"Lizzie Borden took an axe
"Gave her mother 40 whacks,
"When she saw what she had done,
"She gave her father 41."
So it goes, Lizzie Borden's name in infamy as a jumping-rope rhyme. But to those who love true crime, like yours truly, her name is something else entirely. Instead of a jumping-rope rhyme, she is known as the first female serial killer who got away with it.
Elizabeth Borden's shrieks were heard in the streets Aug. 4, 1892. "SOMEONE HAS KILLED FATHER!" She continues calling out for help, frantically, alerting neighbors and the maid, who come running into the sitting room. There, lying in room, is Andrew Borden. Dead. His wife, Lizzie's stepmother, would soon be discovered upstairs, also dead, from axe wounds to their heads, their skulls essentially bashed in beyond all recognition.
(I'll spare you the gruesome photos, but if you have a strong stomach, they're kind of interesting to look at.)
As the hours went on, one singular person rose above the rest as a suspect. One Miss Elizabeth "Lizzie" Borden, the daughter and stepdaughter to Andrew and Abby Borden, the victims.
The trial of the century commenced only days later. And now, almost 130 years later, the question remains: Did Lizzie Borden kill her parents? And if not, who did?
Sarah Miller puts a spin on the Lizzie Borden story you thought you knew. With an inside look of the Borden's lives and the way crime was handled in 1892, the reader is left with questions answered, but newer questions to be asked.
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