Netflix's Monster season 4 revisits Lizzie Borden's infamous 1892 axe murder case. Here's what really happened. 

Published on: Sep 17, 2026, 23:34:05 IST

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Netflix's true-crime anthology Monster is back with its fourth season, and this time it tells the story of Lizzie Borden. The show has brought back attention to one of America's oldest unsolved mysteries but did Lizzie really kill her father and stepmother?

Who was Lizzie Border and what happened

As per BBC, Lizzie Borden was accused of murdering her father Andrew and stepmother Abby in Fall River, Massachusetts, in August 1892. Abby was 64 and was Andrew's second wife.

Lizzie was 32 and her older sister Emma was 41. Both sisters were unmarried daughters from Andrew's first marriage.

The killer attacked Abby first that morning. More than an hour later, Andrew returned home from running errands and was killed too. Lizzie called the police, who found her father on the living room sofa, hit 11 times with the hatchet.

Why suspicion fell on Lizzie

At first, nobody suspected Lizzie. She came across as a quiet woman who taught at a local church. But suspicion grew when she gave different accounts of her whereabouts that morning during questioning. Only she and the family's maid, Bridget Sullivan, were home at the time.

Then a local pharmacist claimed Lizzie had tried to buy poison the day before the murders, which led to her arrest. Months later, a friend said Lizzie had burned a dress in the stove just days after the killings, and murder charges followed, as per BBC.

However, the case against her was weak. The murder weapon was never found, and some evidence couldn't be used in court.

The evidence was mostly circumstantial, so the jury acquitted Lizzie after only a short discussion, in June 1893.

Did Lizzie Borden actually kill her parents?

The truth about what really happened remains unknown to this day. Lizzie was acquitted by the jury, but the case is still seen as unresolved by many. Cara Robertson, author of "The Trial of Lizzie Borden," told BBC that part of the case's lasting grip on people is that "there's something about an acquittal that's open-ended," adding that it plays out like “a story of deep psychological drama.”

Meanwhile, the current owners of Borden's post-trial home, Brooke and Michael Doherty, say living there has changed their view of her. Brooke told TIME, "The longer we live here, the more we're convinced she didn't do it."

Did Lizzie Borden have kids? Her life after the trial

According to TIME, Lizzie Borden did not change her identity or disappear from public life after her acquittal. Instead, she used her inheritance, worth about $10 million today, to buy a large Victorian mansion in Fall River. She named the house “Maplecroft.”

Lizzie never married and had no children. After her death, she left most of her wealth to Fall River’s Animal Rescue League. She also gave property and other belongings to some distant friends and family members.

The fact that Lizzie was acquitted has helped keep the mystery alive. The case has inspired several books and films, including “The Legend of Lizzie Borden” (1975), “Lizzie Borden Took an Ax” (2014) and “Lizzie” (2018).

"Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story" premieres on Netflix on September 17.

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