Reason why the world’s most infamous female serial killer featured in Monsters was never convicted
One of history’s most renowned serial killers features in the latest series of Monsters on Netflix—and it’s not the subject matter, Lizzie Borden.
True crime fanatics have likely already sunk their teeth into the latest edition of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brannan’s programme, covering the 1892 axe murders in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Despite being accused of killing her father and stepmother, Borden, who died isolated from her community at the age of 66, was acquitted of the crime.
As with previous seasons, various other criminals’ stories are woven throughout Borden’s tale, with Aileen Wuornos—an American serial killer who committed seven murders between 1989 and 1990—being featured alongside one of history’s most infamous murderers, Elizabeth Báthory.
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If your interest is piqued, then take a look at the trailer below:
In Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, the Hungarian, who is thought to have killed around 600 young women inside her sprawling castles, is played by Vicky Krieps.
She appears in a flashback as Maggie Sullivan (also portrayed by Krieps) introduces Borden (Ella Beatty) to her via a storybook. But the countess herself is anything but fictional.
Who was Elizabeth Báthory?
The real-life European countess, born in 1560, is considered by National Geographic to be one of the ‘most prolific female serial killers of all time’.
History tells us that Báthory belonged to one of the oldest families in Hungary and that she had a troubled past marred by violence and torture.
As per the publication, she was married to Count Ferenc Nádasdy, a celebrated but ruthless soldier who gifted her gloves spiked with claws, designed to pummel servants for their mistakes.
Rumours began to circulate that Báthory bathed in the blood of virgins to maintain her youthful looks.
As a result, tales of her penchant for murder became so widespread in 1604 that local families did not allow their daughters to enter her service, as per Tony Thorne, a linguist at King’s College London.
Her alleged antics only came to light when she began killing nobles, says Rachael Bledsaw, adjunct faculty in the history department at Washington State’s Highline College.
“Killing serfs and servants, who indeed had fewer rights, was gauche but not really illegal for a noble,” the expert explained. “Killing your fellow nobles, even ones of lower rank, was a far more serious problem, and not one that could be ignored.”
Why Elizabeth Báthory was never convicted
Matthias II, King of Hungary, eventually launched an investigation in 1610, which saw the woman arrested and imprisoned in Čachtice Castle for the murder of 80 young women, according to Bledsaw.
Despite the mounting evidence against her, the countess was never convicted as there was no physical evidence linking her to the deaths, as per Crime and Investigation.
Four of her servants were meanwhile convicted of violence against young women in their employer's castles.
Instead of facing the wrath of the justice system, Báthory remained in a spacious jail. She died at the age of 54 in 1614.
Experts suggest Báthory was framed
Despite her story being well known, the jury remains undecided on whether the countess was the woman behind the crimes; some have suggested that Matthias would have benefited from her guilt, as he apparently owed her a large debt.
National Geographic writes that once jailed, one of Báthory’s daughters scooped up her valuables, while her sons-in-law were like vultures for their inheritance.
Professor Annouchka Bayley, Associate Professor at the Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge, argued that the countess was a ‘religious subversive, a book printer and book smuggler and a radical feminist who used her vast wealth and castle home to educate vast numbers of young women and girls.'
More than 400 years later, and it’s believed that questions will always remain where the woman’s innocence is concerned.
However, for now, Báthory works to fill the ‘iconography of horror’ where female representation of spectacular evil is concerned, the publication writes.
Watch Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on Netflix now.
Topics: TV And Film, Entertainment, Crime, Netflix
Ella Scott