How explain the mysterious note story?

[Franz]

The mysterious note story, in my opinion, is one of the most crucial circumstantial evidence against Lizzie. Whoever wishing to defend Lizzie’ innocence must face it. Could anyone be kind enough to post a résumé stating the explanations of the major authors who defended Lizzie? Thanks!

[Franz]

I made a quick reading, and it seems that there are three principal theories about the note story:

1. The note story was a pure fabrication of Lizzie. I agree that, if this theory were true, it implies very convincingly that Lizzie was guilty: why did she want to invent such a thing, if she were innocent?

2. The note story was a lie of Abby. In my opinion this theory doesn’t demonstrate neither Lizzie’s innocence nor her guilt.

3. It did exist a note. But since no note was never found afterwards, and no one declared that he / she was the writer or the messenger of the note, it seems that this theory is the least probable of the three. So the people focus their attention to the other two theories, especially the first one: Lizzie lied; → Lizzie was guilty.

Thinking and rethinking about the note story : no one declared that he / she was the writer or the messenger of the note, no one declared that he / she was the writer or the messenger of the note… I wonder, did anyone conjecture already that the writer and the messenger of the note could be the real killer himself (who was not Lizzie)? This conjecture could explain well why, after the murders occurred, no one came to the authorities and said: “Lizzie was right: it was me the writer (messenger) of the note.” The real killer, certainly, would not do such a thing!

It is generally thought that, if Lizzie were the killer, she invented the note story in order to prevent her father (and Bridget) from looking for Abby. But if the killer were another person, and if this person knew that, after having killed Abby he would wait in the house about more than one hour before committing the second murder, and if he wanted to kill only Andrew and Abby (or at least he wanted to avoid killing anyone else), he could have thought as well to prevent Lizzie (and Bridget) from looking for Abby.

Could the writer and messenger of the note be the killer himself?

[Allen]

I have a big problem with that theory. Why would the killer send Abby a note asking her to leave the house and then kill her in there house? To me trying to get Abby out of the house defeats the purpose of arriving there to kill her.

[Franz]

Allen, I have imagined a scenario, I am sure that it could seem absolutely impossible to most people:

The Killer: “Good morning, Mrs. Borden, I was sent by Mrs. X, she is sick and wants you to pay her a visit. I’ll accompany you to her home.”

Abby took the note and told Lizzie (for this part see Lizzie’s testimony). Meanwhile the killer was waiting outside.

Abby went out.

The Killer: “Oh, I’m sorry Mrs. Borden, I almost forgot it. I met Mr. Morse when I was coming here. He told me that he forgot something in his room.”

Abby: “Ok, come in, my boy, we’ll find it.”

Abby came back with the Killer, and the latter thinking: “If someone see me while entering in the house, I will be unlucky and will do nothing. If no one sees me, I would act this time, in Morse’s room, and wait there until Andrew return to home.”

[Franz]

Maybe a stupid question, but is it determined that Abby was killed in the guest room, instead of being killed in another place and then removed in the guest room, maybe the least frequented place of the house? It is said that on the picture Abby seemed to be in an odd position. Someone think that the body probably was removed for taking the picture. I think a well trained policeman could removed only the bed or the furniture, but not the body…

[Allen]

So the killer first leaves the house and walks out on to the street with Abby and nobody sees them? He's going to risk being seen on the street with Abby? They are going in and out of the locked front door Andrew could not get in when he arrived home? And this killer was so savvy he not only knew Morse had stayed the night when nobody else expected him, but he knew what room he slept in? This seems improbable to me.

[Franz]

I read somewhere the theory about Morse and a butcher guy...

[Aamartin]

That guest room was not so 'unfrequented'. Lizzie and Emma received guests there. I wonder-- did they sit on the bed?

[mbhenty]

Yes: Hey Franz.

For someone who can't get his hands on any books about the case and Lizzie Borden you sure have read a lot about it.

When John Morse was a young man he worked at a slaughterhouse in Dartmouth. He was probably a butcher by trade. Dartmouth is a small town just outside Fall River. Over the years he became good friends with Issac Davis one of the owners of the meat business. They were Butchers. When Morse came back to Fall River from his farm out west he would stay at the Davis House. Of course over time gossip got out that Morse hired some butcher to kill the Bordens. It is a profile about the killings which some still consider today.

And as far as the body of Mrs. Borden. The bodies of both victims were moved to some extent. Whether a few inches, feet or across the room we don't know. But, the bodies in the photos as we see them were staged for the photograph—moved and placed back the way they were first discovered. The final image is what we see today.

[Yooper]

Yes: Hey Franz.

For someone who can't get his hands on any books about the case and Lizzie Borden you sure have read a lot about it.

Yes, Brown in particular.