Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Lizzie and Morse claim not to have seen or spoken to each other during his visit to the Borden house that August. Which leads to speculation that they were on the outs with each other for some reason. Why did Lizzie seem to be avoiding him? I have found several statements that lead me to believe they may have been on the outs with each other for quite some time, such as Morse's statement that he never received any letters from Lizzie. This also gives me the idea they had not been civil for quite some time:

Trial Testimony of John Vinnicum Morse page 126/i147:

Q. Upon Wednesday, August 3rd, of last year, did you go to the Borden house at any time?
A. The 3rd?

Q. Yes, Wednesday, the 3rd of August.
A. Yes, sir.

Q. Prior to that Wednesday had you been a visitor at that house recently?
A. Well, several weeks before, I don't recollect just how many, -- probably three or four weeks before that.

Q. How long before August 4 was the last time you saw Miss Lizzie Borden?
A. I have no recollection of seeing her for three or four months previous to that.

So, they had also not spoken on his last visit to the house. Was she avoiding him then as well? Or they could just be claiming they had not spoken with each other for some reason. I know this is not a new question, but it is one that always bothers me. What were the dynamics of the relationship between Lizzie and Morse, and why?

Well, she had the chance to see him when he first came Wednesday about 1:30 and she didn't. She stayed in her room. She did go out in the early evening and so even tho he was not around, if she didn't know when he would return, or if he would return, she stayed out until about 9:20 and did not see him, tho he arrived back about 8:45.
Then when she did come home she went straight upstairs, probably knowing he was in the sitting room talking to Andrew. At this point, I can see no reason for her to not stop, step into the room and say hello. Morse is asked and says the girls normally go right upstairs when they get home (sort of says this).
So it does look like Lizzie is purposely avoiding Morse, yet Emma says he was a very dear uncle of theirs, er, hers...

The papers were saying that there were out-of-town meetngs between them.

OR.was she purposly avoiding him because she "premeditated" the murders and needed to honestly say she hadn't seen him and witnesses say that also, otherwise it would like they planned it together?

I think Lizzie was a climber and a man who traveled without a toothbrush or change of clothes and who later admitted to wearing the same shirt until even he couldn't tolerate it anymore and would dispose of it and buy a new one had to have been repellent to her...

I think she avoided him because she was ashamed to know him.

I agree, she was ashamed of her father and other relatives for their ways maybe she was ashamed of Morse and his.

Morse says he didn't see Lizzie at all for a while previous to this visit (see prior post) and he also says he hadn't seen his niece either for a long time before she was at the Emerys' on Thursday- but that wasn't true.
Maybe he just outright says no when asked until someone proves him wrong? I don't know why he would deny seeing either Lizzie or his niece, Anna. He says he saw and heard from Emma a lot so somehow Emma is "safe" to admit to.

It's odd to think that possibly Lizzie's uppity ways would alienate her from the 2 men related to her by blood who had (and had made) all the money?