Speculation - The Case Against Bridget Sullivan

[camgarsky4]

We think a series of threads that encourage stretching the facts (not changing them) to see if we can build a case against some of the other key characters in this crime drama would be fun. Bridget, Morse, Emma and so on.

For any viewers out there...know that, as with many folks, we view Lizzie as the clear primary suspect for these murders. That said, we think it will be fun to poke and prod on some other potential suspects. Maybe we'll come up with something interesting!

Primary reason to suspect:
Bridget and Lizzie were the only two persons known to have been on the Borden property at the time of both murders.

Secondary reason to suspect:
Bridget & Morse contradict each other as to when Abby gave Bridget the instruction to wash the exterior windows.
Adelaide Churchill testified that she thought she heard Bridget corroborate Lizzie's claim that Abby had received a note from sick friend.

Motive:
This is a tougher question to answer. Speculation might suggest that she was an accomplice of another party (ex. Lizzie, Emma or Morse) and received monetary reward. She did sail back to Ireland in 1895.
Author, Radin, proposes a motive of anger and retribution for Abby telling her to wash the windows on a hot day. Andrew was killed because he knew that Abby had told Bridget to wash the windows.

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Foundational Information:
Bridget's American resume up to the time of the murders.
May 24, 1886 immigrated from Ireland, arriving at Newport, Rhode Island.
1886/87 Worked at the Perry House, Newport, RI for 12 months
1887/88 Worked at South Bethlehem, PA for 12 months
1888/89 Worked for the Reed family on Highland Avenue, Fall River for 15 months
1889 Worked for the Remington family on High Street, Fall River for 7 months
November, 1889 started working for the Borden family on Second Street, Fall River

Employer quotes:
Milton Reed. Jennings Journals Page 256. "The Miss Sullivan I mean was a good, honest girl, and never in the some two years that she remained at our house could a word be said against her character."

[Lorcan]

When I speculate about the level of Bridget's involvement in the murders of Abby and Andrew, I think of different levels of involvement and responsibility. Perhaps we can use these levels or make new levels to help organize our speculation.

1. Bridget decided on her own to kill Abby Borden out of anger over chores or some other reason.
2. Bridget was incentivized by another person to kill Abby.
3. Bridget knew about the plan to kill Abby and agreed to help, but not actually swing the hatchet.
4. Bridget didn't know ahead of time, but was convinced to help in some way (clean up, cover for the killer with false statements)
5. Bridget didn't know anything and didn't help in any way until after the police were involved (helped Lizzie in some way at the legal proceedings)
6. Bridget had no knowledge and provided no help to Lizzie at all.

Out of these, I put the order of likelihood as initially 6 until it was clear she was safe and then perhaps a tiny bit of 5 in holding her tongue about something she saw, heard, didn't see or didn't hear that upon reflection after the fact she realized she did indeed have information that might put the noose around Lizzie's neck and she decided not to kill Lizzie with her testimony.

I'll think about this more and I look forward to everyone's speculation.

[camgarsky4]

Another thought to percolate on. Bridget went for a walk with a friend the prior evening, arriving back home around 10pm.

Was that stroll actually a preplanning session with another suspect? Back in the 1890's at least two rumors surfaced which implied Bridget had a boyfriend who might have been involved. Neither rumor bore fruit, at least to the public eye.

If she committed both murders, that would mean that she killed Abby, then went out and spent around an hour washing exterior windows, then came back inside and killed Andrew. Seems a bit odd, but not impossible. She was witnessed working on the windows on at least 5 occasions.

[Lorcan]

I'll bring over this imagined alternate universe scenario of testimony that would answer the question, if Bridget did it, why wasn't Lizzie curious about where Abby was after coming back upstairs and for the rest of the morning:


Question: When was the last time you saw Abby?

Lizzie's Answer: The last I saw of Abby was her dusting in the dining room just before I went into the basement to use the toilet. I was also feeling sick to my stomach and while I was down there I heard Bridget's familiar footsteps on the floor above. I thought she came back into the house to get a drink or do some cleaning in the sitting room or dining room. I heard her walk back outside a couple of minutes later. When I got to the top of the basement stairs I turned left and saw Bridget in the driveway walking toward the barn. I called out to her and asked her how she was feeling and if she still planned on washing the windows. She said yes and that Mrs. Borden received a note and was called away to attend to a sick friend.

[Lorcan]

Melvin Adams When you went out that night, did you have a key to the back door?
Bridget Sullivan Yes, sir.

Melvin Adams You left the screen door unfastened?
Bridget Sullivan Yes Sir, but the other door was locked.

Melvin Adams You always had a key to that door?
Bridget Sullivan Yes, sir.

Melvin Adams For how long?
Bridget Sullivan I dont think I have had it quite a year yet.

Melvin Adams Did anybody come home with you that night?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Did anybody come to the gate with you?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Did you meet anybody in particular in the street?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Did you have any visitors?
Bridget Sullivan Sometimes.

Melvin Adams Did you have any men call on you?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Ever since you have been at this house?
Bridget Sullivan Not in Fall River.

Melvin Adams While you have been in this house?
Bridget Sullivan Not anybody from Fall River.

Melvin Adams I did not ask you where they were from. When did you have anybody call on you, not from Fall River?
Bridget Sullivan About two or three months before that I guess.

Melvin Adams That is the last time any man has called on you at the house?
Bridget Sullivan Yes, sir.

Melvin Adams Has any man walked home with you?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Has any man seen you in the back yard?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Have you met anybody in the back yard for the last two or three months?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Did you ever meet anybody in the back yard?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Or sit down with anybody on the back step, or in the back yard?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Never in your life?
Bridget Sullivan I have sat down with girls on the back stairs and in the kitchen.

Melvin Adams Have you ever sat out on the back side of the house, or in the yard with girls?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Or with anybody?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams Wednesday night, you came in about what time?
Bridget Sullivan About five minutes past ten.

Melvin Adams Everybody had gone to bed?
Bridget Sullivan Yes, sir.

Melvin Adams Did you lock the door?
Bridget Sullivan Yes, sir.

Melvin Adams Did you get a lamp?
Bridget Sullivan Yes Sir, it was lighted in the kitchen.

Melvin Adams Waiting for you?
Bridget Sullivan Yes, sir.

Melvin Adams You went up stairs?
Bridget Sullivan Yes, sir.

Melvin Adams Did you use gas there?
Bridget Sullivan No, sir.

Melvin Adams They used lamps all through the house?
Bridget Sullivan Yes, sir.

[camgarsky4]

I've always presumed it was Mrs. Borden who left a lamp lit for Emma. I find that very caring and thoughtful. Maybe it was to be sure Emma didn't trip and make noise on the way up the steps and wake the elders up.

My takeaway from the 'alternative' testimony is that for Bridget to have killed Abby in the guest bedroom it would have taken some precision timing.

It would help if we had actual testimony that Lizzie saw Bridget in the front section of the house that morning. I only recall references to Bridget being in the kitchen. Am I forgetting something?

[Inspector]

Lizzie’s inquest is a bit vague,but Lizzie says she came down and saw Maggie come in the back door with the brush, pail , and pole.
Suggests to me Lizzie was in the kitchen.
Shortly, Lizzie says she (Lizzie) was in the dining room when Maggie went outside with her items, and thought it was before Andrew left the house.
This doesn’t match Bridget’s testimony.
Bridget testified she went out to vomit —leaving Lizzie in the kitchen—came back in and never saw Lizzie again until Lizzie appeared at the back door.
Problem is…Lizzie also testified that when Maggie had her washing tools (inside the house) that she told her to close the parlor blinds after she finished washing windows, and that Bridget stated that Abby instructed her to do the window washing (of which Lizzie made no reply.)
If Bridget is being truthful, non of what Lizzie is saying could have taken place in Lizzie’s sequencing, because Bridget came in from vomiting, continued and finished her breakfast chores well before getting her window washing supplies.

[Inspector]

Preliminary Hearing—Bridget Sullivan

Q.
When you came back, did you see Mrs. Borden?
A. No Sir.
Q. Did you see her after you came back?
A. Not until nine o’clock.
Q. When you went out in the back yard, was it before Mr. Morse went off ?
A. No Sir, after he went off.
Q. How soon after he went off ?
A. Maybe ten or five minutes; I cannot tell.
Q. When you came back again, where did you go then?
A. Into the kitchen.
Q. Where did you see Mrs. Borden after that?
A. After washing my dishes.
Q. Did you wash your dishes before you went out in the yard sick, or after you came back?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. When you saw Mrs. Borden, where did you see her?
A. In the dining room, dusting. She wanted to know if I had anything particular to do that day. I
told her no. Did she want anything? Yes, she said she wanted the windows washed. I asked her
how. She said on both sides, inside and outside; they were very dirty.
Q. Did you have any usual time to wash the windows?
A. No Sir.
Q. How often did you use to wash them?
A. Sometimes once a month, and probably twice a month.
Q. Did you see Mrs. Borden after that?
A. No Sir.
Q. Where did she go to then?
A. I could not tell you. I came out, and shut the dining room, and was in the kitchen.
Q. You shut the dining room door and went in the kitchen?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. When did you next see her after that?
194 Preliminary Hearing in the Lizzie Borden Case
A. Not until I saw her dead.
Q. That was the last time you saw Mrs. Borden?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Was that before Lizzie came down?
A. No. Lizzie was after getting through her breakfastthen.
Q. When Mrs. Borden spoke to you?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. When you saw Mrs. Borden, and had that talk with her, Lizzie was out in the kitchen eating her
breakfast?
A. She was through her breakfast. She was not in the kitchen.
Q. Where was she?
A. I do not know.
Q. You had seen Lizzie before then?
A. Yes Sir, before that, when she came down stairs.
Page 11
Q. Did Lizzie come down stairs before you went out in the yard to vomit?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Where was Lizzie when you went out in the yard?
A. Eating on the kitchen table.
Q. When you came back was she still in the kitchen?
A. I left her in the kitchen when I went out in the yard.
Q. When you came back, you do not remember whether she was there or not?
A. No Sir.
Q. When Lizzie came down did she have anything to say?
A. I asked her what did she want for breakfast. She did not know, she did not want any. If she felt
like eating something, she would have some coffee and cookies.
Q. A. Q. About what time was that?
I dont know what time it was. I could not tell.
When Mrs. Borden said that to you about washing windows, do you know where Lizzie was
then?
A. No Sir.
Q. That was the last time you saw Mrs. Borden?
A. Yes Sir. She had the feather duster in her hand dusting the dining room. I left her there, and went
back into the kitchen.
Q. When you went back into the kitchen, did you see Lizzie?
A. No Sir.
Q. Was she in the kitchen or dining room?
A. No Sir. I did not see her.
Q. You did not go in the sitting room then?
A. No Sir.
Q. You do not know whether she was in the sitting room or not?
A. No Sir.
Q. That was the last you saw of Mrs. Borden?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. Where she went after that, you do not know?
Preliminary Hearing in the Lizzie Borden Case 195
A. No Sir.
Q. That was after both men had gone?
A. Yes Sir.
Q. When you came in from vomiting, did you hoo

[Inspector]

Seems Bridget never spoke to Lizzie about having to wash windows, yet Lizzie was aware of the details, yet in her inquest, Lizzie claimed seeing Bridget with window washing supplies, and Bridget mentioning Abby’s instructions, plus the parlor blinds comment.
All this at a time period where Bridget claims she never saw Lizzie.
Lizzie had finished her breakfast (whatever she had) and disappeared before Bridget came back from vomiting,

[Lorcan]

Q. How often did you use to wash them?
A. Sometimes once a month, and probably twice a month.

Well, there goes all the theories of washing the windows being anything that would have likely angered Bridget to the point of murder. She likely washed the windows somewhere around 30 times during her almost 3 years with the Bordens.

[camgarsky4]

I agree, that motive just has no legs. Radin's theory would suggest that Bridget was so enraged about the chore that she found a hatchet, tracked down Abby, slaughtered her, tidied herself up, gathered her cleaning supplies, chatted w/ a neighbor maid and proceeded to wash the windows anyway. Makes total sense (sarcasm alert).

Bridget's employment record outlined in the OP demonstrates that she wasn't shy about finding a new employer. Nellie McHeny's letter to Hilliard tells us that Bridget had felt compelled to leave the Borden's, but had been 'bought' to stay at least a bit longer (I believe the essence of Nellie's report).

This would all suggest that the only motives that would pass the 'possibility' test include:
1) monetary reward which would indicate another party was involved
2) a botched robbery attempt involving a boyfriend or other accomplice.
3) something happened the night before or that morning which was horribly inappropriate in Bridget's eyes, which resulted in violence.

#2 & #3 don't pass the 'smell test'. A plausible motive for Bridget acting completely alone is really a struggle to come up with.

[Inspector]

Bridget getting stuck in the middle of it, knowing Lizzie, and her intuition putting things together that didn’t make sense had to of shocked her.
Explains how she was the one excited and upset on Thursday morning and wanted out of the house.

Spencer seems to think Bridget caught on when the note was mentioned, but I disagree and place Bridget’s fears (of Lizzie)
when Lizzie stopped her from going to Mrs Whiteheads and directed her upstairs, although it could’ve been a combination of several things we’ll never discover through words on paper.

I think a lot can be learned by comparing Lizzie’s inquest with Bridget’s testimony,
How they differ, and what does it tell us.
Lizzie was obviously aware of when Andrew and John left, yet hints she wasn’t sure, using words like “I think so,”
I think Lizzie heard everything that Abby said to Bridget, and knew when the gentleman left, but Lizzie had too much on her mind if she was guilty, and simply couldn’t put the timing of events together correctly when questioned.
The only alternative is that Bridget was lying, or they couldn’t get their stories straight.

Bridget learns of the note story from Lizzie, not Abby, yet Lizzie came down right after John left, and Lizzie was also aware that Bridget went outside from the kitchen
(to vomit, she probably knew) and apparently all morning events after Bridget got sick.

[Lorcan]

I agree about 2 (a botched robbery) being out. He had the equivalent of about $3,000 in cash on him. A real robbery and a staged robbery would have both taken away that money. A disgruntled tenant who was kicked out for non-payment would probably take the money.

Are there signs of Bridget getting a modest amount of money - which the lawyers could put down to a severance package if pressed - maybe...we know Bridget (or any Catholic) could not legally purchase land in Ireland at the time, but perhaps she was given enough to make the trip to Ireland and back and a bit of a cushion that if well-managed would mean she would never be forced to stay in a particular job just to survive.

If I were to speculate wildly, I'd say the lawyers officially gave Bridget at least 3 months salary as severance. Then I would speculate that Bridget may have been offered a financial incentive to never speak of the case. A journalist could have partnered with her to publish a book that would have made her a lot of money, but it never happened.

[Lorcan]

Now that I think about it, I would give extremely high odds that Lizzie and Emma would have willingly bought the ticket to Ireland for Bridget and encouraged her to enjoy life back in the Old Country. I don't think they actually did because I believe it was quite a while after the case was closed, but it's an interesting conversation to imagine like a movie scene.

The more I think about it, Bridget's silence makes sense:

1. Just wanting to have a normal life.
2. A relatively small amount of money for a book would likely cause her to be sued and lose that normal life.

When I weigh the pros and cons, Bridget just keeping quiet and trying to put the whole thing behind her makes a lot of sense.

[camgarsky4]

Bridget went to Ireland in 1895 for a visit. Almost 2 full years after the acquittal and over a year after the Borden estate was settled.

Screenshot 2026-07-16 121250.png

Did they do the 'real life memoirs' book thing back in the 1890's?

[camgarsky4]

Per AI/google, a second class, one way ticket to Ireland on the Lucania in 1895 would be roughly $60USD.

AI is just a crazy invention.

[Lorcan]

The closest analog I can think of is that Sheriff Pat Garrett did it for Billy the Kid, partnering with Ash Upson to ghost write most of it until the final manhunt chapters, which Pat narrated in an entirely different writing style, like Pat just spoke the story and Ash transcribed it with a few structural elements added to make it read well. So, at least for outlaws out West, it was a thing. Not sure about other categories of true crime. Pat's book was published in 1882 within a year of the killing of Billy the Kid.

I think Jack the Ripper in the Fall of 1888 was the real kickoff of tabloid journalism around true crime. One reporter admitted to faking at least one of the letters sent in to the newspaper purportedly from "Jack." We have to consider whether all the women were really killed by one person or if "Jack the Ripper" was a composite of more than one killer invented to more easily market and sell the 3 editions of newspapers per day in a hyper-competitive market.

[camgarsky4]

Covering a round trip boat ride to Ireland, spending $150-200, does not seem to merit participating in a double homicide. We have no knowledge of other activities or investments that Bridget made that might have been financed by another party.

It is an interesting related tidbit, but Boston Globe reporter Henry Trickey purportedly tried to arrange to have Bridget leave the country back in the late fall of 1892. Nothing I've read has really explained why he would do this, but he was indicted by the grand jury for witness tampering. Of course, he died almost immediately and the indictment was for not.

https://lizzieandrewborden.com/hatcheto ... -reporter/

It would seem the defense would be the only folks that would have like to seen Bridget not testify.

[camgarsky4]

After taking the time to convert the cost of a second class ticket to our cost today, it actually is about $2,000. So nothing to sneeze at, but if it was related to the crimes, the amount and lengthy time delay would imply a payoff vs. a 'participation fee'.

Screenshot 2026-07-16 121630.png

Screenshot 2026-07-16 174324.png

[Lorcan]

I think her maximum salary was $4 per week. If we are generous and ignore that she was likely making less than that before she threatened to quit and Abby gave her a raise and we bump her employment up to the full 3 years, she earned a maximum base pay of:

4 x 52 x 3 = $624 or $22,979, so even a modest 10% saving rate would cover her trip back, just with the Borden years. She also worked in Newport, Rhode Island and South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania (a boom town at the time), so I think even without a generous gift from the Borden women, she would have been able to afford the trip. Her living expenses must have been low, given that room and board was included.

I would hope some of her employers were a bit more generous with her over the years. I still wonder if that Anaconda, Montana article in the June 1892 Harpers magazine is what drew her there. I heard somewhere she had relatives there, but I don't know if they went there because Bridget read (or was read) the article and then told her relatives.

From Gemini:
Is there any indication one way or the other whether Bridget could read and write

Yes, there is direct historical evidence that Bridget Sullivan could read and write.

During the June 1893 trial of Lizzie Borden, Bridget was called to the stand to testify. When she was presented with her signed deposition from the preliminary hearing, she was asked to identify her signature and confirm her previous statements. She successfully read, verified, and confirmed her own signature.

Additionally, historical census records from her life in Montana (such as the 1910 and 1920 US Censuses) specifically document her as being able to both read and write.

Attached is the section about domestic servant wages in the mining towns of Montana from that June 1892 Harpers...

[camgarsky4]

.
From Gemini:
Is there any indication one way or the other whether Bridget could read and write

Yes, there is direct historical evidence that Bridget Sullivan could read and write.

During the June 1893 trial of Lizzie Borden, Bridget was called to the stand to testify. When she was presented with her signed deposition from the preliminary hearing, she was asked to identify her signature and confirm her previous statements. She successfully read, verified, and confirmed her own signature.

I don't recall this trial testimony by Bridget and I just searched using a bunch of key words and couldn't find it. Can you ask Gemini to provide page # or something direct to what it is referencing?
I've always viewed Bridget as likely unable to read and write, so this would be a new insight for me.

[Lorcan]

Good news and bad news - Gemini was wrong, but here is the proof of her being able to read and write by the time she was in Anaconda (assuming that can be trusted)

The likely source of Gemini’s error
A strikingly similar signature-authentication exchange did occur during the preliminary hearing—but with Dr. William A. Dolan, concerning his autopsy report:
Question: “Now, Mr. Dolan, is that your signature?”
Dolan: “Yes Sir.”
Question: “And is that your report of the autopsy?”
Dolan: “A partial autopsy.”
The transcript then states that Mr. Adams read the report.
So Gemini probably merged:
Bridget being confronted with quotations from her previous testimony, and
Dr. Dolan identifying his signature on a written report.
A defensible formulation would be:
At Lizzie Borden’s trial, Bridget was questioned about inconsistencies with her preliminary-hearing testimony, and counsel read portions of that earlier testimony to her. She did not identify a signature or authenticate a signed deposition.

[Lorcan]

You can read this exchange from the preliniary hearing and try to guess whether it implies one way or the other. It sounds to me like Melvin at least thought there was a possibility she could have read those papers.

Melvin Adams: Did they have any testimony, or anything, written out, or any paper which they showed you last night?
Bridget Sullivan: Mr. Knowlton showed me a little paper.
Melvin Adams: What kind of a little paper?
Bridget Sullivan: I do not know what it was.
Melvin Adams: Did you look at it?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.
Melvin Adams: Was it in writing?
Bridget Sullivan: In printing I think.
Melvin Adams: Was it something that you had said somewhere?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.
Melvin Adams: It was. And had you made some mistake?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Was it something that you were going to say?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Something that you had said at the other hearing?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir. What I said was all right.
Melvin Adams: I understand that. What did he show you the paper for; do you recollect?
Bridget Sullivan: I do not know.
Melvin Adams: You read it, did you not?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir, I did not.
Melvin Adams: You saw it was in printing?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.
Melvin Adams: He handed it to you?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: You said he showed it to you?
Bridget Sullivan: I said I saw it.
Melvin Adams: Was he talking about that paper when he showed it to you?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir. He read a little of it.
Melvin Adams: Was that something that you had said?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.
Melvin Adams: When had you said it?
Bridget Sullivan: I do not know when I said it.
Melvin Adams: Did you say it yesterday or at that other time when you were in this room?
Bridget Sullivan: I do not know.
Melvin Adams: Had you said it at all at any time?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.
Melvin Adams: Had you forgotten all about it?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: You remembered all about it?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.
Melvin Adams: How much do you think he read to you, quite a little?
Bridget Sullivan: About half a dozen words I should judge.
Melvin Adams: What were those half a dozen words?
Bridget Sullivan: I dont know.
Melvin Adams: You dont know?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Cant you remember?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Did anybody else show you any paper?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Was anybody else there beside the marshal, you say he was around there?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir. The marshal was not there with me then.
Melvin Adams: This was in the Marshal’s room, in the open room there?
Bridget Sullivan: I was sitting down there in a chair, waiting for a carriage.
Melvin Adams: Was it in the marshal’s room, the open room there? It was not in a private room, it was in the public room, was it not?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.
Melvin Adams: What time did you get home last night?
Bridget Sullivan: I could not tell you.
Melvin Adams: You did not stay long down there?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: You did not stay long in the room down stairs?
Bridget Sullivan: I waited for a carriage, that is all.
Melvin Adams: I do not know how long you waited for carriage, you know.
Bridget Sullivan: I do not know either myself; I did not have no time.
Melvin Adams: Did you get home to supper?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.
Melvin Adams: About six o’clock?
Bridget Sullivan: I could not tell; I suppose so.
Melvin Adams: You did not see anybody after that last evening?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Nobody else showed you any paper last evening?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: No one has shown you any paper this morning, or any printing?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Or read any half a dozen words to you?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Were those words that he read to you last night anything about this groan that you testified to this morning?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: How do you know they was not?
Bridget Sullivan: I know they was not.
Melvin Adams: I thought you could not remember?
Bridget Sullivan: Well, they was not about that.
Melvin Adams: Were they anything about the note?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Were they anything about the laugh up stairs?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Were they anything about her saying words slowly?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Yet you cannot tell us what they were about?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Did he ask you any questions about them?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir.
Melvin Adams: Simply read them to you, and said nothing?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.

Literate or not, Bridget is a bit entertaining in how she spars with the lawyers sometimes!

[camgarsky4]

Bridget was a firecracker...she didn't let anyone run over her. I suspect that included Andrew and Lizzie.
The testimony you pasted above is actually one of the reasons I don't think she could read.

Melvin Adams: You read it, did you not?
Bridget Sullivan: No Sir, I did not.
Melvin Adams: You saw it was in printing?
Bridget Sullivan: Yes Sir.

And then she tells Adams that Knowlton ended up reading the pertinent section to her.

Few Irish peasant immigrants were literate, but that certainly wouldn't stop someone who was determined to learn. Perhaps our Bridget learned to read and write over time and by the 1910 census, considered herself as learned in the ways of writing and reading.

[camgarsky4]

Updated based on thread input.....would you guys agree?

Primary reason to suspect:
Bridget and Lizzie were the only two persons known to have been on the Borden property at the time of both murders.

Secondary reason to suspect:
Bridget & Morse contradict each other as to when Abby gave Bridget the instruction to wash the exterior windows.
Adelaide Churchill testified that she thought she heard Bridget corroborate Lizzie's claim that Abby had received a note from sick friend.

Motive hanging on by a thread:
Possibility that her testimony was altered by lying or omission by the actual murderers. Payoff was roundtrip voyage to Ireland.

Eliminated Possible Motives:
Anger at having to wash windows
Involved in botched burglary of Borden home
Retribution for mistreatment.
Collaborated in the actual murder of Abby and/or Andrew

[Lorcan]

I agree on all the eliminated motives and would potentially be a bit more harsh:

We saw that if she saved even 10% of her Borden-only earnings, she could have paid for the voyage, but she had also earned money in Newport and South Bethlehem and more money in Fall River working other jobs. In addition to this, I am very confident that even if Emma and Lizzie didn't come up with the idea, their defense team would strongly advise the women to give Bridget the most generous severance they could without raising suspicion of a payoff and certainly they would not want to antagonize her of a literal tiny fraction of a minuscule drop in the bucket of their new wealth.

I don't think Morse nor Bridget were deliberately lying about the window washing instruction timing - perhaps one or the other misremembered - or perhaps she gave the instruction twice, maybe the second time with more specific detail. What bothers me more is Morse's account of the order of waking and Morse and Bridget not running across each other first thing in the morning.

The Adelaide Churchill thing is I think just the normal way of speaking. I think Bridget simply reported what Lizzie told her as a presumed fact and it sounded like Bridget may have independent knowledge of the note.

As for Bridget's guilt in any of this, I don't think she knew ahead of time. I don't think she even remotely suspected Lizzie prior to asking about going to Mrs. Whitehead's.

She was in a very precarious position at first. She seems to have had the presence of mind to play it exactly right when testifying. Be honest when questioned, but don't volunteer information that in her role as a maid, it was understood she would pretend to not see and not hear. Like Lizzie purportedly said, don't give a single inch.

[camgarsky4]

I agree with all your thoughts.....

There really isn't a solid motive for Bridget based on what we know and applying common sense. That would seem to eliminate as a suspect one of only two people known to have been on the property when both murders occurred.

Just sayin'...

[Lorcan]

Beyond that, when I was first learning of the case, I thought that if Lizzie killed Abby in a rage, unplanned, (poison still being the plan) then all the talk of a paperwork deadline (will, property transfers, etc.) were not really the trigger.

Here's what crossed my mind:

1. Lizzie planned to poison Abby. There was no set deadline.

2. Lizzie bought or stole a brand new hatchet as a joke for the girls in Marion since the cottage hatchet was so dull as to be unusable the prior trip and they all were cold all night because they couldn't chop wood for a fire.

3. Once Bridget was out of the house and Lizzie and Abby were alone, perhaps in the sewing room/guest room, Lizzie and Abby had words and something was said that completely through Lizzie over the edge. She took her laundry and walked out of the room and slammed her bedroom door. Thinking that was the end of it, Abby resumed cleaning. Lizzie saw the glint of the brand new hatchet and slid it into the dress and walked back into the sewing room toward the sewing machine. Abby glanced at her, saw she was headed for the sewing machine and resumed dusting. Then a quick flash of metal and Abby was semiconscious twisting and falling to the floor.

4. Lizzie looks out the windows following Bridget's movements and cleans up. She waits until Bridget comes inside to do the inside windows. Then when enough time has passed, she calmly, very calmy tells Bridget to sit down at the dining room table and tells her Abby is dead. It's your word against mine...

However, in getting more familiar with the evidence, there is no evidence of that. It's very tempting because if the forced cooperation after Abby's murder would eliminate all mystery about how Lizzie could have pulled it off. Between the two of them, cooperating, there is no mystery. However, it appears to me so far as if Bridget had literally nothing to do with either murder and no prior knowledge of them.

She doesn't appear to have actually lied or covered up in any of her testimony. It is obvious that over the years she had seen and heard things that would likely be damaging for every single Borden, but that is not how fair trials are conducted and she'd never get a job as a domestic servant again if she violated that trust and social norm for her position.

I think we can move on to Morse or Harrington.