What Lizzie Borden’s relationship with her father Andrew was like before he was killed

Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story presents Lizzie Borden as a young woman trapped in a difficult and controlling family, with her father Andrew at the centre of it, but what was their relationship actually like?

The real story is a bit more complicated. While Andrew was reportedly strict with money and could be difficult, there is also evidence that Lizzie was close to her father. In fact, her own words suggest there was no major falling-out between them before his murder.

So, was Lizzie Borden close to her father?

Actually, the evidence suggests Lizzie and Andrew had a fairly close relationship. At Lizzie’s 1892 inquest, she was asked whether there had ever been any difficulty between her father and herself. She said, “No, sir.”

She was also asked whether Andrew seemed affectionate towards her. Lizzie replied, “I think so.” When the questioner pushed her further, asking whether he was affectionate in the way a father should be, she answered, “So far as I have ever had any chance of judging.”

There were, of course, tensions in the household. Andrew was known for being very careful with money, and Lizzie later described him as “close in money matters”. But she also said that she generally got what she really wanted from him, even if she sometimes had to ask more than once.

There was another very significant detail. Andrew wore a ring that Lizzie had given him when she was a child, and he was still wearing it when he died. Her name also kind of reflected her connection to him, as she was born Lizzie Andrew Borden.

So, did Lizzie have a motive to kill her father?

Well, there is no evidence of a serious falling-out between Lizzie and Andrew. At her murder trial, Lizzie’s defence lawyer specifically made this point. He told the jury that there was “nothing whatever between this father and this daughter that should cause her to do such a wicked, wicked act”. He also argued that the prosecution had failed to show a motive for Andrew’s murder.

Obviously, we don’t really know what actually happened inside the Borden home on August 4, 1892. Lizzie was accused of killing Andrew and Abby, but she was acquitted in 1893, and the case remains unresolved.

And while films and TV shows have often portrayed Andrew as a cruel father and Lizzie as deeply resentful of him, Lizzie’s own testimony described their relationship as affectionate and without any known major disagreement.

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