More than a century after Lizzie
Borden became one of the most recognizable names in American true crime, a
document written near the end of her life offers a very different perspective
on the woman behind the infamous case.
Borden has returned to the
cultural spotlight with the release of Monster:
The Lizzie Borden Story, the fourth installment of Ryan Murphy and
Ian Brennan’s anthology series. Netflix released the series on September 17,
2026, with Ella Beatty portraying Borden.
The renewed attention has
naturally brought the 1892 murders back into public discussion. But while the
killings and Borden’s sensational trial have dominated her legacy for
generations, one of the most revealing documents associated with her later life
tells a quieter story.
Her final will shows how she
intended to distribute her fortune, whom she chose to remember, whom she left
out, and perhaps most unexpectedly, why she directed a substantial portion of
her estate toward animal welfare.
Lizzie Borden is considered one of America’s most
notorious crime figures (Bettmann / Contributor / Getty Images)
The Case That Made Lizzie Borden
Famous
The story began in Fall River,
Massachusetts, on August 4, 1892, when Andrew Borden and his wife, Abby Borden,
were found dead inside their home.
Lizzie Borden, Andrew’s daughter,
was subsequently arrested and accused of killing her father and stepmother.
The case quickly became a national
sensation. Newspapers followed the investigation and courtroom proceedings
closely, while the prosecution attempted to build a case around circumstantial
evidence.
Borden was ultimately acquitted on
June 20, 1893.
That verdict did not end the
public fascination.
Instead, the question of what
actually happened inside the Borden household became one of the enduring
mysteries of American criminal history.
Borden herself never publicly
accepted responsibility for the killings, and the case has remained the subject
of books, documentaries, television productions and decades of historical
speculation.
Her life after the trial, however,
is considerably less dramatic than the mythology surrounding the case.
She continued living in Fall River
before eventually moving into the large residence known as Maplecroft with her
sister Emma. She maintained friendships, employed household staff and developed
an interest in animals and charitable causes.
That later life becomes
particularly interesting when her final will is examined.
A Document Written More Than a
Year Before Her Death
Borden signed her Last Will and
Testament on January 30, 1926.
She died on June 1, 1927, meaning
the document was prepared more than a year before her death.
The surviving transcription
provides an unusually detailed look at the people, organizations and causes
that mattered to her during her final years.
Rather than leaving everything to
one member of her family, Borden distributed individual gifts across a
surprisingly broad network.
The beneficiaries included
friends, relatives, employees and people who had remained connected to her
household.
There were also gifts involving
jewelry, furniture, property and cash.
But one particular provision
stands apart.
Borden directed $30,000 to the
Animal Rescue League of Fall River.
She also left the organization her
shares in the Stevens Manufacturing Company.
The reason she gave for the
decision was unusually direct.
Ella Beatty takes on the infamous role in Ryan
Murphy's latest Monster series (Netflix)
The $30,000 Gift That Reveals
Another Side of Lizzie Borden
Borden's will explained that she
had been fond of animals and believed their needs were substantial while
relatively few people were willing to care for them.
That sentence provides an
important piece of context for understanding her later life.
The gift was not simply an
anonymous charitable contribution. It was connected to an organization with
which Borden had a documented association.
The Animal Rescue League of Fall
River records that Borden was involved in efforts connected with animal welfare
in the city. According to the organization, she helped support efforts to
establish a place where abused draft horses could receive care.
The organization's own historical
account also states that Lizzie left $30,000 to the league while her sister
Emma later left $20,000.
The money became part of the
organization's financial foundation, with the league reporting that the funds
were invested and continued producing income over time.
For someone remembered primarily
through one of America's most famous criminal cases, the charitable provision
creates a striking contrast.
The public image is dominated by
suspicion, courtroom drama and an unresolved historical question.
Her final will instead contains
evidence of someone deliberately directing part of her accumulated wealth
toward the welfare of animals.
She Also Left $2,000 to an Animal
Organization in Washington
The animal-related provisions did
not end with the Fall River organization.
Borden also left $2,000 to the
Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C., according to the surviving will
transcription.
Taken together, the gifts show
that animal welfare was not a minor afterthought in the document.
It was one of the causes to which
she deliberately allocated money.
That makes the wording of her will
particularly significant because it gives a rare glimpse into a personal
interest that is often overshadowed by the 1892 murders.
Lizzie was ultimately found not guilty, and the
question of whether she had committed the murders of her father and stepmother
has remained a source of fascination ever since (Netflix)
The Family Decision That Has Drawn
Attention
Another provision has attracted
attention because of who was not included.
Borden left nothing directly to
her older sister, Emma.
The explanation was written into
the will itself.
Borden stated that Emma had
already received her share of their father's estate and was believed to have
enough to live comfortably.
The decision is notable because
Lizzie and Emma had remained connected for years after the trial, even though
their relationship later became more complicated.
The sisters eventually lived
together at Maplecroft, but their lives eventually separated.
Emma left Fall River in the early
1900s, while Lizzie remained associated with the city.
The absence of a bequest therefore
raises questions about the sisters' relationship during the final stage of
Lizzie's life, although the wording of the will itself provides only Borden's
stated financial explanation.
It does not establish every reason
behind their relationship or later distance.
Who Inherited the Rest of the
Estate?
The remainder of Borden's estate
was divided equally between Helen Leighton and her cousin, Grace H. Howe.
The will also contained numerous
individual gifts.
Helen Leighton received valuable
jewelry and household possessions, including diamond rings and a diamond and
sapphire brooch.
Other beneficiaries received
furniture, property and cash.
Borden also remembered members of
her household.
Her will provided money for her
housekeeper and servants who met specified conditions regarding their length of
service. Charles C. Cook, who had provided long-term service, was also named as
a beneficiary and executor.
The chauffeur's family received
individual gifts as well.
The document therefore reads less
like the final financial statement of an isolated historical figure and more
like a record of a woman who had developed a substantial personal and
professional circle during the decades after her trial.
What the Will Can — and Cannot —
Tell Us
It is tempting to examine a famous
person's final will and search for hidden clues about their personality.
In Borden's case, that temptation
is particularly strong.
Her name remains inseparable from
an unsolved historical mystery, so almost every surviving document associated
with her life can appear significant.
But a will cannot answer the
central question surrounding the 1892 murders.
It cannot establish whether Borden
was responsible.
Her acquittal remains the formal
legal outcome of the criminal case, while the question of guilt or innocence
has continued to generate historical debate.
What the will can show is how
Borden chose to distribute her property near the end of her life.
It demonstrates that she remembered
people who had worked for her, maintained relationships with friends and
relatives, and deliberately directed money toward organizations connected with
causes she valued.
That distinction matters when
separating historical
records from later speculation.
A Legacy That Goes Beyond the
Famous Trial
The renewed attention surrounding Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story
demonstrates how enduring the Borden case remains.
Netflix's production takes a
fictionalized approach to historical events while drawing on details from
Borden's life, allowing a new generation of viewers to encounter the story
through a dramatic lens.
But the historical record contains
a much broader story.
Lizzie Borden was not only the
woman at the center of an extraordinary 1892 murder investigation.
She was also someone who lived for
more than three decades after her acquittal.
During those years, she
accumulated property and financial assets, maintained friendships, employed
staff and became associated with animal welfare efforts in Fall River.
Her final will preserves some of
those choices in unusually concrete form.
Why the Animal Donation Still
Matters
The $30,000 gift is particularly
striking because it connects Borden's private interests with a lasting local
institution.
The Animal Rescue League of Fall
River continues to identify Borden as part of the organization's early history
and says her contribution, along with Emma Borden's later gift, became part of
its financial foundation.
That means one of the most
recognizable names in American true-crime history also became associated with
an entirely different part of Fall River's history: organized animal welfare.
It is an unexpected connection.
The same woman whose name became
synonymous with one of America's most famous murder cases ultimately left a
substantial portion of her fortune to animals that, in her own words, had few
people willing to care for them.
The Document That Adds a Different
Chapter to the Borden Story
More than 130 years after the
events that made Lizzie Borden famous, the central mystery remains unresolved
in the public imagination.
But her final will provides
something different.
It does not solve the murders.
It does not rewrite the verdict.
And it does not prove what
happened inside the Borden home in 1892.
What it does provide is a rare
window into the priorities of a woman who lived for decades after the courtroom
drama ended.
Her final instructions reveal a
network of friends, employees and relatives who received specific gifts. They
show that she consciously directed money toward animal welfare. And they
preserve her own stated explanation for one of the largest charitable decisions
in the document.
That may be the most unexpected
part of Lizzie Borden's legacy.
For generations, the question
surrounding her has been what she may have done in 1892.
Her final will asks a very
different question: what
did she choose to care about during the years that followed?
The answer, at least in part, can
be found in the money she deliberately left behind.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is currently streaming on
Netflix.
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