Netflix left out what happened to Emma Borden after Lizzie was arrested and how she died

Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story shows Emma Borden standing by her younger sister as Lizzie faces the murder charges, but what happened to Emma after the trial?

Emma was away visiting friends when her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby, were murdered in August 1892. After Lizzie was arrested, Emma became one of the most important people in her sister’s life, supporting her throughout the case and eventually testifying at her trial.

So, what happened to Emma after Lizzie’s arrest, and how did she die?

Emma stood by Lizzie after her arrest

Emma was not at the Borden house when the murders happened, but she returned to Fall River after Lizzie asked their family doctor to send her a telegram. She later became closely involved in Lizzie’s defence.

At Lizzie’s 1893 trial, Emma testified about the family home, her sister’s clothes and the dress Lizzie burned after the murders. She told the court that the dress was “very dirty, very much soiled and badly faded” and said it had been stained with paint.

Emma also told the jury that she had actually encouraged Lizzie to burn it. When she saw Lizzie standing by the stove with the dress, she said, “I said, ‘Why don’t you,’ or ‘You had better,’ or ‘I would if I were you,’ or something like that, I can’t tell the exact words, but it meant, Do it.” She then turned back to washing the dishes and said she “did not see her burn it.”

According to the Lizzie Borden House website, Emma also helped manage the sisters’ finances and supported Lizzie’s legal team during the case. She remained on her sister’s side after Lizzie was acquitted.

The sisters then left their old home and bought a much larger house on French Street in Fall River. Lizzie named it Maplecroft, and the pair lived there together for around 12 years.

Why did Emma and Lizzie fall out, and how did Emma die?

Their relationship eventually changed. In 1905, Emma moved out of Maplecroft after years of living with Lizzie. The exact reason for the argument is not completely clear, although reports linked the rift to Lizzie’s friendship with actress Nance O’Neil and the parties she hosted at the house.

Emma later explained her decision to leave in a 1913 interview, saying, “The happenings at the French Street house that caused me to leave I must refuse to talk about. I did not go until conditions became absolutely unbearable.”

After leaving Maplecroft, Emma moved to Newmarket, New Hampshire. The sisters never reconciled, but Emma continued to defend Lizzie publicly even after they became estranged.

Then, in 1927, the sisters died just days apart. Lizzie died at Maplecroft on June 1, aged 66. Emma died in Newmarket on June 10, 1927, aged 76. Emma died from chronic nephritis, a long-term kidney disease.

Despite spending their final decades apart, the sisters were buried next to their parents at Oak Grove Cemetery in Fall River. According to The New York Times, Emma left more than $100,000 to charities, relatives and friends, including several scholarships in her father’s name.

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