'The Curious Life and Death of...' Episode 1: Did Lizzie Borden murder her parents to hide an illicit affair?
On August 4, 1892, the bodies of Andrew and Abby Borden were found in two separate rooms in the Borden household -- both of them had been violently hacked to death. Andrew Borden was found on a couch in the downstairs sitting room, his head struck 10 to 11 times by a hatchet-like weapon, whereas Abby was found upstairs in a bedroom, lying facedown in a congealed pool of blood. The main suspect for the murders was Andrew's unmarried 32-year-old daughter, Lizzie Borden. Lizzie went on to be acquitted by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, but the newspapers and the public found the case so fascinating, that it has remained a top interest even today, inspiring a children's nursery rhyme that goes, "Lizzie Borden took an ax, and gave her mother forty whacks; when she saw what she had done, she gave her father forty-one."
Smithsonian Channel's new series 'The Curious Life and Death of...' takes a look at mysterious deaths and murders from history and premieres on September 6, with the subject of their first episode being Lizzie Borden. Using modern technology and what we know of the case, Dr Lindsey Fitzharris and her team analyze various scenarios to determine whether Lizzie Borden was really guilty.
Part of the reason that Lizzie was acquitted is that the prosecution lacked proper evidence to convict her. When she was found after the murders, Lizzie had no blood on her -- which would have been impossible had she committed the ax murders so violently. But here is where another theory comes in. At the time of the murders, there was one other resident in the Borden household. Bridget "Maggie" Sullivan was the Bordens' live-in maid, who was reportedly resting in the attic room after washing windows -- she was reportedly sick from eating a spoiled mutton stew.
Cinephiles might guess where this theory is going. A 2018 film, 'Lizzie', starring Chloe Sevigny as Lizzie and Kristen Stewart as Bridget perhaps did the most to propagate this theory -- that Lizzie was, in fact, gay and was having an affair with Bridget. According to this theory, when Abby found Lizzie and Bridget together, she was disgusted, which prompted Lizzie's violent murder. Later, when Lizzie confessed of her relationship with Bridget to her father, she was disappointed that his reaction was similar to that of her stepmother and killed him as well.
In the episode, Fitzharris brings up the theory that Bridget was reportedly seen leaving the Borden household on the night of the murders with a sack. She theorizes that Bridget may have helped Lizzie out and snuck out the bloodied clothes Lizzie had murdered her parents in.
Whether Lizzie Borden was gay or having an affair with Bridget has always remained unclear. The theory is mostly rooted in guesswork. After Lizzie's acquittal, she took to taking trips to New York, where she became friendly with Broadway actress Nance O’Neil, a relationship that Lizzie's sister, Emma, reportedly disapproved of. However, this -- and the fact that Lizzie remained unmarried till death -- has often been used to cite as evidence for Lizzie being a lesbian and therefore, extrapolated to her having an affair with Bridget.
'The Curious Life and Death of...' airs on the Smithsonian Channel on Sunday nights at 9/8c.