What is the real story of Lizzie Borden? More than 130 years after the 1892 murders in Fall River, Massachusetts, the central mystery remains unresolved. Lizzie Borden was accused of killing her father, Andrew Borden, and her stepmother, Abby Borden, but a jury found her not guilty in 1893. No one was ever convicted for the killings. The case is back in the spotlight in September 2026 because Netflix has released Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, starring Ella Beatty as Lizzie.
The real case differs from the familiar nursery rhyme. The rhyme turned Lizzie into an enduring symbol of an infamous axe murder, but the surviving historical record leaves important questions unanswered.
Lizzie was a suspect, not a convicted killer. That distinction remains central to understanding what happened.
Aileen Wuornos is sometimes mentioned alongside Lizzie Borden because both became well-known figures in American true-crime history, although their cases were completely unrelated. Do you want to read more about why Aileen Wuornos appears in the Lizzie Borden story?
The Borden family before the murders
Lizzie Andrew Borden was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, on July 19, 1860. Her father, Andrew Jackson Borden, became a successful businessman and accumulated significant property in the city.
Andrew had been married to Lizzie’s mother, Sarah, but Sarah died in 1863. Andrew later married Abby Durfee Gray, who became Lizzie’s stepmother.
Lizzie had an older sister, Emma. The sisters remained closely connected for much of their lives, including during the years after the murders.
The Borden household attracted attention because of its family’s financial position and internal tensions. Historical accounts have described disagreements involving money, property and family relationships.
However, later fictional accounts have sometimes presented those tensions more dramatically than the surviving evidence allows.
The important fact is that Lizzie lived in the same Fall River home as Andrew and Abby when the murders occurred.
What happened on August 4, 1892?
August 4, 1892, became the defining date in Lizzie Borden’s life.
Andrew Borden was found dead inside the family’s home on Second Street in Fall River. His body was discovered on a sofa in the sitting room.
Abby Borden was found upstairs in a guest bedroom.
Both had suffered repeated blows to the head with a sharp-edged weapon. Investigators concluded that the deaths were murders.
The shocking discovery immediately created intense public interest.
The investigation quickly turned toward the people closest to the victims. Lizzie became a central focus of suspicion, although the evidence did not produce a simple explanation for what had happened inside the house.
The Library of Congress records August 4 as the date of the murders and August 11 as the date of Lizzie’s arrest.
Why did Lizzie become the main suspect?
Several circumstances caused investigators to focus on Lizzie.
One issue involved her accounts of what happened inside the house. Investigators also examined the family’s relationships, financial circumstances and Lizzie’s behavior around the time of the killings.
The prosecution later relied heavily on circumstantial evidence.
That evidence included testimony concerning clothing and an alleged attempt to obtain poison. Investigators also examined whether Lizzie had destroyed clothing that could have been connected to the crime.
A family friend, Alice Russell, became an important witness concerning a dress Lizzie burned after the murders. Lizzie reportedly said the dress was covered with paint.
The prosecution viewed the incident differently.
Another important issue concerned a drugstore employee who said Lizzie had attempted to obtain poison shortly before the murders. That testimony did not become part of the trial evidence after the judge excluded it.
These details became part of the enduring story surrounding Lizzie, but they did not result in a conviction.
Lizzie Borden was arrested one week later
Police arrested Lizzie on August 11, 1892.
The arrest occurred only seven days after Andrew and Abby were killed.
News organizations across the United States followed the investigation. Historic newspaper coverage preserved by the Library of Congress shows how quickly the case became a national story.
The public reaction was intense.
Some people viewed Lizzie as a suspicious daughter connected to a horrific crime. Others questioned whether the available evidence justified such an accusation.
The case became even more prominent as it moved toward trial.
The 1893 trial
Lizzie’s murder trial began on June 5, 1893, in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
The proceedings attracted national attention. Newspapers closely followed the testimony, legal arguments and dramatic moments inside the courtroom.
The prosecution attempted to establish Lizzie’s responsibility through circumstantial evidence.
The defense challenged the reliability and significance of that evidence.
One major development involved Lizzie’s statements to investigators after the murders. Judge Justin Dewey excluded her conflicting statements to police because she had not had an attorney present when she made them.
The court also prevented the drugstore clerk’s testimony about the alleged poison purchase from being presented to the jury.
Those decisions affected the evidence available to prosecutors.
The case therefore depended heavily on circumstances rather than direct testimony from someone who claimed to have witnessed Lizzie commit the murders.
Why was Lizzie Borden acquitted?
The jury reached its verdict on June 20, 1893.
Lizzie Borden was found not guilty of murdering both Andrew and Abby.
The jury reportedly deliberated for about 90 minutes before returning the verdict.
The Library of Congress confirms the key dates: the trial began June 5, 1893, and Lizzie was acquitted on June 20.
The acquittal meant that the prosecution had not proved the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
It did not identify another killer.
It also did not establish a definitive explanation for what happened inside the Borden home.
That distinction is important because popular retellings sometimes present Lizzie as though she was convicted.
She was not.
There was no criminal conviction against Lizzie Borden for the deaths of Andrew and Abby.
The famous nursery rhyme changed the story
The Borden case became deeply connected to a well-known children’s rhyme about Lizzie and an axe.
The rhyme helped preserve her name in American culture, but it did not provide an accurate legal or historical account of the case.
The traditional version dramatically describes the number of blows suffered by Andrew and Abby. Modern historical accounts note that the rhyme exaggerated those numbers.
The rhyme also creates a simple story with Lizzie as the obvious killer.
The actual case was much less certain.
Lizzie was accused. She stood trial. She was acquitted.
The identity of the killer was never established through a criminal conviction.
That difference explains why the Borden case continues to attract historical interest.
What happened to Lizzie after her acquittal?
The acquittal allowed Lizzie to return to her life, but public suspicion did not disappear.
She and Emma eventually lived at a large Fall River residence known as Maplecroft.
Lizzie remained in Fall River for the rest of her life.
Her relationship with Emma later deteriorated. The sisters eventually separated, ending a relationship that had remained important to both women for years.
Lizzie lived privately during her later decades.
She died on June 1, 1927, at the age of 66. Emma died only days later.
The sisters were buried in Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River near their father and stepmother.
Lizzie’s death did not bring a definitive answer to the Borden murders.
No later court proceeding established her guilt.
Was Lizzie Borden ever officially cleared?
The answer requires careful wording.
Lizzie was legally acquitted, but the court did not determine who actually killed Andrew and Abby.
An acquittal means the prosecution failed to establish guilt to the required legal standard. It does not amount to a separate finding that investigators had identified the true killer.
At the same time, it is inaccurate to describe Lizzie as a convicted murderer.
The historical record supports three basic facts:
- Lizzie was accused of the murders.
- She was tried in 1893.
- She was acquitted of both charges.
The question of who killed Andrew and Abby remains unresolved.
What does the historical evidence actually establish?
The surviving evidence provides a detailed picture of the investigation and trial, but it does not produce a universally accepted solution.
The Library of Congress has preserved historic newspaper coverage from the period. Its collection includes reports about the murders, Lizzie’s arrest, the trial and the verdict.
These records are valuable because they show how Americans experienced the case when it was happening.
They also reveal how quickly Lizzie became a public figure.
Modern historians can compare those reports with court records and other surviving material. That process helps separate contemporary documentation from stories that developed later.
The distinction matters in a case surrounded by more than a century of retellings.
The real story behind Netflix’s 2026 series
Interest in Lizzie Borden has surged again because Netflix released Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on September 17, 2026.
Ella Beatty plays Lizzie Borden. Charlie Hunnam portrays Andrew Borden, while Rebecca Hall plays Abby Borden. Vicky Krieps appears as Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan, the Borden family’s maid.
Netflix describes the production as a drama.
That classification matters when comparing the series with historical evidence.
The show uses real people and historical events but also dramatizes the story. Netflix’s own material explains that the series creates a fictionalized version of Lizzie’s life using details from the historical record.
The real Bridget Sullivan was the Borden family’s maid, but claims about her being Lizzie’s romantic partner and accomplice belong to the dramatic interpretation rather than established evidence about the murders.
That distinction is particularly important for viewers searching for the real story after watching the series.
What is known about Bridget Sullivan?
Bridget Sullivan worked in the Borden household when the murders occurred.
She became an important figure in the investigation because she was one of the people present around the Borden home during the events of August 4.
The 2026 Netflix series gives her a much larger dramatic role and portrays her relationship with Lizzie in ways that go beyond what can be established as fact.
Current reporting has specifically noted that the show’s depiction should not be treated as a documentary reconstruction.
The historical case itself does not establish that Bridget helped Lizzie murder Andrew and Abby.
That is an important distinction for anyone trying to understand what really happened.
Why does the mystery continue more than a century later?
The Borden murders remain compelling because the case has several elements that rarely come together in one historical investigation.
There were two victims.
A member of the household became the principal suspect.
The suspect went to trial.
The prosecution failed to secure a conviction.
And no alternative suspect was ever convicted for the killings.
That combination left the story without a definitive ending.
Instead, generations of writers, filmmakers and researchers have revisited the evidence.
Some interpretations have focused on Lizzie. Others have examined different people connected to the family.
But a theory is not the same as a proven historical conclusion.
The most reliable account remains tied to what can be established from the investigation, trial and surviving records.
What is the real story of Lizzie Borden today?
The central facts have remained remarkably consistent since 1893.
Andrew and Abby Borden were murdered in their Fall River home on August 4, 1892.
Lizzie Borden was arrested one week later.
She faced trial in June 1893.
The jury found her not guilty on June 20.
No one was convicted of the two murders.
Lizzie lived for another 34 years and died in 1927.
The case therefore cannot accurately be described as a solved murder case involving a convicted killer.
It is a historical murder investigation in which the principal defendant was acquitted.
The renewed attention in 2026 does not change that historical record. Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story has introduced the case to another generation, but the drama does not provide a new legal resolution to the murders.
For American true-crime history, Lizzie Borden remains an unusual figure. Her name became synonymous with murder, yet the woman herself was never convicted of the crimes that created that reputation.
More than a century later, that unresolved contradiction remains at the heart of the Borden story.
The Lizzie Borden case still raises questions that history has never completely answered, so share your thoughts and keep following the latest developments surrounding this enduring American mystery.