Lizzie Borden: Behind The Legend Of The Bloodied Hatchet & Historic Crime Scene Photos
March 15 2012, Published 8:00 a.m. ET
By Debbie Emery - Breaking Celebrity News Reporter
With never-before seen journals kept by her lawyer coming to light recently, historians are hoping to finally discover whether Lizzie Borden really did brutally hack her father and stepmother to death with a hatchet.
In light of the new developments in the 120-year-old cold case, Breaking Celebrity News is revealing details of the lady behind the grisly legend, who was acquitted after one of the most notorious murder trials in American history, and who has been immortalized on the screen, stage and even in a children’s song.
“Elizabeth Borden took an ax and gave her mother forty whacks and when the job was nicely done she gave her father forty one,” goes the lyrics (which can be downloaded as a cell phone ring tone), but how many kids really think about the bloody truth behind the cheerful ditty?
Born on June 19, 1860, Lizzie led a quiet life in her hometown of Fall River, Massachusetts until a grisly double murder landed her not only in a criminal courtroom, but also into the history books. The then 32-year-old librarian shared the rear part of the upstairs of her parents’ house with her sister, Emma -- the two were both spinsters and considered past the marrying age at that time.
In the front of the house lived her father Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby, whom Lizzie had an increasingly tumultuous relationship with.
One steaming hot day on August 4, 1892, the family’s maid, Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan was awoken from a nap by Lizzie screaming hysterically after finding her father’s body hacked beyond recognition while slumped on a couch in the living room. Half an hour later, Abby's body was discovered in a similar state in the guest room upstairs.
Many believe that it was the graphic and violent nature of the murders that have fascinated followers for more than a century since, and even in the slow news era of the 19