Lizzie Borden has been dead for almost a hundred years, but she’s suddenly one of the most searched names on the internet again. That’s because Netflix just dropped “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,” a dramatized retelling of the 1892 double murder she was tried for and acquitted of. Here’s the real history behind the show, sorted from the fiction.
Background
Lizzie Andrew Borden was a real person who lived in Fall River, Massachusetts, in the late 1800s. On August 4, 1892, her father Andrew Borden and her stepmother Abby Borden were found hacked to death in their home with a sharp-bladed weapon, widely reported at the time as an axe or hatchet. Lizzie, who was 32 years old and living in the house, quickly became the prime suspect. She was arrested, put on trial in 1893, and acquitted by an all-male jury after a little over an hour of deliberation. No one else was ever charged, and the murders remain officially unsolved to this day.
The case turned into one of America’s most famous unsolved mysteries, partly because of a grim schoolyard rhyme that got the details wrong (“forty whacks” is not accurate to the real autopsy count) and partly because it was genuinely strange: a respectable, church-going woman from a wealthy family, accused of an unusually violent crime, in an era when that combination seemed almost unthinkable to the public. That mix of mystery, class, and gender is exactly why people are searching her name again now.
Latest Update
As of September 18, 2026, here is what’s currently known. All eight episodes of “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,” the fourth season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Netflix anthology series “Monster,” were released worldwide on September 17, 2026. The season stars Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, alongside Charlie Hunnam as her father Andrew, Rebecca Hall as her stepmother Abby, Vicky Krieps as the family’s maid Bridget Sullivan, Billie Lourd as her sister Emma, and Jessica Barden as her friend Nance O’Neil. It’s the first season of “Monster” to center on a woman.
What’s actually new: The trending search interest is about the TV show’s release, not any new development in the real 1892 case. No new forensic evidence, confession, or official reopening of the case has been reported. The show is a dramatized interpretation, and critics like Variety have noted it leans into the sensational and psychological rather than presenting itself as a documentary.
Because this is a scripted drama, some scenes and relationships shown on screen are creative interpretations rather than proven historical fact. If you see a viral clip claiming to reveal “the real killer,” treat it as entertainment commentary, not new evidence, unless it links to an actual police record or court document.
Full Profile
Key Dates: Born July 19, 1860 · Murders occurred August 4, 1892 · Trial and acquittal, June 1893 · Died June 1, 1927
Family and Early Life
Lizzie was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, the third child of Andrew Jackson Borden and his first wife, Sarah Anthony Morse. Sarah died when Lizzie was a toddler, and Andrew remarried Abby Durfee Gray a few years later. Lizzie grew up alongside her older sister, Emma, and the family lived comfortably because Andrew had built a fortune in furniture, property, and banking, despite starting out with very little money himself.
Career Path
Lizzie did not have a conventional career in the way a modern celebrity would. Before the murders, she was known locally for church and charity work, including teaching Sunday school and belonging to several women’s clubs. After her acquittal, she and Emma inherited a large share of their father’s estate and bought a new home together in a wealthier part of Fall River, which they named “Maplecroft.” Lizzie spent the rest of her life there as a private citizen, largely shunned by local society despite never being convicted of anything.
Age
Lizzie was 32 years old at the time of the murders and 66 when she died of pneumonia on June 1, 1927, just nine days before her sister Emma also passed away. Because she is a historical figure and not a living person, there is no current age to report.
Religion
Lizzie was raised Protestant and was an active member of the Central Congregational Church in Fall River, where she taught Sunday school to children of recent immigrants and volunteered with religious and temperance groups. Her faith is one reason contemporaries found the murder accusation so hard to square with her public image.
Spouse/Partner
Lizzie never married and had no children. She lived with her sister Emma for over a decade after the trial until a falling-out in 1905, after which the two lived apart for the rest of their lives. Her close friendship in later years with actress Nance O’Neil drew public speculation, but no verified record confirms the exact nature of that relationship, so it’s treated here as unconfirmed.
Net Worth
There is no verified modern “net worth” figure for Lizzie Borden, since she died in 1927 long before that kind of public figure was tracked. What is documented is that she and Emma split a substantial share of their father’s estate after his death, reported at the time to be worth roughly $300,000 to $500,000, a large sum for that era. The exact present-day equivalent isn’t something historians agree on precisely, so treat any specific converted dollar figure you see online as an estimate, not a confirmed fact.
Parents
Her father was Andrew Jackson Borden, a self-made businessman who worked in furniture manufacturing, casket-making, and real estate before becoming a bank director. Her birth mother, Sarah Anthony Morse, died when Lizzie was young. Her stepmother, Abby Durfee Gray Borden, married Andrew a few years later and was murdered alongside him in 1892.
Height
No reliably sourced height for Lizzie Borden appears in verified historical records, court documents, or newspaper archives from the period. Any specific height figure circulating online should be treated as unconfirmed.
Education
Lizzie attended local schools in Fall River and, by most accounts, did not pursue education beyond a standard schooling for a young woman of her class and era. There is no record of her attending college, which was uncommon for women in 19th-century New England regardless of family wealth.
Hometown / State of Origin
Fall River, Massachusetts. Lizzie was born there, was tried there, and lived there for her entire life, including the years after her acquittal, until her death in 1927.
Official Link
Because Lizzie Borden died in 1927, she has no official social media presence. The closest verified official source is the Lizzie Borden House museum’s official website, which operates out of the actual home where the murders took place and publishes historical records related to the case. For the Netflix show itself, the official page is on Netflix’s official site.
Quick Facts Table
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Lizzie Andrew Borden |
| Born | July 19, 1860, Fall River, Massachusetts |
| Died | June 1, 1927 (age 66), Fall River, Massachusetts |
| Known For | Suspect in the 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother; acquitted in 1893 |
| Spouse | Never married |
| Parents | Andrew Jackson Borden (father), Sarah Anthony Morse (birth mother), Abby Durfee Gray Borden (stepmother) |
| Sibling | Emma Lenora Borden (older sister) |
| Religion | Protestant, Central Congregational Church |
| Net Worth | Unconfirmed present-day figure; inherited a share of a six-figure 1890s estate |
| Height | Unconfirmed |
| Netflix Show | “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,” released September 17, 2026 |
| Actor Portraying Her | Ella Beatty |
Reminder: “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” is a dramatized TV series. It compresses timelines, invents dialogue, and dramatizes relationships that historians can’t fully verify. Use it for entertainment, not as a factual source on the actual 1892 case.
Reader Questions (FAQ)
Is Lizzie Borden a real person?
Yes. Lizzie Borden was a real woman who lived from 1860 to 1927 in Fall River, Massachusetts. She was tried for the real 1892 murders of her father and stepmother and was acquitted by a jury in 1893.
Did Lizzie Borden actually kill her parents?
It’s unconfirmed. She was formally acquitted in court, no one else was ever convicted, and the case remains officially unsolved. Historians still debate her guilt, but there is no confirmed proof either way.
Is the Netflix Lizzie Borden show based on a true story?
Yes, it’s based on the real 1892 Borden murder case, but it’s a dramatized retelling, not a documentary. Some scenes, dialogue, and relationships are fictionalized for the show.
Who plays Lizzie Borden in the Netflix series?
Actress Ella Beatty plays Lizzie Borden in “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.” The cast also includes Charlie Hunnam, Rebecca Hall, Vicky Krieps, Billie Lourd, and Jessica Barden.
When did Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story come out?
All eight episodes were released together on Netflix on September 17, 2026. It’s the fourth season of the “Monster” anthology series from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan.
Why was Lizzie Borden found not guilty?
The jury acquitted her in 1893 largely because prosecutors lacked direct physical evidence tying her to the murders, such as a confirmed murder weapon or eyewitness. The trial took about a week, and jury deliberation lasted just over an hour.
What happened to Lizzie Borden after the trial?
She and her sister Emma inherited a large part of their father’s estate and moved into a new home in Fall River. Lizzie lived there, largely avoided by local society, until she died of pneumonia in 1927.
Wrap-Up
Lizzie Borden’s story sticks around because it never got a clean ending. A jury said she wasn’t guilty, but the public never fully let go of its suspicion, and more than a century later nobody has proven who actually swung the axe. That kind of open question is exactly the sort of thing true crime shows like “Monster” are built to dramatize, even if it means taking some creative liberties along the way.
If you’re watching the Netflix season, it’s worth remembering that the real Lizzie Borden was a private, church-going woman in a small Massachusetts town who spent the back half of her life inside a scandal she was legally cleared of. The show can dramatize her inner life and motives, but nobody, including the writers, actually knows what happened in that house on August 4, 1892.
What is certain is that this case has now outlived every person connected to it by nearly a hundred years, and it’s still generating headlines, search traffic, and prestige television. Whether that says more about the case itself or about how much we still like a good unsolved mystery is really up to you.
Thomas Andrew is the founder of Odubio.com, a digital platform sharing inspiring biographies, news, and stories about global icons and achievers.