nights back in Full River guest house down the road backack in the family house However By the third of August Lizzie was home And we know that. becausecause that evening, she went to see a friend called Alice Russell And during their chat, Lizzie told Alice that she was worried about her father and stepmother According to Lizzie, the whole family had been sick for a few days and her father and stepmother were worried that someone oy sent them This wasn't untrue. Abby Borden had actually been to see the family doctor. to Bowen. because the whole household had been violently ill for almost a week But then Lizzy told Alice that she was worried that thing was going to happen At this point you might be wondering why anyone would want to harm the Borden family Well, while Andrew Borden was seen as an honest man His reputation as a bit of a penny pincher was well known amongst the employees of his mills and the residents of his rental houses Famously, if anyone in his factories was given a pay rise He would then check if they were living in one of his many houses And if they were, he would stick the Rnt right up Great So it's not totally out of the realms of possibility that somebody might have it in for old Scrooge McBorden On the same evening as Lizzie was out foreshadowing at her friend's house Lizzie Emma's maternal uncle arrived at the Borden home John Mors was the sister's closest connection to their mother's family and he hadd been popping over pretty regularly in recent months Things between Andrew and his brother in law John were pretty tight They sent each other letters regularly, discussing business and local goings on In fact, it's a testament to how close John Morse was with the Bordens. that he didn't even send a letter ahead of his arrival So when he got there on the third of August, completely unannounced He was just set up in the guest bedroom No questions asked And that brings us to the morning of august fourth, eighteen ninety two A morning that would change the concept of criminal justice and the circus of its reporting That's But before the world was about to change, everyone needed to have breakfast first And that morning Breakfast was warmed up and I say that because it is key. warmed up mutton soup. I'm not a breakfast guy anyway But soup for breakfast seems outrageous What we need to know is that this soup breakfast soup breakfast Fodder had been made using a piece of mutton which the family had been getting through all week It had been left unrefrigerated in the kitchen the last five days. I think we found your poisoner. You're dead M. over boiled poisoner akfast that morning were Andrew and Abby Borden, along with John Morse and Maggie Not Maggie, who was actually called Bridgett Sullivan Incidentally, Emma Borden was away seeing friends and wasn't in the house that morning. While, Lizzy, Was in the house, she was just upstairs, but she hadn't come down for breakfast. That wasn't particularly unusual since the falling out of pigeon gate Lizzie hadn't eaten with her dad or her stepmom for quite some time And Andrew Abby and John finished their morning meal of absolute vile disgust rom me, I'm sure they were fine. Andrew and John went into the living room to talk man business Abby left to do woman business, and Maggie not Maggie cleared the table The two men had finished chatting at around eight forty eight AM. John Morse left the house to walk into Full River as in the Town not Body of water planning on buying himself a pair of oxen and visiting his niece who also lived in town. Ten minutes later, Andrew Bordon went out for his morning walk Two things happened. And the order of these two things is a frustrating combination quuite important But also er, very unclear at some point during the next half hour Lizzy Borden came down for food By which time Bridget clelearred the table from the first breakfast. and serve Dizzy a morning meal. of cookies and coffee at roughly the same time Abby Borden went upstairs and began remaking the bed in the guestroom This is significant for two reasons Number one Changing the guest bedding was normally Emma and Lizzie's job Number two Abby Fordon Never left that bedroom alive Not to sound too old money about it, but why isn't the housekeeper changing the sheets It's not a big house She is a Someone's got to stir the muton Once Lizzie's breakfast was finished, Maggie not Maggie cleared the table, washed some of the windows, and then went upstairs for a lie down. She, like the rest of the family, had been sick for a number of days and wasn't feeling any better today. And what Lizzie did with this time unsupervised we will come back to later on Then at ten thirty, Andrew Borden got home. but was unable to open the front door His key had jammed in the lock So he knocked and the housekeeper came to the door She was also unable to open the door and she swore to herself and heard Lizzie laugh from upstairs. Once the door was open, Andrew Warden went into the living room Lay down on the sofa had a nap After this, the housekeeper Bridget went back upstairs to the third floor and went back to bed She did this via a staircase on the other side of the house that did not go past the guest bedroom Fty minutes went by Bridget was awoken by Lizzie Borden sccreaming This is a paid advertement for betteretter Hel Most Brits believe seeking support for their mental health is a good thing BetterHel's latest research suggests that many people still feel like there are barriers that stop them from actually taking that step The twenty twenty six state of Stigma repeport surveyed two thousand Brits and revealed that eighty four percent believe getting support is wise. sixty seven percent say that society discourages people from it So what's going on here guys We get that it can sometimes feel easier to encourage someone else to access support than it is to do it for ourselves. But we should also give ourselves the same kindness we give our friends. I personally found therapy to be so valuable better helpel want to encourage more people to take their first step on that journey too. Having served over six million people globally, BetterHelp is one of the leading online therapy platforms with an average rating of four point nine out of five Bet help therapists work to a strict code of conduct, and they are fully qualified in the UK Don't let stigmas stand in the way of support. Start therapy with better help Sign up and get ten percent off at betterhelp d. com slash red handed That's betteret Hlp. com slash red handed. Summer is in full swing And what better time to refresh your underwear draw You know we love and trust in Honey Love to keep us comfortable and supported even on the sweatier sun soak days Honey lovever an independent female founded brand, who just get what we're looking for with products intelligently designed by women who actually wear them I am absolutely obsessed with their clloud embrace bra. It's a wireless bra that still holds a girls up, so I don't feel like I'm sacrificing support for comfort And if you've still got some weddings this season, Honey loveo are coming in clutch with the shapewear you need to cut up the dance floor Treat yourself to the most advanced bras and shapewear on the market. Use our exclusive link to save twenty percent off honey Love at honeyove dot com slash red handed That's honeyove d. com slash red handed. After you check out, they'll ask you where you heard about them Please support our show and tell them we sent you Experience the new standard in comfort and support with Honey Love The best summer pieces are the ones you end up wearing on Repeat Comfortable, versatile, and somehow right for almost every occasion That's why I love Qintince They make elevated essentials using premium materials like European linen, organic cotton, and washable silk all without the yroll inducing retail markup we've come to expect Everything at Quintince is priced fiftycent to eighty percent less than similar brands. They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middleman. 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Maggie put down that mutton. comeome quick Father's dead Somebody came in and killed him Bridget Not Maggie even got into the living room When Lizzie ordered her not to come in and instead run to get their family doctor, Dror Bowet Bridgett returned with the doctor a couple of minutes later And Dr. Bowen presumably took one look at Andrew and said, He's dead Sagana Can I get a cup of that mton Maggie And yes, Andrew was very much dead, because during his morning nap, Someone had come into the living room. and hit him violently At least ten times with a hatchet All of these blows were to his head Face The attack had been so violent that one of his eyeballs had been split cleanly in two And the attack had also been pretty recent as his body was still bleeding Very personal. relaxing to the face That's quite a lot of rage and quite a lot of personal connection, I would hesitate to guess. H And before we do more guessing we're going to have a brief interlude too have a chat about Axe versus Hatchet Some places do report that the attack was carried out with an axe, but that is a Rhong. It's not super important, but we're going to cover it anyway because otherwise the Lizzy Borden forums will come for us with hatchets and not axes A hatchet is a small hand axe used for spoting small logs, etca They're designed to be used with one hand A full fat axe is much bigger and it needs two hands And it's used by lumberjacks to cut down trees and also that really hot guy on Tkoy does it. If someone had hit Andrew Borden ten times in the head with a full fat, full size axe His head just wouldn't exist anymore And admittedly, it wasn't in fantastic Nick after he was attacked, but his head was still there and recognizably ahead and that is important most of Andrew Borden's face missing to mouth wasn't exactly an option So the focus turned to an important question Where was Ay Given the commotion, which had now grown to the point where neighbourors had started coming over to see what was going on. If Abby was in the house, She would have heard and come downstairs. Like Hannah said, it's not a massive house So someone asked Lizzie if she'd seen her step momum. And Lizzie replied with something akin to Yeah, I'm not fully sure. I'm pretty sure she went out to see her mate who was sick And then Lizzie said Actually, wait, I think I did hear her come backack I'm pretty sure she went upstairs With that it became pretty clear that someone should go and have a look upstairs And it was decided that Maggie not Maggie Bridgett Sullivan Be the person. to go and have a look whichich seems like a bit of a dick move from Dr. Bowen. It's not like he had anything better to do Andrew Borden was fully pulverised. there wasn't much doctoring to be done. No. I guess it's like A lady upstairs in her bedroom Is it appropriate for Dr. Bowen to go up? He's like, can you go check probably called a like a doctor N done, I'm just saying, I'm not from the past. I'm just guessing Anyway, Maggie not Maggie was having absolutely none of it and she said, fuck that, I'm not going up there on my own probablyrob So, she went and found another nearby Wu manan to go with her And a neighbour called Mrs. Churchill agreed to go upstairs. they were halfway up the staircase when they saw Abby Borden lying face down in the guest bedroom in a fool of her own blood I can't remember if we looked at the guest but I don't think we went upstairs No, we didn't. No, I so you can see you can see the sofa where Andrew Borden was killed and they've got like a little balloon animal man lying there But I believe the guest bedroom where Abbey was killed is reserved for nighttime guests only. Overnighters Just like her husband, Abby had been attacked with a hatchet, although she'd had an even more savage beating She was struck a total of seventeen times And from the wounds, it looked as though she'd been struck on the side of the head whilst facing her attacker And then she'd fall into the ground At which point the attacker hit her another sixteen times on the back of the head Again Like her husband, there really wasn't much head left on Abby CPR was not on the table this time either And if you really want to know what someone who has been hatchetted to death looks like You can go and look at crime scene photos on Google But then you'll have to sit with yourself afterwards. so Be prepared thingsings weren't already coming across like some sort of X rated late night episode of Murder She wrote. We're about to hit a whole new level. because You're probably expecting that the police response to this violent double hatchet murder of two of F Rivers's highest standing citizens pretty rapid because almost the entire Fall River Police department was on an annual picnic to Rocky Point a nearby amusement park This meant that the response to the murders was a little bit stunted while everybody sobered up and put the hot dogs down However, the police did eventually arrive they did investigate and with only two people in the house at the time of the murders, The list of suspects was pretty slim It's also worth mentioning that that police picnic happened every year. It was widely publicized Everybody knew about it. And they were never allowed to have another one. No It is a not the best idea out there to have your entire Police force out. at fucking amusement park with nobody, nobody holding down the floor back of the station And yes, once again, something to squirrel away in your brain that this was, as Hannah said, common knowledge So yes. The list of suspects is very, very short. Unless of course, Andrew Borden had killed his wife and then turned the hatchet on himself and his own face and his own eyeel It was either. Brigette Busy or someone from outside the house Bridgett told officers that she had been upstairs having a nap And Lizzie told detectives that at the time of her father's murder, thought to be around eleven AM She was in the loveft space of the pigeon bar ing some pears which is the fucking most old and timey alibi. I've ever heard in my entire fucking life Not really an antibi. Excuse Wh I is said? It another boy. She's saying this is where I was. I mean murdering my father. Yeah. Doesn't an alibi need to be confirmed by a person though Yeah, because you could say my alibi is just I was at home watching TV. Can anybody prove it? No, but that's where it was. What would you call that I don't think that's an alibi I think an alibi has to be a person H Whether it's an alibi or not, another important note, was uncharacteristically hot in Fall River at that time pushing forty degrees Celsius that morning So I've been pretty grim in the attic of that pigeon barn eating pears or not Nice pairars though Yeah And from there, Lizzie Borden's story became increasingly vague and rambling At one point, she told the police that she'd heard a groan and some scraping as she'd walked back into her house But then a few hours later, she told officers that she hadn't heard anything at all as shed walked in Overall, the officers who'd rushed back from the policeman's picnic were not thrilled withith Lizzie's attitude They didn't like her changing story, and they thought that she seemed a little bit too calm about the whole thing Despite this, Lizzie was never checked for bloodstains Other than a quick glance A room wasn't searched either According to the officers, this was because Lizzie just wasn't feeling particularly well Tough shit, I think, is what they should have said The officers did search the rest of the house and found several large axes, two hatchets third broken hatchet down in the basement According to the officers who went down to the basement, the broken hatchet looked as though it had been deliberately coated in dust and dirt. in order to make it look as if it was untouched Despite this widely being assumed to be the murder weapon It wasn't taken in as evidence At least not at first During this time, an autopsy was performed in the living room and no sign of poison was found in either victim's system. It is now widely assumed that the mysterious sickness that had struck the whole family in the week leading up to the murders. was the result of, of course, you guessed it The five day old mutton, which had been sat in around forty degree heat. rather than any kind of deadly toxin or poison. That literally makes me feel more unwell than the hatcheted heads Both of the victims' heads were then removed and taken away for further examination, as if the living room autopsy wasn't enough That evening, Lizzie, John Morse and Lizzie's friend Alice all stayed in the house although contrary to popular belief John Morse did not spend that night in the guestroom the one in which Abby had been killed He stayed in a different guest room in the attic Later that night, a police officer who was guarding the house then saw or at least later claimed that he saw Lizzie and Alice taking a mop and a lamp Down to the basement Both women then left and Lizzie returned to the house on her own. The officer, maybe hung over from his picnic, didn't actually investigate what was happening but he claimed that it looked like Lizzie was bent over the sink By the next morning The Bard and Murders had already made the headlines. And the occupants served ninety seconde Street awoke to hundreds of members of the public crowding outside the house John Morse actually attempted to leave the house, but the crowd swarmed him so violently The police had to step in and escort him back inside Over that day, more officers arrived at the house and conducted a much more comprehensive search including checking Lizzie and Emma's clothes as well as taking the broken hatchet that they'd discovered the day before. That evening a senior police officer and the town mayor arrived at the house. and informed Lizzie Bordon. that she was indeed a suspect in the case According to Alice Russell Lizzy's friend She came downstairs the next day to find Lizzie burning a blue dress covered in browny red stains in the kitchen fireplace According to Lizzie. This was because it had been covered in paint during some recent renovations A few days later, an initial inquest into the murders was held at the local police station By someone called Judge, Josiah Bazal. And Lizzy Bordden was now the prime suspect News about the case was spreading like wildfire and the inquest was heavily reported on in the local press And the whole thing did not go well for Lizzie Borden. She'd been given a heavy prescription of morphine by her doctor to calm her nerves. And as a result, she turned up compleomtely off her tits Worst of all Because of a state ruling mandating that inquest be held in private Lizzy wasn't allowed to have her family attorney present either Lizzie spent the entire inquest giving contradictory statements as to her whereabouts at various points during the day First, she said that she came downstairs, when her father came home and then she was reading in the kitchen and then that she was ironing in the dining room On top of that, the massive doses of morphine she was being given meant that she seemed almost oblivious to what was actually happening and she'd refused to answer questions evenven ones that would benefit her in the long run Given this shit show, it was hardly a shock When on the eleventh of august, eighteen ninety two Lizzy was formally arrested and charged with three counts of murder One for her father One for her stepmother And that One for the pair is a collective. The next day at her arraignment Judge Josiah Blazel foundound Lizzy Borden Probably guilty of murder And she was jailed in Taunton, Massachusetts, awaiting trial Lizzie Bordon was the first woman ever to be jailed in Taunton for a capital crime And with Lizzie now found probably guilty and sitting in jail. The whole story went completely gangbusters What it started as a local case had write ups in several national newspapers including a three page spread. in the Boston globe And now seems like a good enough time as any to talk about why the media coverage of this case and the following trial turned into the press equivalent of nuclear Godzilla First and foremost, the crime itself is sensational. there's no doubt about it The gruesome double murder of an affluent and highly prominent couple Already, that's eye catching And then when you throw in that the prime suspect is a member of the family And even more unbelievably than that, a young woman That's really special stuff. Even today, a posh girl accused of killing her dad and stepmom with a hatchet would be front page news for many days Please see Constance Martin, for example Th then the concept that women could be killers was still up for debate E women were actually up to the job. It was always a nice gentle poisoning And that left everyone's masculinity totally intact A brutal female murderer, a violent one, was absolutely beyond belief. And that is something which will play a big part in the later stages of the trial Summer is in full swing And what better time to refresh your underwear draw You know we love and trust in Honey Love, to keep us comfortable and supported even on the sweatiest sun soak days Honey loveo an independent female founded brand, who just get what we're looking for with products intelligently designed by women who actually wear them I am absolutely obsessed with their Cloud embrace bra It's a wireless bra that still holds a girls up, so I don't feel like I'm sacrificing support for comfort And if you've still got some weddings this season, Honey loveo a coming in clutch with the shapewear you need to cut up the dance floor Treat yourself to the most advanced bras and shapewear on the market Use our exclusive link to save twenty percent off honey Love at honeylove. com slash red handed That's honey loveove d. com slash red handed After you check out, they'll ask you where you heard about them Please support our show and tell them we sent you Experience the new standard in comfort and support with Honey Love. The best summer pieces are the ones you end up wearing on repeat Comfortable, versatile, and somehow right for almost every occasion That's why I love Qintinces They make elevated essentials using premium materials like European linen, organic cotton, and washable silk all without the eyroll inducing retail markup we've come to expect Everything at Quintince is priced fifty percent to eighty percent less than similar brands They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middleman So you're paying for quality rather than a fancy brand name Lately, I've been reaching for Quince's gorgeous fourteen cararat gold jewelry pieces, as the finishing touch to elevate all of my outfits Because honestly, a simple gold hoop transforms me into a chic girl who's got her life together. Make your summer wardrobe feel easier. Go to quince dot com slash red handed for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Now available in Canada too That's Qu INcE d. com slash red handed for free shipping and three hundred and sixty five day returns Quintince d. com slash red handed The second reason this trial went so insane was the rapid development of printing and communication technology For a more in depth rundown of how massive this leap forward was and how instrumental it was for the development of society in general I wouldd highly recommend you go and listen to our shorthand on the printing press But the abridged version is this Newspaper journalism was right in the middle of a revolution Just a few decades beforehand, printing technology was expensive and time consuming Sure, it was quicker than rewriting a book by hand. It still wasn't easy. But with massive leaps forward in technology, such as the rotary printing press Suddenly Printing the written word was cheap. Easy Whereas before, every letter counted meaneaning that only the absolutely essential news. printed Now could pr any outshhip and still do This was then combined with the telegraph system which connected the entirety of the USA and eventually the world Suddenly, news that took place in Fall River, Massachusetts didn't take several days to make it to LA or Chicago It took but minutes This meant that journalists from around the country could flock down to Fall River. and give blow by blow accounts of every juicy detail. to their editors across the country This was what became known as yellow journalism. a kind of precursor to the tabloids that focused on sexy lurid and graphic details to sell papers Absolutely nothing was off the table. Over the next year that Lizzie sat in jail