The real history behind Lizzie Borden’s pet doves, as shown in Netflix’s Monster

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story shows Lizzie being obsessed with a flock of doves she keeps as pets, but did she keep birds in real life? Here’s what we know. 

The latest Monster instalment follows the 17th-century American woman from Fall River, Massachusetts, who was accused of killing her father and stepmother with an axe in August 1892. After a trial, she was acquitted of the murders and continued living a normal life for many years. 

In the eight-part series, Lizzie is devastated when her stepmother, Abby Borden, kills all of her doves, and there is some real-life context to the birds. But the storyline is also hugely exaggerated, of course.

Credit: Netflix

Did Lizzie Borden actually keep pet doves in real life?

At her 1892 trial, Lizzie Borden claimed that her father had killed “some pigeons in the barn” and brought them into the house, so that’s where the storyline comes from. However, there is no evidence that they were pets or had anything to do with Lizzie, and the evidence suggests they were kept as livestock to eat. 

Most Read

I went on a night out with Bonnie Blue – it was uncomfortable and she’s dead behind the eyes

Bonnie Blue’s video birthday messages to 16-year-olds are the final nail in the coffin

Monster’s lead star explains why Aileen Wuornos was clumsily shoved into Lizzie Borden show

According to court records, Lizzie was questioned by Atty. Hosea M. Knowlton about “any killing of an animal” that occurred at the property and said her father “killed some pigeons in the barn last May or June”. When asked, “With what?” she replied: “I don’t know, I thought he wrung their necks.”

The birds were then brought into the house, presumably to be prepared as food, and Lizzie said she noticed “all but three or four had their heads on”. She asked her father, “Why are these heads off?” and he replied: “They twisted off.” When asked if the heads were “cut off or twisted off,” she added: “I don’t know, I didn’t look at that particularly … the skin, I think, was very tender.”

Monster took this small detail and turned it into a fictional obsession with keeping birds as pets. They also switched it around so Abby kills the birds, not Andrew, as per the historical records, which angers Lizzie and gives her a desire to kill her. So, the whole storyline is just a way of establishing Lizzie’s motive for the murders. 

For all the latest Netflix news and drops, like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. Featured image credit: Netflix