The Fall River Tragedy

The story of how Lizzie Borden supposedly murdered her parents has passed into American folklore, partly thanks to the albeit inaccurate playground rhyme, "Lizzie Borden took an axe, and gave her mother 40 whacks. When she saw what she had done, she gave her father 41." Here we have the 'true' story, as reported by the local police reporter who attended the trial and lived only streets away from the Borden home with his young wife. After the trial, Porter 'disappeared' and it was widely speculated he had either been murdered or bribed to disappear in order to suppress the book. His reappearance some time later put paid to the first theory. After his death at age 39 from tuberculosis, a new theory emerged, that he had been away for treatment while keeping his illness secret. Meanwhile, the trial itself was noteworthy for several reasons: it was one of the first to be followed by nationwide press, providing a template for today's tabloid and cable coverage of major trials; it also had some distinguished personnel: one of the prosecutors, Frank Moody, later became the attorney general of the United States and was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Theodore Roosevelt; and Borden’s defense attorney, George Robinson, was the former governor of Massachusetts. The appearance of Professor Wood of Harvard University was an early use of an expert witness at trial.


By : Edwin H. Porter (c. 1864 - 1904)

00 - Preface



01 - Discovery of the Murders



02 - Police Searching the Premises



03 - The Borden Family



04 - Hiram C. Harrington’s Story



05 - The Search of the House



06 - The Funeral



07 - A Reward Offered



08 - A Sermon on the Murders



09 - Theories Advanced



10 - Chapter X



11 - Miss Lizzie Borden Arrested



12 - Lizzie Borden Pleads 'Not Guilty'



13 - The Preliminary Hearing Adjourned



14 - Dr. Dolan Cross-Examined



15 - Second Day of the Trial



16 - Third and Fourth Days of the Trial



17 - Fifth Day of the Trial



18 - Sixth Day of the Trial



19 - District Attorney Knowlton’s Argument



20 - Lizzie A. Borden Indicted



21 - The Trickey-McHenry Affair



22 - Beginning of the Superior Court Trial



23 - Third Day of the Trial



24 - Fourth Day of the Trial



25 - Fifth Day of the Trial



26 - Seventh Day of the Trial



27 - Eighth and Ninth Days of the Trial



28 - Tenth Day of the Trial



29 - Eleventh Day of the Trial



30 - Twelfth Day of the Trial Part 1



31 - Twelfth Day of the Trial Part 2



32 - Twelfth Day of the Trial Part 3



33 - District Attorney Knowlton’s Plea Part 1



34 - District Attorney Knowlton’s Plea Part 2



35 - Judge Dewey’s Charge to the Jury


When the assassination of Andrew J. Borden and Abbie D. Borden, his wife, was announced, not only the people of Fall River and of Massachusetts, but the public throughout the country manifested the deepest interest in the affair. The murders soon became the theme of universal comment, both in public and private, and every newspaper reference to the affair was read with eagerness, digested and commented upon in a manner unprecedented. The crimes stand out in bold relief as the most atrocious, and at the same time, the most mystifying which the American public had ever before been called upon to discuss. They had about them that fascination of uncertainty, horrible though they were, which fixes the attention and holds it continually. Miss Lizzie A. Borden, a daughter of the murdered man, was arrested and charged with the killing. She was a young woman of hitherto spotless reputation and character, and more than that she was educated, refined and prominently connected with the work of the christian church in Fall River. Her arrest added more and more to the interest which the public had taken in the matter. She was tried before the Superior Court of Massachusetts and a jury of her peers and found not guilty of the crimes. This event settled beyond question the probability of her guilt, and yet the case lost none of its absorbing interest. The author of this book therefore, has for a purpose the desire to give the reading public a connected story of the whole case, commencing with the day of the tragedy and ending with the day that Miss Borden was set free. Persons believing implicitly in the correctness of the findings of the jury at New Bedford will see much wrong done in those chapters which treat of the police work. But that the grand jury indicted the young lady is no fault of the author, and the story of what brought that indictment about is important, therefore it is given without prejudice. Harsh words were said of Miss Borden, but they came from those who had a sworn duty to perform, and they alone are responsible. Her defense is given as freely as the case of the prosecution, and with it the history is made as complete as was possible. The facts discussed came from official sources and are dependent upon the testimony submitted at the court trials.

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