Lizzie Borden’s final will reveals surprising cause she left thousands to after her death
Lizzie Borden has returned to the true-crime spotlight, more than a century after she was accused of brutally murdering her father and stepmother.
Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s new Netflix series, Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, dropped yesterday (17 September), with Ella Beatty taking on the infamous role.
The cast also includes Vicky Krieps as the Bordens’ live-in maid Bridget 'Maggie' Sullivan, Charlie Hunnam as Lizzie’s father Andrew, Rebecca Hall as her stepmother Abby, Billie Lourd as her older sister Emma and Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos.
The fourth instalment of Murphy’s Monster anthology explores Lizzie’s life inside her restrictive Victorian family home, as well as the relationship between Lizzie and Maggie and the murders that made her one of America’s most notorious crime figures.
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Take a look at the trailer here:
The series takes a fictionalised approach to the real events, while drawing on details from Borden’s life.
The real case began on August 4, 1892, when Andrew Borden and his wife Abby were found murdered inside their home in Fall River, Massachusetts.
Lizzie, Andrew’s 32-year-old daughter, was arrested days later and charged with the killings.
Her trial became a national sensation, but the prosecution’s case was largely circumstantial. Lizzie was ultimately found not guilty on June 20, 1893, and the question of whether she had committed the murders has remained a source of fascination ever since.
Lizzie lived for another 34 years after her acquittal, eventually dying on June 1, 1927.
And while the murders have dominated the story of Lizzie Borden for generations, her final will offers a rather different glimpse into the woman she became.
According to the official will, which was transcribed from records held by the Second District Court in Fall River, Lizzie made her Last Will & Testament on January 30, 1926.
By the time she died, she was reportedly worth more than a quarter of a million dollars. She owned property, investments, jewellery and shares, and lived at her home on the corner of French and Belmont Streets with household staff.
Her will shows that she left money to a long list of friends, relatives and people who had worked for her.
But one of the most striking gifts went to animals.
Lizzie left $30,000 to the Fall River Animal Rescue League, as well as her shares in the Stevens Manufacturing Company.
Her reason for doing so was written directly into the will: "I have been fond of animals and their need is great and there are so few who care for them."
She also left $2,000 to the Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C.
The donations stand out among the many personal bequests in the document, which included diamond jewellery, furniture, property and thousands of dollars in cash.
Interestingly, Lizzie left nothing to her older sister Emma, who has herself become a subject of renewed interest alongside the new Netflix series.
"I have not given my sister, Emma L. Borden, anything as she had her share of her father's estate and is supposed to have enough to make her comfortable," the will reads.
The rest of Lizzie’s estate was divided equally between Helen Leighton and her cousin Grace H. Howe.
She also remembered her housekeeper, chauffeur and the chauffeur’s family, alongside old school friends, cousins and other people who had remained part of her life.
Despite becoming forever associated with one of America’s most infamous unsolved mysteries, Lizzie's will shows that she had built a life and a circle of people around her after the trial.
And, perhaps unexpectedly, she wanted a significant part of her fortune to go towards animals she believed needed someone to care for them.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is currently available to stream on Netflix.
Topics: True Crime, Crime, US News, Netflix, TV And Film
Rhiannon Ingle