In commemoration of the 130th anniversary of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden, the Fall River Public Library is hosting a talk from an author who looks at the theories about who may have committed the infamous murders.
From the Fall River Public Library
LIBRARY BOOK TALK: THE BORDEN CASE—MURDER FROM THE INSIDE OUT
FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS, July 28, 2022 – William D. Spencer, author of the newly released Lizzie Borden Uncut: A Casebook of Theories, will present a book talk on the Lizzie Borden case, titled THE BORDEN CASE—MURDER FROM THE INSIDE OUT, on Wednesday, August 3, 2022, at the Fall River Public Library, 104 N. Main Street, Fall River, MA, 02720—on the eve of the 130th anniversary of the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden.
The talk will take place on Wednesday, August 3, from 6 to 7:30 pm in the library meeting room. This event is sponsored by the Friends of the Fall River Public Library. It is free and open to all. Registration is not required.
SYNOPSIS: On Thursday, August 4, 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts, home. Evidence indicated that Abby Borden had been
murdered at least one hour before her husband. There is no doubt that the family’s servant, Bridget Sullivan, was in the house when Andrew was murdered. Lizzie Borden, the daughter of Andrew and stepdaughter of Abby, was also almost certainly in the house when Abby met her fate. Yet neither saw or heard anything unusual, nor did any neighbor or passerby.
An inquest commenced the following Tuesday. Lizzie Borden’s rambling and constantly changing testimony led to her arrest at the end of the hearing. The following June, she was tried for the murders, but acquitted.
The first book and articles on the Borden murders were published soon after the not-guilty verdict. Then the case seemed to fade from view until the 1920s, when other works began to appear. By the year 2000, many books had been published, most of which took a position on the case. Some authors even claimed to have identified the murderer, Lizzie or otherwise.
But theories are cheap. It is time to put the collective feet to the fire, especially since these works are often used as the basis for movies, documentaries, and even scholarly reviews of the case. Do testimonies and prosecution evidence support or conflict with the theories put forth?
In this book, each theory is analyzed in comparison with the legal proceedings and known facts of the case. Has any author made a solid case for his or her position? Are any of the writers so far off the mark as to be writing fiction?
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