On August 4, 1892, Dr. John Coughlin, the Mayor of Fall River, arrived at the residence of Andrew and Abby Borden only forty minutes after their brutal murders. Despite the passage of time, his meticulous notes and observations remain relevant today.
Coughlin's observations include a haunting insight into the nature of the crime: the same person who killed Mr. Borden was responsible for Mrs. Borden's death. He was baffled by the lack of blood at the crime scene and the absence of any evidence that could identify the perpetrator. There were no blood drops leaving the crime scene from Mrs. Borden to Andrew Borden and no bloody footprints leaving the building.
The person committing the deed cleaned up all traces of their work. John Morse, who was in town visiting relatives was still wearing the same clothes he arrived in the day before and was seen by several witnesses eliminating him as the first suspect.
"The same deliberate hand that inflicted death upon the man guided the weapon that cut off Mrs. Borden's life. I cannot satisfy myself how a person could have done such a deed with so little blood around and leave no mark of his presence left behind."
Sadly, Dr. Coughlin was not aware of the purchase of chloroform that Emma and Lizzie conspired to buy on their trip to Fairhaven 2 weeks before the murders. That information was told to Lizzie's lawyer, Andrew Jennings, and written by Arthur Sherman, his assistant, and can be found in the latest book by the Fall River Historical Society, "The Jennings Journals 1892." You can purchase it online or by phone.
Dentist M.M. Park played by David Loftus
Special Appearance by Jack Cone
Mayor Dr. John Coughlin played by David Loftus
All other voices played by David Loftus
Music in order of appearance:
Gloria in Excelsis by Raffaele De Leonardo
Disturbed Anxiety by eBunny
Cute Puzzle Box by Roman Cano
Produced by Kate Lavender
All information contained in this podcast was selected from the scholarly work of the Fall River Historical Society with "The Knowlton Papers" and "The Jennings Journals 1892." You can order these books online.
Outro voiceover by Don Sharp of Sharp VoiceOvers on Fiverr.
Visit the website of LizzieAndrewBorden.com for all things Lizzie Borden old and new. :)
Visit Lion's Den Audio Theater for their videocasts of Lizzie's Superior Court Trial held 10 months later on KZread.
An exciting update with author Erika Mailman whose literary novel and best seller "The Murderer's Maid" has been in the process of becoming an Audible audiobook and I for one, can't wait! Erika is an intriguing and engaging writer with a witty sense of humor and if you missed my review of her book on Amazon, I'll put it here for you.
This is what I wrote on Lizzie's 2nd Inquest episode description:
Do you love historical fiction with a modern twist? The Bram Stoker Award-winning author Erika Mailman has written an interesting book from the POV of Bridget Sullivan called "The Murderer's Maid" and right now you can buy it for the Kindle price of $2.99 on Amazon. Here's the link.
amzn.to/3CQhn09
My Amazon book review: amzn.to/3eo3rAg