Lizzie Borden
On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were axed to death in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. Their daughter Lizzie was charged with the double murder but was acquitted in 1893 after a trial that captivated Victorian America. The case has never been officially solved.
Case overview
Lizzie Andrew Borden was a 32-year-old woman from Fall River, Massachusetts, who was tried and acquitted in 1893 for the axe murders of her father, Andrew Jackson Borden, and her stepmother, Abby Durfee Gray Borden, on August 4, 1892. [The case became one of the most famous unsolved murders in American history and a lasting piece of American folklore, immortalized in the children's rhyme: 'Lizzie Borden took an axe / And gave her mother forty whacks'](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48897394).
The Borden family lived at 92 Second Street in Fall River, a moderately wealthy but unhappy household. Andrew Borden, 69, was a successful banker and property developer known for his extreme frugality despite considerable wealth. His second wife, Abby, 64, was not well-liked by Andrew's two adult daughters from his first marriage.
[On the morning of August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were killed in their home with a hatchet-like weapon. Abby was found face-down in the upstairs guest bedroom, struck approximately 19 times. Andrew was found on a sofa in the sitting room downstairs, struck 11 times in the face. The medical examiner determined that Abby had been killed approximately 90 minutes before Andrew](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/04/lizzie-borden-murder-mystery-history/).
Lizzie reported finding her father's body and initially claimed she had been in the barn during the time of the murders. Her account varied during questioning. She had attempted to purchase prussic acid from a local pharmacy the day before, and was observed burning a dress in the kitchen stove three days after the murders.
[Lizzie Borden was arrested on August 11, 1892, and charged with both murders. Her trial, held in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in June 1893, was a national sensation. The all-male jury acquitted her on June 20, 1893, after only 90 minutes of deliberation](https://apnews.com/article/lizzie-borden-case-anniversary-murders-1892). Several factors contributed to the acquittal, including the exclusion of Lizzie's contradictory inquest testimony and the difficulty jurors had in believing that a well-bred Victorian woman could commit such violent acts.
[Despite her acquittal, public opinion has remained divided on Lizzie's guilt for over a century, and the case continues to generate books, films, and scholarly debate](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/aug/04/lizzie-borden-murder-anniversary-1892).
Lizzie Borden was arrested on August 11, 1892, and charged with the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. A preliminary hearing was held in Fall River District Court in August-November 1892. The grand jury indicted Borden in December 1892. [Her trial took place in New Bedford, Massachusetts, in the Bristol County Superior Court in June 1893. Key ruling: Lizzie's inquest testimony was excluded, as the court found she had not been properly advised of her rights](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/04/lizzie-borden-murder-mystery-history/). [On June 20, 1893, the jury acquitted Borden of all charges after approximately 90 minutes of deliberation](https://apnews.com/article/lizzie-borden-case-anniversary-murders-1892). [No other person was ever charged with the murders, and the case remains officially unsolved](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48897394).
June 20, 1893
Acquitted after 90 minutes of deliberation
After just 90 minutes of deliberation, the jury acquitted Lizzie Borden of all charges. The murders of Andrew and Abby Borden were never officially solved.
Source →June 5, 1893
Trial opens in New Bedford
The trial of Lizzie Borden began at the New Bedford Courthouse before three judges. Her defense team included former Massachusetts Governor George Robinson.
Source →December 2, 1892
Indicted for murder
A grand jury indicted Lizzie Borden on three counts of murder — for the deaths of her father, her stepmother, and both together.
Source →August 11, 1892
Lizzie Borden arrested
Lizzie Borden, 32, was arrested as the primary suspect in the murders of her father and stepmother. She maintained her innocence throughout.
Source →August 4, 1892
Andrew and Abby Borden axe-murdered
Lizzie Borden's father Andrew Borden (69) and stepmother Abby Borden were found axe-murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. Abby received 19 blows; Andrew received 10-11 blows.
Source →Relationship data not yet mapped — nodes positioned by force simulation.
Lizzie Borden
Lizzie Andrew Borden was acquitted of murdering her father and stepmother in 1893 despite widespread public suspicion. She remained in Fall River for the rest of her life and died in 1927 at age 66, just days before her sister Emma.
Andrew Borden
Andrew Jackson Borden, 70, was a wealthy Fall River banker and businessman murdered in his sitting room on August 4, 1892. His estate of approximately $300,000 was inherited by his daughters Lizzie and Emma.
Abby Borden
Abby Durfee Gray Borden, 64, was Andrew Borden's second wife and Lizzie's stepmother, found murdered in the upstairs guest room of the family home on August 4, 1892. She was killed approximately 90 minutes before her husband.