Greed: A Bottomless Pit “Shocking Crime: A Venerable Citizen and His Aged Wife Hacked to Pieces in Their Home” said the Fall River Herald newspaper headlines as the news spread like wildfire in Fall River, Massachusetts on August 4th 1892 (Linder 2). What could have been the motive of the gruesome murders of an aged couple? Their wealth, perhaps? The investigation of the crime by the police threw light on the story, though they could not ever solve the murder mystery. The series of inquisitions and trials all began on August 4th 1892 when the body of Andrew Jackson Borden, a rich businessman, was discovered by his youngest daughter, Lizzie Borden, on the couch of the sitting room at around 11.10 AM. As the police and neighbors arrived, they …show more content…
There were not enough reasons to blame anyone else other than Lizzie as she was alone at home at the time of Abby’s murder. She claimed that she was downstairs at the time Abby was murdered, at around 9.30 AM. She further claimed that she did not hear any sounds from upstairs when Abby was being murdered so violently. “It seems hard to believe that Abby Borden’s fall to the upstairs floor would not have been heard from below, especially since Abby weighed in at close to 200 pounds” (Lizzie Borden Took an Axe 7). Besides, “when Andrew Borden returned to the house, Bridget had to let him in as the screen door was fastened on the inside with three locks. This would have made it extremely difficult for the killer to get inside” (Lizzie Borden took an Axe 5). If Lizzie was at home and did not commit the crime, she would have naturally heard the intruder entering and protested as she was reportedly moving around the house doing her chores. Moreover, no outsider was seen entering the house any time before, during or even after the murders by anyone, and it is hard to consider an outsider as the murderer as there was a break of about 90 minutes between the two murders and the intruder would have to either hide for 90 minutes without being noticed or would have to leave the house and return to murder Andrew Borden which would again rarely go unnoticed. Thus all the above circumstances prove that only Lizzie had the easiest opportunity to kill both her parents and get enough time to look for and evacuate all