The Notorious Note

Edisto · Post by **Edisto** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 1:54 pm

As far as I can tell, Lizzie wasn't immediately asked by the police about the note supposedly received by Abby on the morning of August 4. In her inquest testimony, Lizzie said, "She told me she had had a note. Somebody was sick and she said, 'I am going to get the dinner on the way' and asked me what I wanted for dinner." She then responded "No" when asked if Abby told her where she was going or who the note was from. Lizzie also said she never saw the note herself and didn't know where it could be found. (The witness statement pertaining to Lizzie says Lizzie claimed to have seen Abby in "the bedroom" at about 9:00 on the morning of August 4; at the inquest, Lizzie says she found Abby in the dining room when she (Lizzie) came down that morning.)

Later in her inquest testimony, Lizzie is asked to go over the events of August 4 again. She does so but fails to mention the note. She is reminded that she has omitted mention of the note, and she responds:
"She asked me how I felt. I told her. She asked me what I wanted for dinner. I told her not anything. What kind of meat I wanted for dinner. I told her not any. She said she had been up and made the spare bed and was going to take up some linen pillow cases for the small pillows at the foot and then the room was done. She says, 'I have had a note from somebody that is sick and I am going out and I will get the dinner at the same time.' I think she said something about the weather. I don't know. She also asked me if I would direct some paper wrappers for her, which I did." On further questioning, Lizzie clarifies that Abby said she had received a note, that Lizzie never saw the note, that Lizzie herself had never tried to find the note, and that others had looked for it. She is asked if Abby was in the habit of telling Lizzie where she was going, and Lizzie says "She does not generally tell me." Lizzie also testifies that Abby didn't say when she was coming back.

Others testified about the note, but they could testify only regarding what Lizzie had said to them, of course. Abby apparently told no one else about the note.

I think the "note" story is peculiar in several respects. Obviously Abby and Lizzie were on speaking terms. Abby even felt comfortable asking Lizzie to do a favor (address some wrappers) for her. Therefore, presumably Lizzie would have felt comfortable asking Abby questions about the note. If someone said to me, "I've received a note that somebody is sick, and I have to go out," my first quesiton would be, "Who's sick?" I would probably also want to know (depending on whether I too knew the sick person), "What's wrong with him/her?" I've always wondered why Lizzie seemingly had no curiosity at all about Abby's errand of mercy.

There are several possible explanations for Lizzie's lack of curiosity:

1) Abby had no friends, so the sick person was bound to be one of
Abby's relatives, about whom Lizzie didn't care.

2) Abby belonged to a formal or informal group (similar to the Fruit
and Flower Mission) whose members visited the sick. Knowing this,
Lizzie assumed the sick person was someone she didn't know.

3) The ever-popular "There was no note." If there was no note, why
would Lizzie make up such a story? She could just as easily have
said that Abby went out to run her usual errands, including picking
up something for dinner. Why would she invent a story that begged
for proof in the form of the note itself or the identification of the
person who delivered it?

Anybody else have reasons to add to this list, or other thoughts about the note?

Audrey · Post by **Audrey** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 5:01 pm

Sometimes I think Lizzie was so unprepared to be treated as a suspect that she failed to concoct a better story or details....

This is exactly why I doubt there was a well thought out conspiracy. If so-- Why not a better alibi? Why not a better story to tell?

Looking for iron to fix a screen or for sinkers? Upstairs or down?

I agree that she would have asked for details about who/what/where/when/why about the note. Even if she hated Abby's guts and was happy to see her leaving the house-- she would have asked so that she could estimate how long she would be shed of her!

snokkums · Post by **snokkums** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 6:15 pm

I always thought that lizzie thought that people would beilieve her because she was from a good family. Think she was kind of shocked when she went to trial for murder.

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 8:17 pm

Hmmm, athought occurred to me about the note, perhaps thats what that roll of burnt up paper was that was found in the stove? Or, was it possibly put there as part of Lizzie's alibi of Abby having a note though no one saw it as that?

If Abby did indeed receive a note, I don't see why there would need to be physical evidence left behind for someone to find. If the sick person was someone Abby knew and was summoned to their bedside, she would know the address where to find this person and wouldn't need to keep the note around and could have possibly popped it in the kitchen stove or even down the privy. I would think that the note would only have been found if it was someone that Abby didn't know or know well and the note contained their address or some special instructions.

My boss is always leaving me little sticky notes at my work station and usually I put them through the paper shredder, unless they have a phone number or pertinent information that I need to keep at hand.

And I totally agree that Lizzie's lack of curiousity about Abby's note is odd, even just for small talk she could have asked.

nbcatlover · Post by **nbcatlover** » Tue Aug 23, 2005 10:50 pm

Susan--

I always suspected the roll in the stove was the old copy of Harper's Lizzie had been reading. The stove wasn't heating up so she tried to get the magazine to ignite.

twinsrwe · Post by **twinsrwe** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 8:33 am

I don't know as though Lizzie needed a better story to tell. I mean, look where her story has gotten her.... She was not only acquitted, we are still talking about her story 113 years later!

Edisto · Post by **Edisto** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 11:13 am

The paper that was in the kitchen stove sounds pretty bulky for a note: "There had been some paper burned in there before, which was rolled up and still held a cylindrical form...I should say it was about that long... Twelve inches, I should say...not over two inches in diameter." (P. Harrington, Trial.) I envision a note as being a half sheet of ordinary paper or less -- but maybe it was a full sheet. Even so, it probably wasn't in the form of a cylinder. (Not unless Abby's acquaintances were very formal and sent out scrolls on such occasions!) That probably wouldn't leave much ash. Anyway, it was so common to burn paper in the stove that the ash could have come from almost anything. Andrew might have unwrapped that mysterious package, rolled up the wrapper, and thrown it into the fire. Since there was so little fire in the stove, the police might have been able to identify the item, if they had thought to fish it out. I've seen paper items that were completely blackened but could still be read. Bad police! No doughnuts for you!

I suppose it's possible that someone brought a note to Abby, asking for her assistance, and that Abby needed to let the sender know that she was on her way. She might have dashed off a quick response on the same piece of paper and had the unknown messenger take it back to the original sender. That would explain what happened to the original note, but not why the messenger never came forward.

FairhavenGuy · Post by **FairhavenGuy** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 11:31 am

I think the biggest argument against there having been a note is that nobody ever came forward and said "I sent for Abby, but she never showed up. If only she'd come to our house. . ." or "I was ill and Abby stopped by from 9:30 to 10:00, then she was off to buy dinner things," or any such thing. Since everybody even remotely connected to the Bordens seems to have said something about the murders, nobody outside the house admits to sending the note or seeing Abby that morning.

Bob Gutowski · Post by **Bob Gutowski** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 11:43 am

Hold the phone - isn't part of the alleged exchange Lizzie asking Abby if she's going to change her dress, and Abby answering that the one she had on was "good enough?" That's always sounded as fishy to me as it did to Miss Lincoln. And wasn't the meal that Abby told Lizzie she'd shop for already planned? And I love the "oh, MORE than cordial" touch of Lizzie alleging that Abby even asked her what she'd like to eat!

I think the note only ever existed in the imagination of Lizzie B. Wasn't the first mention of it by Lizzie to Andrew (overheard by Bridget, no?), supposedly to quell his suspicions about his wife's whereabouts?

If Abby was making a "sick call," there couldn't be any way of telling when she'd be back, and thus, no need for Andrew to wonder why Abby hadn't returned yet, as she surely would have from just some light morning marketing, or even another dash across to Dr. Bowen.

Therefore, I come down on the side of the "never was a note" contingent.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 3:35 pm

That note was a big mistake, because it was only *needed* for about 30 minutes: Quarter of 11 to quarter after. 'No note' could have sufficed for that small window of time- just the excuse that Abby was shopping.

Haulover · Post by **Haulover** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 3:46 pm

i'm looking for something on this i can't find. or did i imagine it?

there is a source, which has it that lizzie told someone that "someone of the house said she had a note" or "she had a note from someone of the house"?

does anybody know what i mean?

Susan · Post by **Susan** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 7:43 pm

Edisto @ Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:13 am wrote: I suppose it's possible that someone brought a note to Abby, asking for her assistance, and that Abby needed to let the sender know that she was on her way. She might have dashed off a quick response on the same piece of paper and had the unknown messenger take it back to the original sender. That would explain what happened to the original note, but not why the messenger never came forward.

Thats a great idea, Edisto, that I personally never thought of, but now that you mention it, it sounds like the proper social type of thing to do. I wonder why that was never thought as a reason by anyone then for there to be no note evident in the Borden house, if indeed a note ever did come.

Haulover · Post by **Haulover** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 9:25 pm

well, just to broaden the possibilities: what if the killer told lizzie (as an explanation for abby's absence) that abby had had a sick note? and lizzie accepts it and repeats it --not only to bridget but to churchill?

but to get to the ultimate point which this implies -- if lizzie herself did not do it, then she must have been framed or set up for it.

the note is an avenue to my thought that lizzie could not have possibly been a willing participant to a plan gone right -- as some theories say -- it had to have been a plan gone wrong OR a shock to lizzie at finding herself the obvious culprit. with that, the question becomes, what is lizzie's secret, or who is the mystery person?

on the face of it, the note seems fake -- but it's very imaginative compared to her other explanations, which are unbearably mundane.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Fri Aug 26, 2005 10:53 pm

Do you mean if she didn't do it she must have known who did, and then why did she *allow* a trial of herself instead of speaking out?
Stef once told me if Lizzie did get into that position then it might be for someone she felt responsible for.

Haulover · Post by **Haulover** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 7:53 pm

if she didn't do it, she must have known who did -- and to tell about it would have implicated her, would have made her a part of it and therefore guilty anyway, even if she herself had not desired the murders. i've even considered the possibility that she was not able to identify or locate the person anyway. i'm looking for a possible "no-win" and "guilty one way or another" situation for lizzie.

DWilly · Post by **DWilly** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 8:21 pm

Well, here's my two cents on this. Lizzie killed her stepmother. She knew Bridget wouldn't have any reason to go upstairs to that guest room. So, Lizzie knew no one right off was going to find Abby's body. When her father came home Lizzie was afraid he'd ask where was Abby or worse yet, start looking around the house for her. If he had found the body he would have known Lizzie did it. He either would have killed Lizzie right then and there or at the very least disowned her. Then sent her off to an insane asylum. So, Lizzie told him Abby got a note asking her to come and take care of someone who was sick. Lizzie just continued with that story at the inquest.

As far as Lizzie protecting anyone the only person I could maybe see her looking out for is Emma. At that point in Lizzie's life I think Emma was the only person she loved enough to look out for. I have a hunch it was Lizzie who suggested to Emma that she go on that nicely timed vacation. I have to admit Lizzie did seem to care a bit for Bridget too. The way she tried to get her out of the house too by telling her about that store sale.

By the way, "looking out for" seems to have been a two way street between Lizzie and Emma. I was looking at the San Francisco Chronicle, June 17, 1893, it said this about Emma's testimony in court on Lizzie and her relationship with her stepmother :

" She said Lizzie was at outs with her stepmother at one time, but they had been good friends for three years before the murder."

Now, I haven't looked at Emma's testimony to see if she did say that but ,if she did good lord her nose must have grown three inches during her testimony because it's clearly a lie. Good friends? I thought Lizzie hated her.

nbcatlover · Post by **nbcatlover** » Sun Aug 28, 2005 9:27 pm

I don't believe Lizzie did it. I do believe that she expected "someone" to confront Andrew on an emotionally volatile issue.

I believe Lizzie thought there was a note, was told there was a note, or was told by Abby that she was going out to visit someone who was sick and assumed it must have been a note. I believe the deliverer of the note was sent to lure Abby from the house to have a private conversation with Andrew.

I don't believe a murder was intended to happen. I believe it came out of an emotionally charged situation in which "someone" lost control.

I believe Lizzie knew who this "someone" was and had feelings for this "someone". I believe she was truly in shock when she requested a doctor. She felt she had to cover for this person out of love and was willing to substantially bend the truth to protect this person. I believe she loved Andrew, but he was dead and nothing she did would bring him back. She wanted to protect the other person she loved. I do not think that she expected to be accused on the day of the murders, the day she decided to lie.

Once she was accused, it really didn't matter to her in some respects. Her existing life was gone and the future she envisioned was gone too.

There are many indications that "someone's" family exerted influence and money to hide this identify while pulling political strings to make sure Lizzie would never be convicted.

I know there are forum members who pooh-pooh the people who see conspiracies everywhere, but I do believe one occurred here.

Among the Yankee families who heavily bonded and intermarried, loyalty to each other outweighted loyalty to government. They used government when they gained power and influence but ignored it's rules when it went against them.

Kat · Post by **Kat** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 2:46 am

I was thinking tonight that the person who really should have had a note was Andrew.
Abby was about the house and killed there when the coast was clear, yet someone had to wait for Andrew, and not know when he would return. It would make more sense to send Andrew a note to make sure he was at the house by a certain time. It might be doubtful that he would even mention this to anyone.
Maybe what Bridget overheard was that Andrew was saying he had a note. She did not hear the exchange between Lizzie and Andrew too well.

snokkums · Post by **snokkums** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 6:09 pm

I think lizzie might have known who did it or probably did it herself.

DWilly · Post by **DWilly** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 7:09 pm

I enjoy reading the posts on all of these boards. I'm learning a lot. I do have a few opinions but I realize I don't know nearly enough about this interesting case as the rest of you. So, my views aren't set in stone.

As to the idea of someone helping her I don't know. Some of the posts I've read think a guy who wanted to marry Lizzie may have done it but I'm not sold on that idea yet. For three main reasons:

1. I read some of the older posts and I agree with the poster (can't think of their name) who posted that Andrew more than likely would not have objected to Lizzie getting married. Barring the town drunk I don't think Andrew was that picky about a son-in-law. Abby, I'm sure would have been tickled pink to get Lizzie out of the house.

2. Where did this guy go? So, he helps Lizzie out with the murder etc. and then when she's arrested he flies the coop? She never did marry so, where did lover boy go?

3. The Nance O'Neil affair. Now, I clearly don't have all the info on what went on between these two women. From what I've read, if the information is true, Nance did turn Lizzie's head around. Now if Lizzie had simply been some young girl I would just chalk it up to having a little "crush" but, Lizzie wasn't a little girl she was a full grown woman. Bit of a difference there. Looking at Nance and then that letter Lizzie wrote to that other woman and than there was that thing about someone talking about Lizzie's "Sapphic dalliances" well, after all of that I'd have to say the evidence doesn't seem to point in Lizzie wanting a guy.

Anyway, that's three reasons why I'm not really going for the "guy who wanted to marry her but Andrew would let him so he killed both Andrew and Abby" theory just yet.

Audrey · Post by **Audrey** » Mon Aug 29, 2005 10:18 pm

I agree, Lizzie wasn't a young girl-- But was she mature enough and experienced enough to know the difference between a crush, love or simple lust?

snokkums · Post by **snokkums** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 5:20 am

I still am leaning towards the scenario of maybe Lizzie, Emma, and Brigdget being in on it together. Let's face it, Andrew was a tight wad, and the girls wanted to be living on the hill, and I am sure he wasn't paying Bridget all that much money.