Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Who was Todd Lunday? And what was his problem anyway........?

Why did he keep his identity so secretive? What did he have to lose? What was he hiding?

Though I have a couple of reprints of Lunday's little book, believe it or not, I have never seen a copy of an original, or if I have do not remember. Lunday's little book is truly a scarce little item. Perhaps the fact that it was published in paper covers it did not survive. Or again, perhaps Lizzie got to them all?

I choose the Mayor Coughlin's private secretary, Mr. Michael Reagan. He had been a reporter. See Fenner, page 240.
http://www.sailsinc.org/Durfee/fulltext.htm#books

I understand it would be a good idea to have examples of his writing in order to compare, but I don't think I do have any.

part 2

He looks a bit like The Unknown Man in the Andrew-on-the-couch photo. I think his forehead is too high tho, maybe.

I'm re-reading (actually thumbing through) Lundy right now.

One general observation is that the writer was an intelligent person with a fairly extensive vocabulary.

There is a minor clue on page 29. It consists of the footnote - "*See trial proceedings." In footnotes on pages 32 and 40 he again refers to the trial proceedings. I should think the number of people who had access to the formal proceedings in 1893, the year the book was written, would have been very small. If we eliminate everyone connected with the defense it narrows it even further.

So it would seem to be someone connected to, or in support, of the prosecution, who had access or knowledge of what was in the trial proceedings.

It could also be someone who attended the trial virtually every day. A reporter perhaps.

Excellent observation Harry!

I always leaned towards Lunday being one of the judges.

To make some of the utterances found in Lunday's little printing would be very prejudicial and injurious for a judge to make. Thus, feeling very strongly about Lizzie's guilt and not able to voice one's self could have been very frustrating. But again, this could be true about any litigator.

Even someone on the defense, who may have defended Lizzie, but felt all along that she was guilty. Bad moral principle to defend the guilty.

And if it was a reporter it could not have beeen Elizabeth Jordan. If you read her account you will discover that Ms Jordan was "there" but not really "there," or anywhere in that account.