Lizzie Borden Essays (2115 words) - American Folklore, Axe Murder

Lizzie Borden On a hot morning on august 4, 1892, Mr. Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby Borden, were brutally murdered. A daughter of the victims, Lizzie Borden was arrested, tried and acquitted of the crime. She was a woman of spotless character and reputation, and more than that she was educated, refined and prominently connected with the work of the Christian church in the Fall River(Gates 2).The town and the country were divided in their opinions of who could commit such horrifying murders. Many theories have been made to explain that day; the finger has been pointed in every direction- even a Chinese Sunday school student of Lizzies. To this day people are unsure as to weather or not Lizzie brutally murdered her parents. Background/Synopsis: The day started off with the usual routine. Mr. And Mrs. Borden made their way downstairs to eat breakfast a little after seven. The next to wake up was Lizzies uncle, who had shown up unannounced and with out luggage the evening before so he could visit a friend in the area the next day. The day of the murder he left the house at nine thirty. Prior to that time Lizzie work up, waited for her parents to finish eating and went downstairs herself to eat breakfast. (It had become a custom for her and her sister to avoid eating meals with their father and stepmother.) Not long after this Mrs. Borden asked the maid to wash the windows. She did as she was told and spent the rest of the day going throughout the house. Mr. Borden went out to run some errands then the came home, lay down on the couch and proceeded to take a nap. This was the last time that he was seen alive. (Martins, Michael, and Binette 72) After breakfast Lizzie went outside to the barn to find some metal of some sort so that she could use it on her planned fishing trip that day. In the twenty minutes she spent in the barn her parents were murdered (Martins, Michael, and Binette 78). An autopsy was done on the dinning room table later that day which determined that Mr. Borden was sleeping when he died. The cause of death was ten blows to the head with an axe (Porter 8). Meanwhile upstairs while making the bed, Mrs. Borden was murdered with a total of 18 gaping wounds, over 1 of which went through the skull (Flenn 2). Lizzie was the first to discover her fathers body. The maid, who was resting in her room in the attic, was called downstairs at 11:10 (Martins, Michael, and Binette 91). Before the maid was able to see Mr. Bordens mutilated body, Lizzie sent her across the street to the familys doctor. Finding that he wasnt home, she and the doctors wife returned to the Borden home. Meanwhile, Mrs. Churchill, the dearest neighbor to the Bordens, discovered Lizzie on the back porch in great distress. She walked over to the house to console her after hearing that Mr. Borden had been murdered she volunteered to send her handyman to find a doctor, and to help. The police station, about 400 yards away, received the message at 11:15. By 11:45 the police and Dr. Bowen were on the scene (Sullivan 16). During all the confusion, while the handyman went for help, Mrs. Borden was completely forgotten. She had left the house earlier to visit a sick friend. After Dr. Bowen asker about her Lizzie recalled hearing her return and asked the maid to go upstairs to look for her. The maid refused fearing what she might find. So with the company of Mrs. Churchill the miad agreed to scale the steps finding Mrs. Borden murdered in the guestroom (Spiering 16). Mrs. Borden was found with her head crushed in. there was a hole about 1.5 X 5.5 inches along with a scalp wound where the flesh was cut off but not separated from the head. The wound was 2 inches long by 1.5 inches wide. On the left side there were four wounds. Three of them went into the skull, one taking apiece right out of the skull. Many of the wounds crushed through