Lizzie Borden: The Sunday School Teacher, The Hatchet, and The Trial of the Century

Lizzie Borden took an axe… or did she? In this episode of pplpod, we step back into the sweltering summer of 1892 to investigate the life of Lizzie Andrew Borden, the woman at the center of one of America’s most enduring mysteries.

Join us as we explore the dark timeline of August 4, 1892, in Fall River, Massachusetts, where Lizzie’s father, Andrew, and her stepmother, Abby, were brutally murdered in their own home. We examine the stifling tension inside the Borden household, where despite Andrew Borden’s immense wealth—equivalent to over $10 million today—the family lived without indoor plumbing due to his extreme frugality.

We break down the key elements of the "Trial of the Century," including:

• The Suspect: Lizzie was a 32-year-old Sunday school teacher and secretary-treasurer for the Christian Endeavor Society who had a strained relationship with her stepmother.

• The Evidence: From the mysterious illness that struck the family days prior to the murders to the dress Lizzie was seen burning in the kitchen stove shortly after the crimes.

• The Verdict: How a jury acquitted Lizzie in June 1893, leading her to declare herself "the happiest woman in the world," despite remaining the prime suspect in the public eye.

Plus, we separate the folklore from the facts. While the famous skipping-rope rhyme claims she gave her mother "forty whacks," the autopsy revealed Abby Borden actually suffered 18 or 19 blows, while Andrew suffered 11.

Tune in to hear how Lizzie spent her later years ostracized in her mansion, "Maplecroft," and why this case continues to inspire theories ranging from fugue states to secret trysts more than a century later.