Musings about Abby D. Borden

[WFordII]

Although both of the Borden murders were horrific, I feel most sorry for Abby. There is precious little known about her life beforehand and the years as Mrs. A. J. Borden. The testimonies concerning the Borden family dynamics were vague and anyone could surmise anything. What we can assume from testimonies of Emma, family friends, and Lizzie herself, is that relations were strained between Abby and her stepdaughters. However, I think that Abby has been profoundly misaligned in many media sources. It could have been she was a kind stepmother caught in a fury of her husband's children's jealousy. Furthermore, accounts seem to contradict that she was a harsh, greedy glutton who was homebound. She visited her family and neighbors often and brought homemade goodies, according to her family. If she was so mean and isolated, why wouldn't it have seemed out of place for her to go care for a sick friend? Poor Andrew probably didn't know what hit him. But body position and blood patterns suggest that Abby saw her attacker and may have tried to crawl under the bed. According to her autopsy report, she was a little over five feet tall and about 200 LB. She was a bit heavy, but nothing suggests she was morbidly obese and homebound. Of course, she could have been a stepmother from Hades..who knows? Its just my humble opinion that media hype may still be taking whacks at the character of Abby D. Borden.

[WFordII]

For a modern point of reference, consider the lovely and talented Melissa McCarthy. She is 5 ft. 3 inches tall, just as the late Abby Borden. Before her weight loss, Melissa weighed between 198-205 lb,, which was Abby's weight. Of course, Melissa is 52 years old and Abby was 64 when she was murdered.

[camgarsky4]

Agree that Abby is a very sympathetic character. She was likely an ordinary person. Not overly nice or mean. Just a good solid person. That said, the steady, long term disrespect apparently shown Abby by the sisters must have been emotionally exhausting and deflating. Who knows, maybe eating was something that brought momentary pleasure and escape. Its called comfort food for a reason.

On top of the unpleasant environment, it seems rather clearly that Abby was killed by someone Andrew had angered or by someone who wanted Andrew's money sooner rather than later. I've yet to see a remotely plausible theory of a total stranger randomly choosing that house to kill those specific two people (and not our Lizzie or Bridget).

[WFordII]

I completely agree. These were not random murders committed by a stranger. It was someone the Bordens knew and it was an enraged overkill. If Abby actually saw her assailant and the person was a stranger, she would have screamed that second.

[camgarsky4]

I think it could have also been a hyper-intense/focused kill mindset that resulted in an excessive attack due to the release of the pent up energy.

[WFordII]

I think that's possible.