Lizzie Borden Society Forum

Below is the Policeman Harrington's witness statement regarding seeing Dr. Bowen with paper in his hand that he subsequently burned.
Much has been speculated whether Bowen was destroying something related to the murders (perhaps the "sick note").

Witness Statements pg 6. Harrington.
"After leaving her (Lizzie), I went down in the kitchen where was Dr. Bowen, Asst. Fleet, Dr. Dolan,
Bridget and several others. Dr. Bowen had scraps of paper in his hand, on which there was some
writing. He and I spoke about them, and he tried to put some of them together. He said “it is nothing, it
is something about, I think, my daughter going through somewhere.” If I recollect correctly, it was
addressed to Emma; but about that I am not sure. The Doctor then said “it does not amount to anything”,
and taking the lid off the kitchen stove, he dropped the pieces in. There was very little fire in the stove,
and the ashes which were on top looked as though paper had been burned there."

However, when I read this it doesn't sound devious at all:
1) Why would Bowen be doing anything he considered 'on the sly' with police and others in the kitchen with him?
There were 5+ adults in that kitchen. The logical answer is that he wouldn't.
2) "He and I spoke about them, and he tried to put some of them together". So he discussed the scraps with a policeman and in front of
the policeman tried to reassemble them to see what the writing said. That is very suspicious behavior (sarcasm).

Two deductions that might provide explanations for this episode:
1) The scraps were the remnants of a telegram notifying the Bowen's their daughter would not be arriving home on the train as Mrs Bowen
had expected and waited for. Bowen used the telegram to write a draft of his telegram to Emma which Lizzie asked him to send.
2) What appears to be previously burned paperwork in the stove were the remnants of whatever Andrew had brought home in the parcel and was
reading in the easy chair in the sitting room just prior to going to the sofa to lie down (Bridget testimony).

Good deductions! I think it's very likely to have been an old telegram of Dr. Bowen's that he used to write a practice one to Emma. What I wonder though is, why wouldn't he have taken it with him for reference when he went to send the telegram to Emma, and then thrown it out there? If he tore it up then he obviously didn't need it anymore. Unless he didn't have anywhere to throw it away at the time and just stuck it in his pocket.

It'd be helpful to know where exactly the scraps were found, because, and please correct me if I'm wrong, I don't think it's ever really clarified. Was it found in the kitchen? Maybe it fell out of Dr. Bowen's pocket and he'd already forgotten what it was.

I wouldn't take too much stock in the fact that he tried reassembling the paper in front of the police though. After all, no one but him seems to know what it was those papers said because he managed to burn it before anyone else could verify it for themselves. And if it really was something incriminating, he might not have realized that it until he put the scraps together.

Plus, look how many of us find it suspicious that Lizzie burnt her dress, even though it was during the day while Emma and Alice were around, and officers were patrolling the house. I know the circumstances are a little different, but it's still potential evidence getting destroyed in full view before anyone else could get a good look at it.

My thought is that after the telegram was sent to Emma, he absentmindedly tore up the 'draft' of Emma's telegram and stuffed in his pocket. Back at the Borden's and as he was loitering in the kitchen, put his hands nervously in his pocket, felt the scraps and pulled out to see what it was.

What I think forum writers often either forget or undervalue is the level of extreme stress and anxiety all of these characters were feeling. I try to apply that filter when imagining the movements and interactions in that house and neighborhood that morning.

The other question is what could the scraps have possibly been that would be incriminating? There is no reason why he would burn Abby's note, he would just hand it to someone. What possible reason would he have to burn the note or a will or anything he randomly found at the house.

camgarsky4 wrote: Tue Jul 27, 2021 10:06 pm My thought is that after the telegram was sent to Emma, he absentmindedly tore up the 'draft' of Emma's telegram and stuffed in his pocket. Back at the Borden's and as he was loitering in the kitchen, put his hands nervously in his pocket, felt the scraps and pulled out to see what it was.

What I think forum writers often either forget or undervalue is the level of extreme stress and anxiety all of these characters were feeling. I try to apply that filter when imagining the movements and interactions in that house and neighborhood that morning.

The other question is what could the scraps have possibly been that would be incriminating? There is no reason why he would burn Abby's note, he would just hand it to someone. What possible reason would he have to burn the note or a will or anything he randomly found at the house.

Exactly. Why would he burn anything belonging to the Bordens, absently or randomly, especially under those circumstances? It seems that the police had the chance for a good look at what he was doing, anyway. And to say that he burned belongings of the Bordens knowingly would suggest that he was in a conspiracy with others to cover up the murder of the Bordens.

We also have to apply that extreme stress to Lizzie too so that we see through the filter as to how she is reacting to it when we analyze her behaviors. With the doctor often giving her mood altering substances, we can't be sure what really happened according to her testimony and notes of her Q and A with the police taken at the scene.

Rolie -- agree that we should apply the stress filter when studying her testimony. For all the house occupants of August 4, I tend to undervalue the timing of activities, but definitely lean into specifics that the individuals mention. Stress would create confusion or even memory blockage, but would not create a hallucination.

For example, Lizzie saying she last saw her step-mom in the guest room feels like a fact to me. Abby hardly ever went to the guest room, so its not like lizzie was mixing prior events. Alternatively, if she was innocent, I could see Lizzie not being clear on where she was when her dad got home....kitchen or upstairs. If she was guilty, pretty sure she would know precisely where she was when her next murder victim got home.

Another example of confusion is Lizzie hearing an English accented man the door around 9am Aug 4 talk to her dad about renting a property. If she was innocent, I can very much understand her confusing Clegg visiting the house the morning of the Aug 3 to discuss his rental situation. Clegg was an Englishman and testified that he visited the borden house a couple times that week (Tues & wed I think) to discuss his renting a property. So easy to understand her mixing up those events with the high degree of stress.

Another example is that I don't have any heartburn over Bridget and Morse recalling very different times that Abby told Bridget to wash the windows. They both recall almost the exact conversation and both said it happened in the dining room. For some reason Bridget recalls the conversation happening well after Morse said it happened. My take is that Abby did tell Bridget to wash the windows in the dining room after breakfast. Morse was 100% correct and Bridget 80% correct. I don't think either was lying, one just had the timing off due to the craziness of that morning.