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THE Fall River Tragedy: A HISTORY OF THE BORDEN MURDERS.
THE Fall River Tragedy: A HISTORY OF THE BORDEN MURDERS.
A PLAIN STATEMENT OF THE MATERIAL FACTS PERTAINING TO THE MOST FAMOUS CRIME OF THE CENTURY, INCLUDING THE STORY OF THE ARREST AND PRELIMINARY TRIAL OF MISS LIZZIE A. BORDEN AND A FULL REPORT OF THE SUPERIOR COURT TRIAL, WITH A HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED ACCOUNT OF THE RENOWNED TRICKEY-M c HENRY AFFAIR COMPILED FROM OFFICIAL SOURCES AND PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED WITH ORIGINAL ENGRAVINGS. BY EDWIN H. PORTER, Police Reporter of the Fall River Globe . GEO. R. H. BUFFINTON, PUBLISHER. FALL RIVER. Press of J. D
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PREFACE.
PREFACE.
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
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CHAPTER I. Discovery of the Murders.
CHAPTER I. Discovery of the Murders.
At high noon on Thursday the fourth day of August, 1892 , the cry of murder swept through the city of Fall River like a typhoon on the smooth surface of an eastern sea. It was caught up by a thousand tongues and repeated at every street corner until it reached the utmost confines of the municipality. A double murder, the most atrocious of crimes, committed under the very glare of the mid-day sun within three minutes walk of the City Hall was the way the story went and it was true in every partic
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CHAPTER II. Police Searching the Premises.
CHAPTER II. Police Searching the Premises.
Let us go back to the Borden house on the afternoon following the time of the massacre. Medical Examiner Dolan and his associates are found at work on the partial autopsy. The bodies had been removed to the sitting room. The physicians found thirteen wounds on the head of Mr. Borden, which were clean cut and evidently made by some very sharp instrument. The largest was four and a half inches long and two inches wide. Many of them penetrated the skull and one severed the eye-ball and jaw bone. In
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CHAPTER III. The Borden Family.
CHAPTER III. The Borden Family.
Andrew J. Borden was numbered among the wealthy and influential men of Fall River. He was one of the family of Bordens whose name has always been identified with the growth and business enterprises of the city and vicinity. No one knows how much money he was worth, but persons who are as well acquainted with his affairs as he would allow them to be, do not hesitate to say that his estate was worth $300,000. He was a thrifty Yankee in every sense of the word, and nothing that represented money wa
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CHAPTER IV. Hiram C. Harrington’s Story.
CHAPTER IV. Hiram C. Harrington’s Story.
Hiram C. Harrington a brother-in-law of Andrew J. Borden having married Mr. Borden’s only sister, Luanna, and a blacksmith by trade, threw some light upon the manner in which the Borden’s lived which was highly interesting and important for the police to know. He said in an interview the day after the murder: “I have become acquainted with a good deal of the family history during years past. Mr. Borden was an exceedingly hard man concerning money matters, determined and stubborn, and when once h
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CHAPTER V. The Search of the House.
CHAPTER V. The Search of the House.
Friday morning came and with it little but mystery to add to the awful tragedy. The police had guarded the house all night. Marshal Hilliard had been active to an unusual degree, but the solution of the great murder mystery seemed to be as far distant as at any time since the discovery of the bodies. It was stated early Friday morning that arrests would be made during the day, but they were not. Miss Lizzie Borden was suspected but there was no evidence against her. It would have been a serious
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CHAPTER VI. The Funeral.
CHAPTER VI. The Funeral.
The funeral of the murdered people took place on the morning of August 6th . Crowds of people numbering between 3000 and 4000 appeared on Second street in front of the house, and about twenty policemen stood around and maintained a clear passage. Rev. Dr. Adams of the First Congregational Church and City Missionary Buck soon arrived and entered the house. The bodies were laid in two black cloth-covered caskets in the sitting room, where Mr. Borden was killed. An ivy wreath was placed on Mr. Bord
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CHAPTER VII. A Reward Offered.
CHAPTER VII. A Reward Offered.
On the morning after the tragedy the following notice was sent to the newspapers: “Five thousand dollars reward. The above reward will be paid to any one who may secure the arrest and conviction of the person or persons, who occasioned the death of Andrew J. Borden and his wife. Signed, Emma L. Borden and Lizzie A. Borden.” Here was an incentive calculated to invigorate the work of those who were bent on solving the great mystery. But the police officers did not stop to read this announcement. I
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CHAPTER VIII. A Sermon on the Murders.
CHAPTER VIII. A Sermon on the Murders.
On Saturday the case took on an unexpected phaze. Superintendent O. M. Hanscom of the Boston office of the Pinkerton Detective Agency appeared on the scene. He was not employed by the Mayor of Fall River nor the Marshal of Police and it soon became noised abroad that he was present in the interests of the Misses Borden with the avowed intention of clearing up the mystery. In company with Mr. Jennings he visited the Borden house and was in consultation with members of the family for about two hou
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CHAPTER IX. Theories Advanced.
CHAPTER IX. Theories Advanced.
By Monday morning following the tragedy, the fact that some member of the Borden family was suspected of the crime by the police, became a matter of public comment. But withal there was nothing to substantiate this suspicion, except that the officers kept up their daily and nightly watch of the house and its surroundings. Public sentiment began to be divided. The police had a large following who believed implicitly in their ability to ferret out the crimes, and it soon became noised about that n
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CHAPTER X.
CHAPTER X.
There was intense excitement in Fall River the day the murder was reported. It grew hourly and showed no signs of abatement, but rather continued on the increase, until on Tuesday following it was at fever heat. Men no longer gathered in knots on the sidewalks. On some of the streets, and particularly the thoroughfares in the vicinity of the police station, people were scattered along the curbing for blocks. The report that an inquest was to be held in the Second District Court before Judge J. C
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CHAPTER XI. Miss Lizzie Borden Arrested.
CHAPTER XI. Miss Lizzie Borden Arrested.
Thursday was the last day of the inquest, and in its evening hours a veritable sensation was produced. The same impenetrable secrecy was maintained all day long, and no one knew what progress was being made behind the grim stone walls of the Central Police Station wherein Judge Blaisdell and the chosen few sat in solemn conclave. The scenes of the day before were enacted in the guard room and the streets about the building. Crowds surged about the doors and a double guard of patrolmen were doing
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CHAPTER XII. Lizzie Borden Pleads “Not Guilty.”
CHAPTER XII. Lizzie Borden Pleads “Not Guilty.”
Miss Lizzie A. Borden was to be arraigned in the Second District Court, on Friday morning. By 9 o’clock a crowd of people thronged the streets and stood in a drenching rain to await the opening of the door of the room in which the court held its sittings. It was not a well-dressed crowd, nor was there anybody in it from the acquaintance circle of the Borden family in Fall River. Soon after 9 o’clock, a hack rolled up to the side door and Emma Borden and John V. Morse alighted and went up the sta
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CHAPTER XIII. The Preliminary Hearing Adjourned.
CHAPTER XIII. The Preliminary Hearing Adjourned.
About ten days elapsed between the date of Miss Borden’s commitment to Taunton Jail and the date set for the preliminary trial. During this time there was no end of theories advanced by both sides as to the guilt or innocence of the accused. Meanwhile she remained in custody of Sheriff Wright and was apparently undisturbed by circumstances which surrounded her. The days went by in a quiet uneventful manner and those who predicted a collapse of her mental or physical system, while she was a tempo
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CHAPTER XIV. Dr. Dolan Cross-Examined.
CHAPTER XIV. Dr. Dolan Cross-Examined.
In the afternoon Dr. Dolan was placed upon the stand and continued his testimony under the cross-examination of Col. Adams. He said: “It was about noonday when I got to Andrew J. Borden’s house. First heard of the murder when I was in front of the Borden house. Was out driving to visit patients. It was in consequence of questions I asked when I saw the crowd before the house that I learned what had happened. I went into the hall or entry-way in the rear of the house. I met Bridget Sullivan and D
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CHAPTER XV. Second Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XV. Second Day of the Trial.
Dr. Dolan was placed upon the stand again and dwelt at length upon the question of his opinion as to which of the Bordens was murdered first. He said: “I will say that the condition of the blood indicated that it had been out of the living tissues an hour and a half to two hours. Did not, the first time I was up-stairs, examine the edges of the wounds of Mrs. Borden. Formed my opinion of the time since Mrs. Borden’s death when I first saw her. Think she must have been dead an hour and a half to
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CHAPTER XVI. Third and Fourth Days of the Trial.
CHAPTER XVI. Third and Fourth Days of the Trial.
Mr. Knowlton called Bridget Sullivan to the stand and she continued her testimony—“Mrs. Borden came down stairs Wednesday morning, saying she and Mr. Borden had been sick that night. They looked pretty sick. Lizzie said she had been sick all night, too. I came down to start the fire. Miss Lizzie had been ironing eight or nine minutes when I went up stairs. There used to be a horse kept in the barn. Since the horse was kept there, I have seen Lizzie go to the barn. Miss Lizzie spoke about her mot
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CHAPTER XVII. Fifth Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XVII. Fifth Day of the Trial.
There was a deathly stillness in the little court room as Prof. Edward S. Wood of Harvard College, the expert in chemistry, upon whose evidence it was believed so much would depend, was called to the stand. Lizzie Borden did not look as strong as on preceding days, and the look which she concentrated upon the countenance of Prof. Wood was absolutely pitiful. Emma Borden’s face wore a slight flush and the other members of the party did not stir a muscle. Every eye in the room was upon the witness
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CHAPTER XVIII. Sixth Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XVIII. Sixth Day of the Trial.
STATE OFFICER GEORGE SEAVER. The proceedings opened by Judge Blaisdell announcing that he was ready to hear the arguments of counsel. Mr. Jennings arose and said: “May it please Your Honor, this complaint upon which you have to pass to-day, in substance, alleges that on the 4th of August last Andrew J. Borden was murdered by his daughter Lizzie. I must say I close this case with feelings entirely different from those I have ever experienced at the conclusion of any case. This man was not merely
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CHAPTER XIX. District Attorney Knowlton’s Argument.
CHAPTER XIX. District Attorney Knowlton’s Argument.
OFFICER MICHAEL MULLALY. Knowledge of the splendid presentation of the case of the defence by Mr. Jennings reached the streets almost in advance of its conclusion, and the effect was apparent at the opening of the afternoon session. The court room was crowded to excess, and there were larger throngs at the entrances on the square than had been noticed since the opening of the hearing. Everybody expected an interesting answer from the District Attorney, and the gathering assembled to listen to it
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CHAPTER XX. Lizzie A. Borden Indicted.
CHAPTER XX. Lizzie A. Borden Indicted.
Contrary to the expectations of a great many people, Judge Blaisdell held that Lizzie Borden was “probably guilty” of the murder of her father. She was not tried nor accused of the murder of her stepmother; all that the State desired was to hold her to await the action of the grand jury of Bristol County. The prisoner was transferred to the county jail at Taunton and delivered into the keeping of Sheriff Wright and his wife. The latter, the matron of the institution, formerly lived in Fall River
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CHAPTER XXI. The Trickey-McHenry Affair.
CHAPTER XXI. The Trickey-McHenry Affair.
The history of the Borden murder would be incomplete without reference to the affair in which Henry G. Trickey, the talented reporter of the Boston Globe , and Detective Edwin D. McHenry figured so prominently. They were not alone in the deal which resulted in the Boston Globe publishing on the 12th of October, 1892 , a story which has since became famous as the most gigantic “fake” ever laid before the reading public. A dozen people, a majority of whom rank high in the estimation of the public
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CHAPTER XXII. Beginning of the Superior Court Trial.
CHAPTER XXII. Beginning of the Superior Court Trial.
According to the arrangements already made, the trial of Miss Lizzie Borden commenced in New Bedford on the morning of the 5th of June, 1893 . It was conducted before three Superior Court Judges. They were Chief Justice Albert Mason and Associate Justices Caleb Blodgett and Justin Dewey. No spectators were allowed in the court room the first day of the trial, but this rule was not observed later. The only persons present at the opening were the 150 jurors from which twelve were to be selected, t
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CHAPTER XXIII. Third Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XXIII. Third Day of the Trial.
Civil Engineer Thomas Kieran gave an exhaustive statement of measurements he had made on the premises. James A. Walsh, photographer, of Fall River, testified as to the accuracy of the pictures he had made of the victims and the house on the day of the killing. John Vinnecum Morse was the third witness called. His examination was conducted by District Attorney Moody, and was not different in any manner from that at the preliminary trial. Abram G. Hart, treasurer of the Union Savings Bank, testifi
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CHAPTER XXIV. Fourth Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XXIV. Fourth Day of the Trial.
Dr. S. W. Bowen, the family physician, was the first witness called. After telling of his arrival at home he said: “I saw Miss Lizzie Borden and Mrs. Churchill in the side hall, just at the end of it, the kitchen door; I said, ‘Lizzie, what’s the matter?’ she said, ‘Father has been killed or stabbed’; I asked, ‘Where is your father?’ she said, ‘In the sitting room.’ That was all she said in that conversation at that time. In consequence of what she said I went into the dining room and then into
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CHAPTER XXV. Fifth Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XXV. Fifth Day of the Trial.
The forenoon was devoted to an exhaustive cross examination of Mr. Fleet by Mr. Robinson. Captain Philip Harrington was the next witness. “I was at dinner on the day of the tragedy, and it was 12 o’clock when my attention was first called; I went in by the front gate, along the north side, and went in at the north door; I saw Mr. Sawyer at the door; I didn’t see Lizzie there, but there were some ladies and some officers. I asked a question or two, and was directed to the sitting room, where Mr.
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CHAPTER XXVI. Seventh Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XXVI. Seventh Day of the Trial.
On Monday morning the Court came in and Mr. Moody argued at length in support of his claim that the testimony given by Lizzie Borden at the inquest be allowed to go before the jury. It was a verbatim report of this testimony which Miss White would have testified to. Mr. Robinson made an extensive reply and in the afternoon it was decided that the testimony was incompetent, and therefore ruled out. Thus the strongest prop of the State’s case was broken down. Officer Joseph Hyde told the story of
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CHAPTER XXVII. Eighth and Ninth Days of the Trial.
CHAPTER XXVII. Eighth and Ninth Days of the Trial.
The greater part of the forenoon of the eighth day was devoted to the examination of Dr. Dolan and he told a comprehensive story of what he had seen and done in his official capacity. Prof. Edward S. Wood of Harvard College, had received the stomachs of the murdered Bordens and had tested them for prussic acid poisoning with negative results. He then said “afterwards they were analyzed in the regular way for other poisonous substances, with a negative result. There was nothing abnormal or irregu
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CHAPTER XXVIII. Tenth Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XXVIII. Tenth Day of the Trial.
City Marshal Rufus B. Hilliard was the witness called. He testified as had the other officers about his search at the house. He said: “On Saturday evening following the killing, I went to the house in company with Dr. Coughlin; there was a large crowd of people present, perhaps two or three hundred people; I sent for officers and had the crowd removed to the street; then I went into the house, where I saw the prisoner, her sister and Mr. Morse; there was a conversation between Dr. Coughlin and t
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CHAPTER XXIX. Eleventh Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XXIX. Eleventh Day of the Trial.
During the forenoon of the eleventh day, Andrew J. Jennings Esq. , presented the defendant’s case as follows: “May it please your honors, Mr. Foreman and gentlemen of the jury,—I want to make a personal allusion before referring directly to the case. One of the victims of the murder charged in this indictment was for many years my client and my personal friend. I had known him since my boyhood. I had known his oldest daughter for the same length of time; and I want to say right here and now, if
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CHAPTER XXX. Twelfth Day of the Trial.
CHAPTER XXX. Twelfth Day of the Trial.
On Monday morning Ex-Governor George D. Robinson made his plea for the prisoner which was as follows: May it Please Your Honors, Mr. Foreman and Gentlemen—One of the most dastardly and diabolical of crimes that was ever committed in Massachusetts was perpetrated in August, 1892 , in the city of Fall River. The enormity of it startled everybody, and set all into diligent inquiry as to the perpetrator of such terrible acts. Our society is so constituted, gentlemen, that every man feels that the ri
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CHAPTER XXXI. District Attorney Knowlton’s Plea.
CHAPTER XXXI. District Attorney Knowlton’s Plea.
Hosea M. Knowlton, attorney for the State, spoke as follows: May it please your honors, Mr. Foreman and you, gentlemen of the jury—Upon one common ground in this case all human men can stand together. However we may differ about many of the issues in this trial, there can be no doubt, and I do not disguise my full appreciation of the fact, that it is a most heartrending case. Whether we consider the tragedy that we are trying and the circumstances that surround it, the charge that followed it, t
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CHAPTER XXXII. Judge Dewey’s Charge to the Jury.
CHAPTER XXXII. Judge Dewey’s Charge to the Jury.
The chief justice addressed the prisoner as follows: Lizzie Andrew Borden—Although you have now been fully heard by counsel, it is your privilege to add any word which you may desire to say in person to the jury. You now have that opportunity. The prisoner arose and responded: “I am innocent. I leave it to my counsel to speak for me.” The charge to the jury was then delivered by Mr. Justice Dewey, as follows: Mr. Foreman and Gentlemen of the Jury—You have listened with attention to the evidence
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