The Legend of Lizzie Borden

Lizzie became the primary suspect because she was the only other person in the house besides the maid Bridget Sullivan when the murders occurred. Her inconsistent testimony during the inquest, where she couldn't clearly remember whether she was upstairs or downstairs when her father returned, combined with her lack of visible grief at the funeral and her refusal to wear black, fueled public suspicion. The prosecution argued she had motive, opportunity, and no credible alibi.

Lizzie was acquitted primarily because the defense successfully challenged the physical evidence and questioned the timeline. Her lawyers emphasized the lack of blood on her clothing, she claimed to have been menstruating, explaining the small bloodstains found, and argued the hatchet used in the murders could not be definitively identified. The defense also painted her as a pious woman wronged by circumstantial evidence, and the prosecution failed to provide definitive proof of her guilt. The all-male jury returned a not guilty verdict.

The film leaves this question deliberately ambiguous. While the flashbacks suggest Lizzie as the killer, showing her locking doors, removing her clothes, grabbing a hatchet, and committing the murders, she is never shown definitively committing the acts. The ending shows her acquitted but gives no confirmation or denial when Emma asks if she killed their father. The real-life case remains officially unsolved to this day.

The prosecution presented several pieces of circumstantial evidence: Lizzie had attempted to buy prussic acid (a deadly poison) days before the murders to clean a sealskin cape; she burned a dress the day after the funeral that may have had paint stains; she gave inconsistent testimony about her whereabouts; and she was alone in the house with the victims. A forensic expert demonstrated how the hatchet could have caused the wounds, and Lizzie fainted during this demonstration. Alice Russell testified that Lizzie had spoken of danger from business rivals.

The prosecution claimed Lizzie burned a dress the day after the funeral because it was stained with paint, or possibly blood, from the murders. This act was presented as evidence of guilt, suggesting she was destroying evidence of the killings. The defense never provided a satisfactory explanation for why the dress needed to be burned, making it one of the more suspicious circumstances surrounding Lizzie.

The prosecution suggested Lizzie had a financial motive. Andrew Borden's existing will left most of his substantial estate to his daughters, but Lizzie learned that her stepmother Abby had persuaded Andrew to change the will, which could have reduced or eliminated Lizzie's inheritance. In a flashback, Lizzie tells Emma that Abby must die before any new will could be made. The defense countered that Lizzie was a devout, charitable woman incapable of such violence.

Lizzie asked a chemist for prussic acid a few days before the murders, claiming she needed it to clean a sealskin cape. The chemist refused to sell it without a prescription. While this could be an innocent request, the timing so close to the murders raised suspicion. The prosecution suggested she may have intended to use the poison as either an alternative method of killing or as a decoy, though she ultimately used a hatchet instead.

After her acquittal in 1893, Lizzie moved into a grand mansion in Fall River's fashionable district. She lived there until her death in 1927 at age 66. Her sister Emma, who had supported her throughout the trial, died just nine days after Lizzie. The film ends with Lizzie and Emma together, with Emma asking one final time if Lizzie killed their father, Lizzie gives no answer, leaving the mystery unresolved.

Lizzie fainted when the forensic expert demonstrated how the hatchet could have caused the skull wounds by fitting it to the wounds on display. The fainting could have been a genuine reaction to the gruesome demonstration, or it could have been strategic. Her defense team used the moment to reinforce her image as a fragile, delicate woman incapable of committing such violent acts. The prosecution viewed it as theater.

Lizzie's testimony from the preliminary inquest was deemed inadmissible because she had been questioned without proper legal counsel and was under the influence of morphine during the questioning. This ruling significantly impacted the trial, as her inconsistent statements, which formed much of the early evidence against her, could not be used by the prosecution. The defense successfully argued the testimony was coerced and unreliable.

On the day of the murders, Abby Borden received a note asking her to care for an unnamed sick friend. No one saw who delivered the note, and it was never produced as evidence. The mysterious note explained why Abby was in the house when she normally would have been out, making it a significant element of the case. Some theorized the note was a ruse to get Abby home, though its origin and purpose remain unknown.