1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.BZ 2 00:00:07,760 --> 00:00:10,120 August 4, 1892. 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.BZ 4 00:00:11,880 --> 00:00:14,920 In the quiet city of Fall River, Massachusetts, 5 00:00:15,640 --> 00:00:19,640 Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally murdered inside their own home. 6 00:00:21,720 --> 00:00:25,200 Within hours, suspicion fell upon one person. 7 00:00:26,040 --> 00:00:27,880 Their daughter, Lizzie. 8 00:00:29,480 --> 00:00:34,440 She was arrested, tried for the murders, and ultimately acquitted. 9 00:00:35,120 --> 00:00:37,320 No one else was ever convicted. 10 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:42,254 More than 130 years later, the murders of 11 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:46,520 Andrew and Abby Borden remain officially unsolved. 12 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:52,320 For generations, the mystery has centered on a single question. 13 00:00:53,800 --> 00:00:55,920 Did Lizzie Borden do it? 14 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:02,240 But what if that was never the right question to ask? 15 00:01:03,240 --> 00:01:08,440 This documentary reopens one of America's most infamous murder cases. 16 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,560 Rather than starting with a suspect, we return to the evidence. 17 00:01:14,320 --> 00:01:18,454 We reconstruct the final days of the Borden household, 18 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:22,054 retrace the movements of everyone inside the house, 19 00:01:22,120 --> 00:01:26,094 and re-examine the testimony, timelines, and 20 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:29,214 physical evidence as though this were a modern 21 00:01:29,280 --> 00:01:32,640 cold case reopened for the very first time. 22 00:01:34,120 --> 00:01:36,760 Every theory begins with an assumption. 23 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:40,894 But perhaps the greatest mystery is not who 24 00:01:40,960 --> 00:01:45,534 killed Andrew and Abby Borden, but whether history 25 00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:48,614 has been asking the wrong question all along. 26 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:09,640 By the summer of 1892, America was entering a new industrial age. 27 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,734 Cities were expanding, businesses were booming, and for 28 00:02:14,800 --> 00:02:18,294 those fortunate enough to build wealth, success was 29 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:22,840 reflected not only in their bank accounts, but in the lives they led. 30 00:02:25,960 --> 00:02:29,854 Among the cities driving this transformation was Fall River, 31 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:33,720 a thriving industrial center in southeastern Massachusetts, 32 00:02:34,360 --> 00:02:36,120 close to the Rhode Island border. 33 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:41,054 Built around the Quakerchan River and with direct 34 00:02:41,120 --> 00:02:44,174 access to the Atlantic through Mount Hope Bay, 35 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,720 the city had become one of the world's leading producers of cotton textiles. 36 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:54,774 By the 1890s, its skyline was dominated by 37 00:02:54,840 --> 00:02:59,654 vast granite mill buildings, their towering chimneys a 38 00:02:59,720 --> 00:03:04,400 constant reminder of the industry that powered the local economy. 39 00:03:06,920 --> 00:03:10,814 The textile trade transformed Fall River into one 40 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:13,680 of the most prosperous cities in New England. 41 00:03:16,040 --> 00:03:19,174 Thousands of workers, many of them recent immigrants 42 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:23,560 from Europe, were drawn to its mills in search of employment. 43 00:03:25,120 --> 00:03:28,734 The city grew rapidly, its population more than 44 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:32,054 doubling in just a few decades, creating a 45 00:03:32,120 --> 00:03:36,240 place where wealth and poverty existed side by side. 46 00:03:38,880 --> 00:03:42,480 Yet Fall River was more than a manufacturing town. 47 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:48,080 It was a city shaped by ambition, commerce, and reputation. 48 00:03:49,080 --> 00:03:53,054 Business success brought social status, property ownership was 49 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:56,454 a marker of achievement, and long-established families 50 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:59,480 occupied prominent positions within the community. 51 00:04:00,720 --> 00:04:02,974 In a place where everyone seemed to know 52 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:07,880 everyone, public image mattered almost as much as prosperity itself. 53 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:13,014 A family of high social standing would have 54 00:04:13,080 --> 00:04:14,880 been expected to live comfortably. 55 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:20,614 Large homes, modern conveniences, and domestic servants were 56 00:04:20,680 --> 00:04:26,280 becoming hallmarks of America's prosperous professional and business classes. 57 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:30,920 Respectability was everything. 58 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,814 A family's reputation carried almost as much value 59 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,334 as its fortune, and what happened behind closed 60 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:41,160 doors was expected to remain there. 61 00:04:45,320 --> 00:04:49,440 From the outside, the Borden family appeared to fit that ideal. 62 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,680 At the head of the household was Andrew Borden. 63 00:04:57,440 --> 00:05:02,174 A successful businessman, Andrew had accumulated considerable wealth 64 00:05:02,240 --> 00:05:05,760 through property, banking, and manufacturing. 65 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,880 With businesses and estates estimated at $300,000, 66 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,294 worth around $10.8 million today, he would 67 00:05:17,360 --> 00:05:20,160 be among Fall River's wealthiest citizens. 68 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,280 Despite his fortune, he was known for living frugally. 69 00:05:29,560 --> 00:05:31,654 The family home lacked many of the modern 70 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:34,960 comforts enjoyed by others, of similar means. 71 00:05:37,400 --> 00:05:40,440 Andrew's life had not always followed the same course. 72 00:05:41,240 --> 00:05:46,054 In 1863, his first wife, Sarah Anthony Morse, 73 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:48,894 died after suffering from what was described as 74 00:05:48,960 --> 00:05:54,840 uterine congestion and spinal disease, leaving Andrew a widower. 75 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:59,414 For several years, he remained unmarried before marrying 76 00:05:59,480 --> 00:06:04,174 Abby Durfee Gray in 1865, who would become 77 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,520 his second wife and mistress of the Borden household. 78 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,214 By the summer of 1892, she had been 79 00:06:11,280 --> 00:06:13,574 part of the Borden family for nearly three 80 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:16,734 decades and was regarded by many in Fall 81 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,734 River as a respectable, church-going woman who 82 00:06:20,800 --> 00:06:23,640 oversaw the day-to-day running of the household. 83 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:29,894 Andrew's daughters from his first marriage to Sarah, 84 00:06:29,960 --> 00:06:33,080 Emma and Lizzie, completed the household. 85 00:06:34,480 --> 00:06:39,680 Emma, the elder of the two, was often described as reserved and dutiful. 86 00:06:40,640 --> 00:06:44,414 Lizzie, nine years her junior, was well known 87 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:47,014 within the local community for her involvement in 88 00:06:47,080 --> 00:06:49,360 church and charitable work. 89 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:55,374 Also living in the house was Bridget Sullivan, 90 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,760 the family's Irish-born maid. 91 00:06:59,040 --> 00:07:01,374 Like many young Irish women who had emigrated 92 00:07:01,440 --> 00:07:03,894 to New England in search of work, Bridget 93 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:09,600 entered domestic service and spent long days maintaining the Borden household. 94 00:07:11,600 --> 00:07:15,280 She occupied a position unlike any other member of the family. 95 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:19,374 Neither relative nor guest, she was privy to 96 00:07:19,440 --> 00:07:25,280 the routines, conversations, and private lives of everyone under the roof. 97 00:07:27,640 --> 00:07:31,240 The final member of the household was not a permanent resident. 98 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:35,254 John Vinicum Morse, the brother of Andrew's first 99 00:07:35,320 --> 00:07:39,360 wife, Sarah, was the maternal uncle of Emma and Lizzie. 100 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:43,774 A successful farmer who had spent much of 101 00:07:43,840 --> 00:07:47,094 his life in Iowa, Morse was visiting Fall 102 00:07:47,160 --> 00:07:50,654 River on family and business matters and arrived 103 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:53,734 at the Borden home on August 3rd, where 104 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:55,920 he stayed overnight as Andrew's guest. 105 00:07:58,240 --> 00:08:01,840 On the surface, the household appeared respectable. 106 00:08:02,600 --> 00:08:06,214 To neighbors and fellow churchgoers, the Bordens were 107 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:10,014 a family of good standing, living quiet and 108 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:14,840 orderly lives within one of Fall River's most established communities. 109 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:22,840 Behind closed doors, however, relationships had grown increasingly strained. 110 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:29,374 Years of financial disputes, divided loyalties, and unresolved 111 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:33,214 resentments had created an atmosphere in which even 112 00:08:33,280 --> 00:08:35,920 ordinary family life had become complicated. 113 00:08:45,040 --> 00:08:48,814 By the beginning of August 1892, the atmosphere 114 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:52,960 inside the Borden household had become increasingly uneasy. 115 00:08:55,680 --> 00:08:58,414 In the days before the murders, several members 116 00:08:58,480 --> 00:09:00,760 of the family reported feeling unwell. 117 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,414 Andrew, Abby, and Bridget all complained of stomach 118 00:09:05,480 --> 00:09:08,360 illness, leading some to fear food poisoning. 119 00:09:10,920 --> 00:09:14,014 Andrew himself reportedly believed someone may have attempted 120 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:17,334 to poison the family, although no evidence would 121 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:19,534 ever confirm those suspicions. 122 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:23,320 They reveal a household already living under a cloud of distrust. 123 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,734 On the afternoon of August 3rd, Lizzie's uncle, 124 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:32,320 John Morse, arrived unexpectedly to stay the night. 125 00:09:33,200 --> 00:09:35,934 His visit was brief, his reason for calling 126 00:09:36,000 --> 00:09:39,214 seemingly ordinary, yet his presence would later become 127 00:09:39,280 --> 00:09:42,160 an important detail in the investigation. 128 00:09:43,480 --> 00:09:47,014 As evening fell, the family settled into what 129 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,480 appeared to be another uneventful night. 130 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:52,880 No one could have known it would be their last together. 131 00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:59,880 The following morning, Thursday, August 4th, began much like any other. 132 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,680 Just before 7 o'clock, the household gathered for breakfast. 133 00:10:07,360 --> 00:10:10,574 Present were Andrew and Abby Borden, their younger 134 00:10:10,640 --> 00:10:14,334 daughter Lizzie, the family's maid Bridget Sullivan, and 135 00:10:14,400 --> 00:10:16,720 their overnight guest, John Morse. 136 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:21,094 Emma Borden was not present, having reportedly traveled 137 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:24,280 to Fairhaven after receiving a summons to visit a friend. 138 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:27,920 Breakfast was quiet. 139 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:31,974 Morse later recalled discussing family matters with Andrew 140 00:10:32,040 --> 00:10:35,560 before leaving shortly afterwards to visit relatives. 141 00:10:37,280 --> 00:10:39,894 Andrew remained at home a little longer before 142 00:10:39,960 --> 00:10:43,520 he would set out on his usual morning routine through Fall River. 143 00:10:46,240 --> 00:10:49,400 Inside the house, the day's work continued. 144 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,454 Bridget Sullivan, still feeling unwell from the illness 145 00:10:54,520 --> 00:10:57,734 that had affected several members of the household, 146 00:10:57,800 --> 00:11:02,440 began washing the outside windows despite the growing summer heat. 147 00:11:05,640 --> 00:11:11,080 At approximately 9.30 a.m., Andrew left the house for town. 148 00:11:13,680 --> 00:11:17,334 From this point onward, only Abby, Lizzie, and 149 00:11:17,400 --> 00:11:20,880 Bridget were believed to remain inside the property. 150 00:11:22,640 --> 00:11:25,854 Sometime after Andrew left, Abby Borden turned her 151 00:11:25,920 --> 00:11:30,134 attention upstairs, dusting and preparing the guest bedroom 152 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,360 that John Morse had occupied the previous night. 153 00:11:34,120 --> 00:11:37,880 It would be the last confirmed sighting of her alive. 154 00:11:41,960 --> 00:11:46,694 When Andrew unexpectedly returned at around 10.45 a.m., 155 00:11:46,760 --> 00:11:48,894 his planned business meeting having ended 156 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:52,920 earlier than anticipated, he found the front door locked. 157 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:58,534 After several unsuccessful attempts to gain entry, Bridget 158 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:01,934 came downstairs to let him in, later recalling 159 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:04,240 that the lock had appeared to stick. 160 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:10,294 Andrew removed his boots, changed into his slippers, 161 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,000 and settled on the sitting room sofa to rest. 162 00:12:14,360 --> 00:12:17,494 When he asked where Abby was, Lizzie reportedly 163 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:20,694 explained that her stepmother had received a note 164 00:12:20,760 --> 00:12:24,720 asking her to visit a sick friend and had left the house. 165 00:12:25,680 --> 00:12:30,120 Whether Andrew believed that explanation, we cannot know. 166 00:12:33,040 --> 00:12:36,094 Bridget later recalled hearing Lizzie laugh while she 167 00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:39,334 was upstairs in her room, despite believing that 168 00:12:39,400 --> 00:12:41,480 no visitors had entered the house. 169 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,974 A short time later, Lizzie claimed she went 170 00:12:47,040 --> 00:12:49,294 outside to the barn in search of fishing 171 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:54,320 sinkers, remaining there for several minutes before returning to the house. 172 00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:04,960 Then, just before 11.15, the quiet of the Borden home was shattered. 173 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:19,480 Lizzie called out for Bridget. 174 00:13:20,000 --> 00:13:22,760 Andrew Borden had been found dead. 175 00:13:23,480 --> 00:13:28,040 Within minutes, neighbors and local doctors arrived at the house. 176 00:13:28,880 --> 00:13:31,654 As they searched for Abby, they made a 177 00:13:31,720 --> 00:13:35,000 second, far more horrifying discovery. 178 00:13:36,160 --> 00:13:40,280 Her body lay face down in the upstairs guest bedroom. 179 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:45,214 The discoveries made inside the Borden house would 180 00:13:45,280 --> 00:13:48,720 horrify even the most experienced investigators. 181 00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,814 Andrew Borden was found lying on the sitting 182 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:01,880 room sofa, his body positioned as he had been resting when the attack began. 183 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:06,374 Medical examination revealed that he had been struck 184 00:14:06,440 --> 00:14:10,960 at least 10 times with a heavy, sharp-edged weapon. 185 00:14:12,440 --> 00:14:16,454 The first blow, delivered directly above his left eye, 186 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:20,134 is believed to have rendered him instantly unconscious. 187 00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:25,134 The remaining blows followed in rapid succession, causing 188 00:14:25,200 --> 00:14:29,560 catastrophic injuries to the right side of his face and skull. 189 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:35,454 So severe were the wounds that one eye had been split in two, while much of 190 00:14:35,520 --> 00:14:38,560 his face had become almost unrecognizable. 191 00:14:39,680 --> 00:14:44,320 Doctors concluded that death would have been almost instantaneous. 192 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,080 Upstairs, the scene was equally disturbing. 193 00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,454 Abby Borden was discovered lying face down beside 194 00:14:54,520 --> 00:14:58,200 the guest room bed in a pool of dried blood. 195 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:04,054 Unlike Andrew, whose wounds appeared fresh, Abby's blood 196 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:07,134 had begun to clot, suggesting she had been 197 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,200 dead for a considerable time before her body was discovered. 198 00:15:12,520 --> 00:15:17,760 The medical examination found she had suffered around 19 blows to the head. 199 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:21,174 Many of those injuries had been inflicted after 200 00:15:21,240 --> 00:15:24,374 she had already collapsed to the floor, indicating 201 00:15:24,440 --> 00:15:27,974 that the attack continued well beyond the point 202 00:15:28,040 --> 00:15:30,960 at which it was necessary to cause death. 203 00:15:33,040 --> 00:15:35,894 The position of the bodies, the extent of 204 00:15:35,960 --> 00:15:38,734 their injuries, and the difference in the condition 205 00:15:38,800 --> 00:15:42,694 of the blood immediately suggested that the murders 206 00:15:42,760 --> 00:15:45,280 had not occurred at the same time. 207 00:15:47,400 --> 00:15:50,400 Whoever killed Abby had left her upstairs. 208 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:55,480 Then, sometime later, they returned to kill Andrew. 209 00:15:57,080 --> 00:16:00,694 The autopsies established the manner of death, but 210 00:16:00,760 --> 00:16:04,480 they also raised the first great question of the investigation. 211 00:16:07,880 --> 00:16:12,294 Two murders, committed in broad daylight, inside a 212 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:14,720 house occupied by multiple people. 213 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,800 Someone in this house knew what happened. 214 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:29,454 When police first arrived at the Borden house, 215 00:16:29,520 --> 00:16:31,440 they were not looking for Lizzie Borden. 216 00:16:33,520 --> 00:16:35,200 They were looking for a killer. 217 00:16:37,920 --> 00:16:41,440 The brutality of the murders shaped their earliest assumptions. 218 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:46,774 Andrew and Abby Borden had been struck repeatedly 219 00:16:46,840 --> 00:16:51,374 with extraordinary force, leading many investigators and newspaper 220 00:16:51,440 --> 00:16:55,094 reporters to conclude that the attacks had almost 221 00:16:55,160 --> 00:16:57,600 certainly been carried out by a man. 222 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:02,334 Early newspaper reports described the search for a 223 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:06,774 male suspect, and attention initially turned towards anyone 224 00:17:06,840 --> 00:17:09,920 who had recently entered or left the property. 225 00:17:12,080 --> 00:17:14,200 One name quickly stood out. 226 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:16,440 John Morse. 227 00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:20,814 Lizzie and Emma's maternal uncle had arrived unexpectedly 228 00:17:20,880 --> 00:17:24,720 on the afternoon before the murders and had spent the night in the house. 229 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:28,654 The following morning, he left shortly before Andrew 230 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:31,294 returned home, making him one of the last 231 00:17:31,360 --> 00:17:35,080 people outside the immediate household to see both victims alive. 232 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:39,600 His visit immediately attracted attention. 233 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:43,734 Was it simply an unfortunate coincidence, or had 234 00:17:43,800 --> 00:17:46,800 investigators found their first credible suspect? 235 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:53,214 Morse, however, appeared to have spent much of 236 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:55,880 the morning visiting relatives across town. 237 00:17:56,560 --> 00:17:59,614 Witnesses placed him away from the house, and 238 00:17:59,680 --> 00:18:03,734 although questions remained about his unexpected visit, investigators 239 00:18:03,800 --> 00:18:07,080 found little to connect him directly to the murders. 240 00:18:11,520 --> 00:18:15,134 With two people dead, no eyewitnesses, and no 241 00:18:15,200 --> 00:18:21,720 obvious suspect beyond those inside the house, investigators faced a daunting task. 242 00:18:23,520 --> 00:18:27,120 Attention soon shifted back inside the Borden household. 243 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:31,614 Every person had to be examined, not only 244 00:18:31,680 --> 00:18:35,534 for their motive, but for their means, opportunity, 245 00:18:35,600 --> 00:18:39,520 and the evidence that either implicated or eliminated them. 246 00:18:42,040 --> 00:18:44,720 Money quickly emerged as a possible motive. 247 00:18:46,720 --> 00:18:50,014 Andrew Borden had accumulated considerable wealth throughout his 248 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:54,520 lifetime, yet his daughters remained financially dependent upon him. 249 00:18:56,600 --> 00:19:00,094 Tensions within the household had intensified after Andrew 250 00:19:00,160 --> 00:19:03,640 transferred property to members of Abby Borden's family, 251 00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,600 a decision that was said to have caused lasting resentment. 252 00:19:09,080 --> 00:19:11,374 Although he later allowed Lizzie and Emma to 253 00:19:11,440 --> 00:19:13,734 purchase back a house that had once belonged 254 00:19:13,800 --> 00:19:17,534 to their late mother, disputes over money and 255 00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:21,800 inheritance had already exposed fractures within the family. 256 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:28,000 Personal relationships only deepened investigators' suspicions. 257 00:19:29,040 --> 00:19:33,800 Lizzie and Emma's strained relationship with her stepmother was well documented. 258 00:19:35,240 --> 00:19:38,414 Friends and neighbors recalled that the pair rarely 259 00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:41,934 referred to Abby as mother, instead calling her 260 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:47,680 Mrs. Borden, suggesting an emotional distance that had persisted for years. 261 00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,454 Abby herself appeared to occupy an uncertain position 262 00:19:52,520 --> 00:19:55,734 within the household, and loyalty within the family 263 00:19:55,800 --> 00:19:58,160 was anything but straightforward. 264 00:20:01,000 --> 00:20:05,534 Detectives also learned of an incident just one day before the murders. 265 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,654 A local pharmacist later claimed that Lizzie had 266 00:20:08,720 --> 00:20:12,334 attempted to purchase prussic acid, a highly poisonous 267 00:20:12,400 --> 00:20:16,280 substance, allegedly to clean a seal skin cape. 268 00:20:17,080 --> 00:20:20,600 Suspicious of her request, he refused to sell it. 269 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:25,094 Although the testimony was ultimately ruled inadmissible during 270 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:28,294 the trial, and its reliability has remained the 271 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:31,454 subject of debate, it revealed the direction in 272 00:20:31,520 --> 00:20:35,240 which investigators' suspicions were already moving. 273 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:44,680 Yet even if Lizzie had reason to resent Abby, what explained Andrew's death? 274 00:20:45,440 --> 00:20:48,520 Investigators found themselves returning to the timeline. 275 00:20:49,840 --> 00:20:53,614 Medical opinion suggested that Abby Borden had died 276 00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:56,400 well before Andrew returned home. 277 00:20:56,920 --> 00:20:59,974 If those estimates were accurate, her body remained 278 00:21:00,040 --> 00:21:03,454 upstairs for almost an hour, while life inside 279 00:21:03,520 --> 00:21:06,280 the house appeared to continue uninterrupted. 280 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:13,374 Andrew had unknowingly entered a house in which one victim was already dead. 281 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,320 His return had been earlier than expected. 282 00:21:18,600 --> 00:21:22,640 If that was true, investigators had to consider another possibility. 283 00:21:23,360 --> 00:21:26,240 Had the killer's plans unexpectedly changed? 284 00:21:27,640 --> 00:21:30,520 The house itself only deepened the mystery. 285 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:34,334 The murders were committed inside a house with 286 00:21:34,400 --> 00:21:37,174 no clear sign of forced entry, and no 287 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:39,600 indication that robbery had been the motive. 288 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:43,094 Whoever killed Andrew and Abby either had intimate 289 00:21:43,160 --> 00:21:47,200 knowledge of the house or managed to move through it unnoticed. 290 00:21:49,160 --> 00:21:51,960 That brought detectives to Bridget Sullivan. 291 00:21:52,640 --> 00:21:55,494 As the family's live-in maid, Bridget understood 292 00:21:55,560 --> 00:21:59,160 the daily routines of the household better than almost anyone. 293 00:21:59,800 --> 00:22:03,040 She knew who was expected to be where and when. 294 00:22:03,880 --> 00:22:05,814 She later stated that she had been washing 295 00:22:05,880 --> 00:22:10,720 the outside windows before retiring to her attic bedroom to rest. 296 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:14,454 If her account was accurate, investigators were left 297 00:22:14,520 --> 00:22:16,200 with an uncomfortable question. 298 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:24,214 How had two exceptionally violent murders taken place 299 00:22:24,280 --> 00:22:27,800 beneath the same roof without attracting her attention? 300 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:35,360 But suspicion alone could not answer it, nor could the physical evidence. 301 00:22:36,400 --> 00:22:40,934 Investigators searched the property extensively, recovering several axes 302 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:43,080 and hatchets from the basement. 303 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,854 One hatchet, notable for its broken handle, quickly 304 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:50,920 became the focus of attention. 305 00:22:52,200 --> 00:22:55,974 Its blade appeared relatively clean, leading police to 306 00:22:56,040 --> 00:22:58,934 suggest it may recently have been washed, yet 307 00:22:59,000 --> 00:23:02,374 no blood could be conclusively identified upon it, 308 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:05,614 and even contemporary investigators could not state with 309 00:23:05,680 --> 00:23:09,680 certainty that it was the weapon responsible for either murder. 310 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:13,974 Despite exhaustive searches, no murder weapon was ever 311 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:17,054 definitively proven, nor was it the only piece 312 00:23:17,120 --> 00:23:19,880 of evidence investigators struggled to explain. 313 00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:25,054 Andrew and Abby Borden had suffered devastating injuries 314 00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:29,054 inflicted at close range, yet investigators recovered no 315 00:23:29,120 --> 00:23:34,320 blood-stained clothing, directly linking anyone inside the house to the attacks. 316 00:23:35,760 --> 00:23:38,774 While forensic science was still in its infancy, 317 00:23:38,840 --> 00:23:42,894 and investigators lacked many of the techniques available today, 318 00:23:42,960 --> 00:23:45,894 the apparent absence of significant blood evidence 319 00:23:45,960 --> 00:23:48,240 remained difficult to explain. 320 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:54,454 As detectives continued interviewing witnesses, the evidence became 321 00:23:54,520 --> 00:23:56,680 increasingly difficult to interpret. 322 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:00,974 Lizzie's account of the morning changed in several 323 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:03,800 respects over successive interviews. 324 00:24:05,160 --> 00:24:08,174 Her movements around the property, her reasons for 325 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:11,334 going outside, and the sequence of events she 326 00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:13,440 described were not always consistent. 327 00:24:15,120 --> 00:24:19,054 Investigators regarded these changes with suspicion, while others 328 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:22,214 argued that the trauma of discovering her father 329 00:24:22,280 --> 00:24:25,320 could reasonably have affected her recollection. 330 00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:37,040 Several days after the murders, another incident further fueled suspicion. 331 00:24:38,240 --> 00:24:42,494 Family friend Alice Russell later testified that she 332 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:48,120 witnessed Lizzie burning a blue Bedford cord dress in the kitchen stove. 333 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:53,974 Lizzie reportedly explained that the dress had been ruined by paint. 334 00:24:54,040 --> 00:24:57,480 To investigators, the timing appeared suspicious. 335 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,760 To the defense, it was an innocent household task. 336 00:25:02,680 --> 00:25:07,454 Even here, certainty proved elusive, as witnesses disagreed 337 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:11,400 over exactly what Lizzie had been wearing on the morning of the murders. 338 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:16,011 Bridget's testimony appeared more consistent, 339 00:25:16,077 --> 00:25:18,560 yet it too presented difficulties. 340 00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,934 She insisted that she had heard nothing unusual 341 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:26,480 while working outside or resting upstairs. 342 00:25:28,000 --> 00:25:31,654 Given the extraordinary violence of both attacks and 343 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,680 the relatively modest size of the Borden home, 344 00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:38,854 investigators struggled to understand how two murders could 345 00:25:38,920 --> 00:25:41,760 have been committed without attracting her attention. 346 00:25:43,960 --> 00:25:46,614 Even those who arrived shortly after the killings 347 00:25:46,680 --> 00:25:48,560 offered differing impressions. 348 00:25:49,960 --> 00:25:53,440 Some neighbors remembered Lizzie as calm and composed. 349 00:25:54,080 --> 00:25:59,120 Others described her as distressed, confused, and overwhelmed. 350 00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:03,141 As statements accumulated, memory itself 351 00:26:03,207 --> 00:26:05,760 became another unreliable piece of evidence. 352 00:26:07,080 --> 00:26:10,734 By this stage of the investigation, detectives were 353 00:26:10,800 --> 00:26:13,240 no longer simply looking for a suspect. 354 00:26:13,920 --> 00:26:16,094 They were trying to construct a version of 355 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,480 events that could accommodate every known fact. 356 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:24,160 Yet every reconstruction created a new contradiction. 357 00:26:25,240 --> 00:26:27,374 If Abby had been dead for nearly an 358 00:26:27,440 --> 00:26:30,200 hour, how had no one discovered her body? 359 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:36,040 If the murderer was an intruder, how had they entered and escaped unnoticed? 360 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:39,574 If the killer was someone inside the house, 361 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:41,654 how had they managed to carry out two 362 00:26:41,720 --> 00:26:46,120 brutal murders without leaving conclusive physical evidence behind? 363 00:26:48,160 --> 00:26:51,094 And if every witness was telling the truth, 364 00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:53,560 who was left to commit the murders? 365 00:26:56,520 --> 00:27:00,400 It was this question that ultimately came to define the investigation. 366 00:27:01,200 --> 00:27:04,094 Every piece of evidence seemed to point towards 367 00:27:04,160 --> 00:27:07,800 someone, only for another piece to point away again. 368 00:27:08,920 --> 00:27:12,334 Rather than narrowing the field of suspects, the 369 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,254 investigation revealed just how difficult it was to 370 00:27:15,320 --> 00:27:18,334 construct a single, coherent account of what had 371 00:27:18,400 --> 00:27:24,200 happened inside the Borden house on the morning of August 4th, 1892. 372 00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:30,880 By now, investigators had considered the possibility of an unknown intruder. 373 00:27:31,440 --> 00:27:33,494 They had questioned John Morse. 374 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:35,854 Suspicion had fallen upon Lizzie. 375 00:27:35,920 --> 00:27:38,614 Bridget Sullivan had also come under scrutiny. 376 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:41,120 And was Emma really visiting a friend? 377 00:27:42,120 --> 00:27:45,014 Each theory appeared capable of explaining part of 378 00:27:45,080 --> 00:27:48,880 the mystery, but none accounted for every piece of evidence. 379 00:27:49,560 --> 00:27:54,520 Even so, the investigation was moving inexorably in one direction. 380 00:27:55,720 --> 00:28:01,414 On August 11th, 1892, exactly one week after the murders, 381 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,414 Lizzie Borden was arrested and charged 382 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:09,320 with the murders of her father, Andrew, and her stepmother, Abby. 383 00:28:12,440 --> 00:28:18,000 Whether the evidence truly justified that decision would soon be tested in court. 384 00:28:24,600 --> 00:28:29,254 After months of speculation, public scrutiny, and an 385 00:28:29,320 --> 00:28:33,734 increasingly intense police investigation, the case against Lizzie 386 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:40,000 Borden finally reached the courtroom in New Bedford in June, 1893. 387 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,160 By then, much of America had already made up its mind. 388 00:28:46,200 --> 00:28:50,294 Newspapers had followed every development, portraying Lizzie as 389 00:28:50,360 --> 00:28:53,414 either a cold-blooded murderer, or the innocent 390 00:28:53,480 --> 00:28:55,960 victim of a relentless investigation. 391 00:28:57,080 --> 00:29:02,080 Yet, inside the courtroom, public opinion carried little weight. 392 00:29:03,160 --> 00:29:07,000 The prosecution faced a far greater challenge. 393 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:09,920 Suspicion alone would never be enough. 394 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:14,214 They had to prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that 395 00:29:14,280 --> 00:29:17,960 Lizzie had murdered both Andrew and Abby Borden. 396 00:29:18,600 --> 00:29:21,800 Their case was built on a simple theory. 397 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:24,680 Lizzie had the strongest motive. 398 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:28,720 She was present in the house during the critical hours. 399 00:29:29,240 --> 00:29:32,934 Her account of the morning contained inconsistencies, 400 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:38,480 and investigators believed her behavior after the murders raised further suspicion. 401 00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:44,974 Taken together, the prosecution argued, these facts pointed 402 00:29:45,040 --> 00:29:47,120 overwhelmingly towards her guilt. 403 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:52,454 They pointed to the hatchet head recovered from 404 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:55,774 the basement, suggesting it was consistent with the 405 00:29:55,840 --> 00:30:00,520 weapon used in the attacks, even if they could not conclusively prove it. 406 00:30:01,720 --> 00:30:04,814 They reminded the jury of Lizzie's changing accounts 407 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:07,534 of her movements that morning, and argued that 408 00:30:07,600 --> 00:30:11,720 no unknown intruder had ever been convincingly identified. 409 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:17,454 To the prosecution, the absence of another credible 410 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:21,214 suspect strengthened the case against the only person 411 00:30:21,280 --> 00:30:25,600 they believed had both the opportunity and the motive. 412 00:30:26,560 --> 00:30:32,240 Yet some of the prosecution's most damaging evidence never reached the jury. 413 00:30:33,440 --> 00:30:36,574 Lizzie's testimony from the inquest, in which her 414 00:30:36,640 --> 00:30:41,094 statements had appeared inconsistent and at times contradictory, 415 00:30:41,160 --> 00:30:44,814 was ruled inadmissible after the court accepted that 416 00:30:44,880 --> 00:30:47,094 she had been under the influence of morphine 417 00:30:47,160 --> 00:30:51,000 prescribed by her physician when she gave it. 418 00:30:52,560 --> 00:30:56,694 Likewise, testimony alleging that Lizzie had attempted to 419 00:30:56,760 --> 00:30:58,974 purchase prussic acid on the eve of the 420 00:30:59,040 --> 00:31:03,094 murders was excluded after the judges ruled it 421 00:31:03,160 --> 00:31:06,094 too remote from the manner in which the 422 00:31:06,160 --> 00:31:08,880 killings had actually been carried out. 423 00:31:11,160 --> 00:31:13,654 The difficulty was that even the evidence the 424 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:17,734 jury did hear relied upon inference rather than certainty. 425 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:21,600 No witness had seen the murders take place. 426 00:31:22,320 --> 00:31:24,840 No one had seen Lizzie carrying a weapon. 427 00:31:25,680 --> 00:31:28,240 No blood-stained clothing had been recovered. 428 00:31:28,960 --> 00:31:32,494 And despite extensive searches, investigators had never been 429 00:31:32,560 --> 00:31:35,720 able to conclusively identify the murder weapon. 430 00:31:39,280 --> 00:31:43,494 The prosecution believed the pieces formed a complete picture. 431 00:31:43,560 --> 00:31:46,240 The defense argued that they did not. 432 00:31:48,840 --> 00:31:53,534 Rather than attempting to explain who had killed Andrew and Abby Borden, 433 00:31:53,600 --> 00:31:58,640 Lizzie's lawyers focused on exposing the gaps within the prosecution's case. 434 00:31:59,600 --> 00:32:03,974 They questioned the reliability of witness testimony, challenged 435 00:32:04,040 --> 00:32:08,374 assumptions made during the investigation, and repeatedly reminded 436 00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:14,600 the jury that suspicion, however compelling, could never replace proof. 437 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:22,040 Even dramatic moments inside the courtroom failed to change that balance. 438 00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:27,014 The victims' skulls, preserved following their autopsies, were 439 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:29,320 produced as evidence before the jury. 440 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:34,654 On seeing them, Lizzie reportedly fainted, creating one 441 00:32:34,720 --> 00:32:37,360 of the most memorable scenes of the trial. 442 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:41,454 Yet powerful imagery could not compensate for the 443 00:32:41,520 --> 00:32:45,520 lack of conclusive evidence connecting her to the murders. 444 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:51,774 Crucially, the defense did not need to prove Lizzie's innocence. 445 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:56,600 They needed only to demonstrate that the prosecution could not prove her guilt. 446 00:32:57,600 --> 00:33:01,094 As the trial progressed, many of the same 447 00:33:01,160 --> 00:33:04,467 contradictions that had frustrated investigators 448 00:33:04,533 --> 00:33:07,200 began to undermine the case in court. 449 00:33:08,200 --> 00:33:13,094 The uncertain timeline, conflicting recollections, and lack of 450 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:17,294 definitive forensic evidence left room for doubt. 451 00:33:17,360 --> 00:33:21,320 And in a criminal trial, doubt is often enough. 452 00:33:25,280 --> 00:33:29,574 On June 20th, 1893, after deliberating for little 453 00:33:29,640 --> 00:33:33,760 more than an hour and a half, the jury returned its verdict. 454 00:33:34,480 --> 00:33:35,880 Not guilty. 455 00:33:38,400 --> 00:33:41,534 For some, the verdict confirmed that the police 456 00:33:41,600 --> 00:33:45,080 had pursued the wrong suspect from the very beginning. 457 00:33:45,800 --> 00:33:49,374 For others, it represented a failure of justice, 458 00:33:49,440 --> 00:33:51,800 allowing a murderer to walk free. 459 00:33:53,000 --> 00:33:56,760 But perhaps both sides shared the same assumption, 460 00:33:57,440 --> 00:34:00,174 that if Lizzie was not guilty, then someone 461 00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:02,600 else alone must have been responsible. 462 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:07,734 Yet, as we have seen throughout this investigation, 463 00:34:07,800 --> 00:34:12,360 the evidence rarely conforms to such simple explanations. 464 00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:19,374 Every suspect accounts for part of the story, 465 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:22,080 but none can account for it entirely. 466 00:34:22,960 --> 00:34:26,480 Every reconstruction leaves unanswered questions. 467 00:34:27,280 --> 00:34:31,360 Every theory requires at least one contradiction to be ignored. 468 00:34:33,920 --> 00:34:36,534 The trial may have reached its verdict. 469 00:34:36,600 --> 00:34:39,920 The investigation, however, was far from over. 470 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:43,320 The jury had answered the question they were asked. 471 00:34:43,880 --> 00:34:46,014 But what if the investigation had been asking 472 00:34:46,080 --> 00:34:48,640 the wrong question from the very beginning? 473 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:03,174 Throughout this investigation, we have examined the evidence 474 00:35:03,240 --> 00:35:05,840 much as detectives did in 1892. 475 00:35:07,000 --> 00:35:11,894 We have questioned motives, reconstructed timelines, and compared 476 00:35:11,960 --> 00:35:14,680 witness testimony against the known facts. 477 00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:18,294 Yet despite more than a century of analysis, 478 00:35:18,360 --> 00:35:22,240 one problem has remained remarkably consistent. 479 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:26,840 No single suspect explains every contradiction. 480 00:35:27,760 --> 00:35:31,974 The theory that Lizzie acted alone leaves unanswered 481 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,254 questions about the timeline, the lack of physical 482 00:35:35,320 --> 00:35:39,014 evidence, and the practical difficulty of committing two 483 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:42,360 murders in an occupied house without detection. 484 00:35:44,600 --> 00:35:49,094 The theory of an unknown intruder cannot satisfactorily 485 00:35:49,160 --> 00:35:53,334 explain how anyone entered, remained inside the house 486 00:35:53,400 --> 00:35:57,094 long enough to kill Abby, waited for Andrew's 487 00:35:57,160 --> 00:36:01,240 return, and then disappeared without being seen. 488 00:36:03,440 --> 00:36:09,440 And every alternative suspect solves one mystery only by creating another. 489 00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:13,094 Perhaps the problem has been the assumption that 490 00:36:13,160 --> 00:36:16,120 there was only ever one person responsible. 491 00:36:17,600 --> 00:36:21,254 Viewed another way, the events of August 4th 492 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,120 begin to form a different picture. 493 00:36:23,840 --> 00:36:26,654 For years, tensions within the Borden household had 494 00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:30,360 revolved around one person, Abby Borden. 495 00:36:31,400 --> 00:36:34,360 She represented the growing divide within the family. 496 00:36:35,920 --> 00:36:40,134 Andrew's decisions to transfer property to Abby's relatives, 497 00:36:40,200 --> 00:36:43,174 combined with years of resentment between Abby and 498 00:36:43,240 --> 00:36:46,974 her stepdaughters, had created a household fractured by 499 00:36:47,040 --> 00:36:50,574 inheritance, loyalty, and mistrust. 500 00:36:50,640 --> 00:36:55,280 If anyone had become the focus of that resentment, it was Abby. 501 00:36:57,880 --> 00:37:02,080 Suppose, then, that Abby was always the intended victim. 502 00:37:02,600 --> 00:37:05,414 It would explain why she was killed first, 503 00:37:05,480 --> 00:37:09,800 alone, upstairs, while carrying out her morning routine. 504 00:37:11,080 --> 00:37:15,174 It would explain why investigators believed she had 505 00:37:15,240 --> 00:37:19,840 been dead for so long before Andrew's body was discovered downstairs. 506 00:37:20,640 --> 00:37:22,600 Then something changed. 507 00:37:23,680 --> 00:37:26,160 Andrew returned home earlier than expected. 508 00:37:26,920 --> 00:37:29,654 Instead of returning to an empty house, he 509 00:37:29,720 --> 00:37:33,160 walked back into a crime that had already taken place. 510 00:37:33,800 --> 00:37:37,374 In that moment, the plan may have unraveled. 511 00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:40,120 Andrew had become an obstacle. 512 00:37:41,080 --> 00:37:44,760 If he discovered Abby's body, everything would be over. 513 00:37:45,400 --> 00:37:48,214 Whoever had planned the first murder was suddenly 514 00:37:48,280 --> 00:37:50,200 faced with a second decision. 515 00:37:51,440 --> 00:37:54,640 Andrew could not be allowed to leave the house alive. 516 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,894 Seen in this light, the murders no longer 517 00:38:00,960 --> 00:38:06,600 appear as two separate attacks carried out under identical circumstances. 518 00:38:07,400 --> 00:38:12,600 They become a crime that escalated in response to an unexpected event. 519 00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:19,280 It also casts the people inside the Borden house in a different light. 520 00:38:20,640 --> 00:38:23,254 John Morse's arrival on the eve of the 521 00:38:23,320 --> 00:38:26,680 murders becomes more than an unusual coincidence. 522 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:30,480 As the maternal uncle of Lizzie and Emma, 523 00:38:31,000 --> 00:38:33,654 he shared a connection to the family that 524 00:38:33,720 --> 00:38:36,680 existed long before Abby entered their lives. 525 00:38:38,880 --> 00:38:43,840 His visit placed him inside the household immediately before the murders. 526 00:38:44,360 --> 00:38:46,974 And while there is no conclusive evidence that 527 00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:50,174 he participated in planning or carrying out the 528 00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:53,534 crimes, it is reasonable to ask whether his 529 00:38:53,600 --> 00:38:57,800 presence was more significant than investigators appreciated. 530 00:39:00,720 --> 00:39:04,240 Bridget Sullivan's testimony becomes equally important. 531 00:39:04,920 --> 00:39:10,534 As the maid, she knew the routines of the household better than anyone. 532 00:39:10,600 --> 00:39:13,974 Whether she witnessed more than she admitted, chose 533 00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:17,374 to remain silent or simply suspected what had 534 00:39:17,440 --> 00:39:20,080 happened is impossible to prove. 535 00:39:21,240 --> 00:39:24,734 Adding further intrigue is a claim that emerged 536 00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:29,374 years after the murders that on her deathbed, 537 00:39:29,440 --> 00:39:32,414 Bridget confessed to her sister that she had 538 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:37,640 altered aspects of her testimony in order to protect Lizzie Borden. 539 00:39:40,000 --> 00:39:43,814 The account has never been conclusively verified, but 540 00:39:43,880 --> 00:39:47,694 if true, it suggests that Bridget's silence may 541 00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:51,320 not have been born of ignorance, but of loyalty. 542 00:39:53,520 --> 00:39:57,494 Emma Borden, absent from the house that morning, 543 00:39:57,560 --> 00:39:59,640 has often been dismissed altogether. 544 00:40:02,040 --> 00:40:05,094 But absence does not necessarily remove someone from 545 00:40:05,160 --> 00:40:07,000 a wider chain of events. 546 00:40:09,280 --> 00:40:13,094 If decisions had been made before August 4th, 547 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:16,614 Emma's physical location on the day itself would 548 00:40:16,680 --> 00:40:20,320 not automatically exclude her from having prior knowledge. 549 00:40:23,440 --> 00:40:27,174 And at the center of it all remains Lizzie, 550 00:40:27,240 --> 00:40:30,894 not necessarily as a lone killer, but 551 00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:33,894 as one member of a family whose interests, 552 00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:37,734 resentments, and loyalties may have aligned in ways 553 00:40:37,800 --> 00:40:41,040 the original investigation never fully considered. 554 00:40:44,000 --> 00:40:48,600 Taken individually, each of these possibilities remains circumstantial. 555 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:53,254 Taken together, they offer a theory that resolves 556 00:40:53,320 --> 00:40:56,760 many of the case's most persistent contradictions. 557 00:40:59,400 --> 00:41:02,574 It explains why Abby appears to have been the first target. 558 00:41:02,640 --> 00:41:06,160 It provides a reason for Andrew's later death. 559 00:41:06,960 --> 00:41:10,894 It accounts for the conflicting testimony, the apparent 560 00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:14,334 lack of alarm within the house, and the 561 00:41:14,400 --> 00:41:18,000 absence of conclusive evidence against any one individual. 562 00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:21,694 Whether every member of the household played the 563 00:41:21,760 --> 00:41:24,680 same role is another question entirely. 564 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:30,214 Perhaps some planned, perhaps some acted, perhaps others 565 00:41:30,280 --> 00:41:33,014 simply chose to protect those they loved once 566 00:41:33,080 --> 00:41:34,480 the murders had been committed. 567 00:41:36,000 --> 00:41:40,654 If so, investigators spent decades searching for one 568 00:41:40,720 --> 00:41:43,814 killer when, in reality, they may have been 569 00:41:43,880 --> 00:41:47,040 confronting a family bound together by silence. 570 00:41:55,360 --> 00:41:59,134 For more than 130 years, history has asked 571 00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:01,120 who killed Andrew and Abby Borden. 572 00:42:02,360 --> 00:42:04,840 Perhaps that has always been the wrong question. 573 00:42:06,000 --> 00:42:08,094 Perhaps the real question is not who committed 574 00:42:08,160 --> 00:42:12,320 the murders, but how many people knew they were going to happen. 575 00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:17,200 If that question had been asked in 1892, 576 00:42:17,800 --> 00:42:21,160 the investigation may have followed a very different path. 577 00:42:22,360 --> 00:42:24,974 And perhaps the greatest mystery of the Lizzie 578 00:42:25,040 --> 00:42:27,734 Borden case is not that the murders were 579 00:42:27,800 --> 00:42:30,894 never solved, but that the possibility of a 580 00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:35,134 shared family secret was never truly investigated.