Netflix’s MONSTER: The Lizzie Borden Story has brought renewed attention to a case that the Fall River Police department investigated more than 130 years ago.
On August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found murdered inside their Fall River home. Both had suffered multiple blows from a hatchet-like weapon.
Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s daughter and Abby’s stepdaughter, was home that morning. Her accounts of the events changed during questioning, and investigators later recovered several axes and hatchets from the home, including a broken-handled hatchet head that prosecutors argued could have been connected to the murders.
Lizzie was questioned at an inquest on August 8 and arrested three days later. A grand jury subsequently indicted her for the murders.
Her trial began in New Bedford on June 5, 1893. Prosecutors presented evidence concerning the crime scene, the hatchet head, Lizzie’s statements, and her activities following the murders. The defense challenged the evidence and argued that the prosecution had not established her guilt. After deliberating on June 20, the jury acquitted Lizzie of both murders.
While the Netflix series dramatizes the case, the original investigation remains part of Fall River’s history. Our department has preserved the arrest log book from 1892, including Lizzie Borden’s entry.
Today, that record offers a glimpse into the real investigation and the history preserved here in Fall River.
