Lizzie Borden Society Forum

From the Witness statements, page 44:

"Alexander B. Coggeshall, a stable keeper on Second street, left his stable at 11.10 to go to diner. He stopped to talk with Mrs Buffington, and she told him that there had been trouble in the next house. Just then Bridget Sullivan came out of the house on the run, and went over to Southard H. Miller’s house, and went in. Soon after Mr. Miller came to the door, and called him over, and said “Here Alex, I want you to listen to what this girl says,” Bridget then told them that Mr. Borden and his wife had both been murdered. Mr. Coggeshall then went to dinner at Mrs. Tripp’s No. 80 Second street, and he told her of the murder. It was then 11.20 by the clock in the restaurant."

Unless Coggeshall has his times wrong how did Bridget know that Mrs. Borden had been murdered?

That Coggeshall was on Second St at the time he says is supported by another witness (page 19):

"Robert Nicholson, No. 147 Second street. “Drove up the street between 11.10 and 11.15 o’clock. Saw nothing strange. Met Charles Sawyer, A. H. Coggeshall, and several others. Fixed the time by consulting my watch when I arrived at my office.”

Also on page 19:

"Alexander H. Coggeshall No. 143 Second street. “Was on Second street opposite the Borden house at 11.45 saw no suspicious person around.”

Looks like Coggeshall had a quick lunch at Tripps and was back out opposite Kellys at 11:45. The 11:45 time is about when Morse was supposed to have returned. Coggeshall doesn't mention a crowd in front of the house.

There is no mention offhand, without researching it, of Bridget going to Southard Millers at that time.

A couple of questions come to mind, where is Southard Miller's house with respect to the Borden house, and why would Bridget make a special effort to inform anyone there? Was this on the way to Alice Russell's house?

The Miller/Bowen duplex was at 91 Second St. almost directly opposite (slightly north) the Borden house.

Southard Miller was once Andrew's boss when Andrew was a carpenter. Miller in 1845 built 92 Second St. The Millers were friends of the Bordens.

There would be no reason for Bridget to cross the street to go to Alice Russell's house.

Apparently the prosecution either didn't grasp the meaning of Coggeshall's witness statements or they felt they didn't hold up. He was summoned to appear as a possible witness at the trial but was never called.

The statement appears to have been taken on August 24. By then it would have been common knowledge that both Andrew and Abby had been killed. It is possible that Coggeshall is inadvertently applying current knowledge to an earlier event. Statements taken immediately after an event are likely more accurate, though perhaps less detailed.

One thing that puzzles me is the number of clocks used to determine the timeline involved in a case where that timeline is critical. Were any of the clocks checked against a constant, such as the city hall clock which figures prominently in several of the statements? It seems such a simple procedure, but there's no mention of it. The call to the police station being logged in at 11:15 always seemed unusually early in the chain of events. I realize that many of the events occurred simultaneously, but counting backward from 11:15, when did everything take place? Does that change anything substantially?