Lizzie Borden Was Not Found Guilty of Murdering Her Parents — But Many Believe She Did It

You don't have to be a true crime fan to know the name Lizzie Borden and to remember that, at the very least, an ax is involved. Because the case is infamous, in that Borden was found not guilty of murdering her parents despite what some see as damning evidence, there are often new theories about what happened.

Many still believe she did it, and some think they know why Lizzie Borden killed her parents.

The crime happened in 1892, long before there was the ability to film or even properly record an interview with Borden. But there is an interrogation transcript that is now available to the public, and there are details about the case that still plague true crime aficionados and armchair detectives.

That's why some think they know why Borden did it.

Borden's father and stepmother were found murdered in their Massachusetts home in August 1982. A year later, she was acquitted of the murders, per multiple outlets, including CBS News. The jury of 12 men declared that such a vicious double murder could not be at the hands of a woman.

Since then, however, many believe the jury got it wrong and that Borden did, in fact, murder her parents in cold blood.

According to a Reddit thread where users went back and forth with their opinions of Borden being either guilty or not guilty, someone wrote that she killed her parents for money.

She inherited money and the family's home following her parents' deaths. According to The Historic Lizzie Borden House, her estate was worth around $265,000 at the time of her death.

Someone else in the Reddit thread about the murders said they believe Borden's motive was that her father had killed the barn pigeons that meant a lot to Borden.

However, there has been no historical confirmation that Borden took care of pigeons on her family's property, even if that remains a common theory.

There's another theory that says Borden believed her father was not going to leave her any of his fortune in the event of his death, so she murdered him out of spite. Any way you look at it, it seems most agree that, if Borden did, the crimes were motivated by money.

After Borden was acquitted of the murders, she and her sister both remained unmarried for the rest of their lives. According to The Historic Lizzie Borden House, Borden did have a close friendship with an actress named Nance O'Neil, however.

Some friends reportedly believed their friendship was more romantic in nature, but that has not been proven.

Because Borden never married or had kids, when she died, she left her own fortune to her servants, friends, and the Fall River Animal Rescue League (remember those pigeons?).

Of her sister, though, Borden reportedly said, "She has enough to make her comfortable," and left nothing to her.