Lizzie Borden Took an Ax Page #4

that you were downstairs

when your father came home.

I don't know what I've said.

I have been asked

so many questions,

and I'm so confused.

So you were upstairs.

Were you with Mrs. Borden?

I don't know a thing anymore.

Were you with Bridget?

No. No.

Bridget was outside.

Did you see

your mother upstairs?

Your Honor, please.

Did you see

your mother upstairs?

Miss Borden,

did you love your mother?

She's not my mother!

Lizzie. Miss Lizzie,

Judge Blaisdell sent me.

"Lizzie A. Borden,

the Commonwealth of

Massachusetts complains

"that you did, feloniously

and with malice aforethought,

"make assault with a

certain sharp instrument

"in and upon the head

of Andrew J. Borden."

Please, stop.

What exactly does this mean?

We have to take you

into custody.

Under whose authority?

I was sent by court decree.

You know what they think.

Your attorney, Mr. Jennings,

is waiting for you.

When the aim is low

When the shot is wide

You got to set your shoulder

Keep 'em satisfied

And the honey flows

And the black is white

You got to lock and load

And leave your soul behind

Why is this happening?

Lizzie, you are under arrest.

They're officially

filing charges.

They believe

you killed your parents.

How could they believe that?

The prosecutor

is very determined.

And why have I been brought

all the way out to this place?

Because Fall River

has no facility for

housing female prisoners.

You'll be taken care of here.

We'll bring you

what you need,

meals, anything.

And what will happen to me now?

Are you telling me I was arrested because

I burned an old dress?

No. But they think

the act is enough

to show intention and motive.

They looked at it once.

I was never told to keep it.

Of course not.

It is not evidence,

not admissible.

It provides no insight.

It proves nothing.

It's that act of

burning the dress, Lizzie,

that created suspicion.

Can they keeplying about me?

Everything

they say is a lie.

All they have are

the stories they create.

Your statement at the inquest

is not admissible at trial.

Everything I said?

Not admissible at trial.

They didn't advise you

of your rights.

They thought you would confess.

Why would I do that?

Exactly.

We have the truth

on our side and we have

the law on our side.

But you need tothink about this.

Your case is now headline news.

Everything you say,

your every move,

will be examined and dissected,

and you will be judged

by your actions.

I hate this photograph of me.

Do you understand

the gravity

of these charges?

The penalty

for this crime is death.

But I am innocent.

I'm innocent!

There she is! Comment.

The Boston Globe

has a question for you.

There she is!

She couldn't possibly have done it.

She's pretty.

She couldn't kill anybody.

Are you well, Lizzie?

I'm fine.

Upon the fourth dayof August,

an old man and woman,

husband and wife,

each without

a known enemy in the world

and in their own home,

upon a frequented street

in the most populous city

in this county,

were first one, then after an interval of

almost two hours, another,

severally killed by unlawful human agency.

Fact

and fiction have furnished

many astounding examples

of crime

that have shockedthe senses and staggered

the reason of men.

Yet, I think not one

has ever surpassed

the mystery of this case.

Today,

this woman of

good social position

and unquestionable character,

a member of a Christian church,

active in its good works,

the very own daughter

of one of the victims,

sits before you in this court,

charged by the Grand Jury

with these crimes.

The brutal,

indeed savage character

of the crime,

the audacity of its location,

and the extraordinary accusation

that the youngest daughter

of one of the victims

is the insane fiend

who carried out this act.

It was an incredible crime,

a bloody and unthinkable crime.

Because the cold

merciful fact

that confronts us

is that it was

committed by a woman.

You might come to believe that

only a feral thing

could dispatch

their own forbearers

with such malice and impunity.

You might wonder

what kind of dark heart

resides in that soul.

But I am telling you, that dark heart is in

this room right now.

She did not strike her father one time.

Not once.

Not twice.

Not even three times.

But 11 times in the face,

with an ax.

Harry?

We're going to take a short recess.

I'll see counsel in my chambers.

Your Honor,

look at the facts

of the murder.

Female victim,

struck numerous times

with an ax, nothing taken.

The killer hid inside the house.

Same time of day.

It's the same

modus operandi.

And our suspect

was locked away in prison.

We don't know all the facts.

We don't know if that was

a crime of passion.

We don't know anything.

The state has spent months

building a case

against this woman.

We can't just

stop this trial

because of a similarity.

And so the idea

being presented here

is that there is

yet another ax murderer

loose in this very same city?

I agree with Mr. Knowlton.

The machinery

we have impelled

cannot be ground to a stop.

The case will go on.

And Miss Borden

will be tried in the matter

of which she was accused.

The prosecution calls

Miss Bridget Sullivan.

Do you swear to tell the whole truth

and nothing but the truth,

so help you God?

I do.

You mentioned something

when we had our interview

that I thought was interesting.

You said, in all the years

you worked there,

you never saw Lizzie

give her father a gift.

Is that a true statement?

No. She gave him a ring.

A ring.

It was from her

high school, I believe.

Other than this ring,

did you ever see her

give her father anything

as far as you know?

They weren't that kind of family.

What kind of family were they?

Your Honor,

is the witness expected

to answer such a broad question?

Counsel.

You were present

on the morning

of the murders?

I was there.

We have established

that Mrs. Borden

was killed around 9:30

that morning.

Was Lizzie present at that time?

At 9:
30?

Around that time, yes.

And then around 10:30,

when Mr. Borden came home,

you saw Lizzie

at that time also, correct?

Yes.

Was this when you

had the discussion

about Mrs. Borden's

whereabouts?

Yes.

She simply said

that she had to visit

a friend who was sick

and you were to

finish the windows.

Summoned by a sick friend.

Was the friend named?

No, sir.

Did Lizzie show you the note?

No.

Did Mrs. Borden

have a lot of friends?

Not many.

Not many or not any?

Maybe one.

Has she been known

to help people in need?

Not especially.

So while you were being told

Mrs. Borden was out attending

to her sick friend,

the reality was,

Mrs. Borden was laying dead

in that guest room upstairs.

Is that correct?

Yes.

I was upstairs

looking out their window

and saw her walk out back

and place the dress into a pot

they had in the yard.

Did she burn the dress?

Yes.

Was there any reason given?

No.

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