Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Morse himself testified that, after entering into the house, he didn’t meet immediately Lizzie. In the first two or three minutes, he went into the sitting room, and then went part way up the front stairs, to see the bodies of the two victims. He said: “I saw Mr. Borden’s as I passed through. I went in there and saw him laying on the sofa. I went part way up the stairs. I did not go into the room at all, looked under the bed, and saw Mrs. Borden lying there.” (Morse’s preliminary hearing, p. 245).

Morse had been told by Bridget, Mr. Sawyer and Mrs. Churchill that Mr. and Mrs. Borden had been murdered. In my opinion, a person who is told such a news might think unconsciously that the two victims could have been killed together. But when Morse saw only the body of Andrew in the sitting room, he didn’t ask to someone: “Where is Mrs. Borden’s body?” (at least in the source documents, if I am not wrong, it is never mentioned he asked such a question.)

Certainly, someone present in the house, without being asked, might have given Morse the information about Abby’s body. In the “Preliminary Hearing”, p. 254, we read:

Q (Mr. Jennings) : Did you know she (Abby) was up in that room?
A: They told me so.

And in the trial testimony (p. 140):

Q (Mr. Knowlton): At that time you had been informed that she (Abby) was in that room, had you?
A: I had.

I wonder, who told Morse that Abby was lying dead in the guest room? We can exclude immediately Lizzie, because Morse said he talked with Lizzie only after he had seen the two bodies. Among other persons present in the house: Dr. Bowen, Mrs. Churchill, Alice, and two or three officers (Allen, Mullaly, Doherty, Wixon?, Denny?), who told him?

As far as I know, neither Jennings nor Knowlton never asked Morse: “Who told you that Mrs. Borden’s body was in the guest room?” As far as I know, among the persons present inside the house when Morse entered, no one had been questioned by the authorities: “Did you tell Mr. Morse that Mrs. Borden’s body was in the guest room?”

My reflection: if Morse was innocent, he should have ignored the place where Abby’s body was lying. Someone might have informed him before he “went part way up the (front) stairs”. So, who gave Morse this information? Did the police (Knowlton) ascertain this crucial point of the Borden case?

Did I miss something? Am I totally mistaken? Please correct me if I am wrong. Thanks!

Franz:

It's possible that any one of the police officers told him or even motioned for him to "come here, look up the stairs." Remember, this was a horrible, awful thing that had happened...in times of great emotional distress, people get confused, mixed up, even disoriented.


I don't think this point is significant. Someone told him Abby's body was in the guest room. HIS ROOM. He went part way up the stairs, saw her, and came right back down.

NancyDrew wrote:Franz:

It's possible that any one of the police officers told him or even motioned for him to "come here, look up the stairs." Remember, this was a horrible, awful thing that had happened...in times of great emotional distress, people get confused, mixed up, even disoriented.


I don't think this point is significant. Someone told him Abby's body was in the guest room. HIS ROOM. He went part way up the stairs, saw her, and came right back down.

Who? Who told him? Did the police ascertained this?

NancyDrew wrote:Franz:

It's possible that any one of the police officers told him or even motioned for him to "come here, look up the stairs." Remember, this was a horrible, awful thing that had happened...in times of great emotional distress, people get confused, mixed up, even disoriented.


I don't think this point is significant. Someone told him Abby's body was in the guest room. HIS ROOM. He went part way up the stairs, saw her, and came right back down.

"Remember, this was a horrible, awful thing that had happened...in times of great emotional distress, people get confused, mixed up, even disoriented." Yes NancyDrew, it should have been certainly so.

But, if Lizzie was innocent, who should have been the most confused, the most disoriented person, if not Lizzie herself? It was she the daughter of Andrew and it was she who discovered his body! And therefore the most chocked person, if she was innocent.

Many people questioned: why did Lizzie remain alone in the house after the discovery of Andrew’s body? And then, they speculated: oh I understand, because Lizzie was herself the killer and therefore she must know that there was no danger for herself. But, Bridget left her alone in the house (near the side door, indeed) when she went to search for Dr. Bowen, Mrs. Churchill left her alone when she went to the stable. In these two occasions, neither Bridget nor Mrs. Churchill asked Lizzie: “Lizzie, it’s Ok for you? Are you sure that you can remain alone here?” So, why must I think that Lizzie’s behaviour was suspicious?

If I am not wrong, Knowlton never asked Morse: “Who informed you the place where Mrs. Borden’s body was lying?”. NancyDrew, I told you I was thinking to make a list of those questions that, in my opinion, should have been asked but were not, and this question is one of them. In my opinion, this point was not insignificant, on the contrary, I think it was one of the most important, most crucial! Knowlton had room in mind to ask Morse if there were fruits at the breakfast, but he failed to think of questioning who told Morse that Abby was lying dead in the guest room! Must I, as many people did, present my congratulations to Knowlton for his "brilliant" work?

Franz: You make several good points. Bridgette wasn't worried about leaving Lizzie alone, neither was Mrs. Churchhill. And you are right, the questioning by both attorneys seemed inconsequential and foolish to me. Someone should have asked Morse who told him. But apparently they didn't.