Lizzie Borden was acquitted, so who do people think actually killed her parents?

Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story wastes absolutely no time presenting its version of the infamous murders, opening with Lizzie wielding an axe against her father and stepmother.

Via Netflix

While the real-life case certainly involved a lot of bloodshed, what actually happened inside the Borden family home in 1892 was far less straightforward. Lizzie was ultimately acquitted by an all-male jury, and more than 130 years later, people are still arguing over who killed Andrew and Abby Borden.

Historians and Borden case obsessives have suggested that the murders could have involved the family maid, an alleged illegitimate son, a member of the wider family or even a complete stranger.

The mysterious ‘Wild Man’ theory

During Lizzie’s trial, witnesses described seeing unfamiliar men hanging around the Borden home before the killings.

Two men who lived close to the family said they spotted a man sitting on the pavement near the house the night before the murders. They attempted to speak to him, but he didn’t answer. 

Other witnesses described seeing a pale young man behaving strangely around the Borden property. One woman claimed she saw him leaning against the gatepost on the day Andrew and Abby were killed.

These accounts helped fuel the idea that someone from outside the household could have been responsible.

Could Bridget Sullivan have been involved?

Via Netflix

Bridget Sullivan was just 25 when she worked as a maid for the Borden family, and her role in the case has led to plenty of speculation over the years.

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Some theories suggest that, even if Sullivan didn’t physically kill Andrew and Abby herself, she could have helped Lizzie.

One of the biggest questions surrounding her is where she was when the murders happened. Sullivan was resting on the third floor when Andrew was killed downstairs. Given the violence involved, some have questioned how she could have failed to hear anything.

There’s also a long-running story that Lizzie gave Sullivan money following the trial and told her to “go back to Ireland and never come back”. Sullivan didn’t actually return to Ireland, though. She eventually moved to a small town in Montana, thousands of miles from the Borden home in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Did John Morse know more than he let on?

Via Netflix

Another person who has been dragged into theories about the murders is John Morse, the brother of Andrew’s first wife and Lizzie’s mother. Morse was visiting the Bordens on the day Andrew and Abby were killed and was even staying in the room where Abby was later found murdered.

He was accounted for elsewhere around the time of the killings, but that hasn’t stopped speculation about his involvement. Morse was among the last people known to have seen Andrew and Abby alive, making him an obvious figure for conspiracy theories surrounding the case.

Some have suggested that Morse could have known about the murders or even helped Lizzie plan them, potentially with the promise of receiving some of the Borden fortune.

Lizzie was acquitted, meaning she was legally found not guilty of the murders, and no alternative suspect was ever successfully prosecuted for killing Andrew and Abby.

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Featured image via Netflix