The Lizzie Borden Murders Autopsies

[Curryong]

A local man called Arnold Brown wrote a nice bit of fiction about William Borden called 'Lizzie Borden: The Legend, The Truth, The Final Chapter.' His theory was there was an argument about what William felt was owed to him by Andrew, as his only (if illegitimate) son, and William killed Andrew and Abby.

Although there were rumours around Fall River that William was Andrew's son, rumours largely promoted by himself as he was always talking about getting riches and having a wealthy sister, there's no evidence that William was Andrew's son or that the two men had even met. William was mentally ill and eventually committed suicide.

[Anna Morris]

Phillip: As Curryong said. However again I mention the "Gordon Bordon" letter, written in August 1892, which has a similar theme. The rich man's illegitimate son is a basic theme of melodrama and so it doesn't mean much if a crank chose this idea, yet sometimes there is a kernel of truth at the bottom of folk tales, urban legends and gossip. The motive in the Gordon Bordon letter is Mrs. Borden's supposed interference in financial matters, which wasn't to my knowledge much publicized at that time. I do wonder about the origination of the letter, especially since the DA kept a copy in the files. It must have appeared to be slightly more than a crank.

I believe Lizzie is either innocent or knew who did it and covered for him.