Netflix released Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story on September 17, 2026, bringing the notorious 1892 ax murders back into global conversation. The eight-episode season stars Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, alongside Charlie Hunnam as Andrew Borden, Rebecca Hall as Abby Borden, Vicky Krieps as maid Bridget Sullivan, and Billie Lourd as Emma Borden. The show has renewed public interest in three persistent questions: Did Lizzie Borden have seizures, why was she found not guilty, and what role did the Bertha Manchester case play?
Did Lizzie Borden Have Seizures
No confirmed evidence supports that Lizzie Borden suffered from seizures or epilepsy. The theory that she experienced a seizure during the murders of her father and stepmother has been described by TIME magazine as an unsubstantiated diagnosis. The idea gained traction largely through author Victoria Lincoln, who proposed in her book A Private Disgrace that Lizzie killed her stepmother while gripped by an epileptic fit. Lincoln had access to some unused information about the Borden family, but her theory remains speculative and is not backed by medical records or contemporaneous documentation.
A 1986 article in the Muskogee Phoenix explored the possibility of a brain disorder as a cause for violence, citing Dr. Anneliese Pontius of Harvard Medical School. The doctor had examined a man who allegedly killed his brother during a seizure and suggested a possible link to the limbic system. This led some to speculate that Borden might have acted during a seizure, but there is no verifiable information about her medical condition. Later retellings of the murder have sometimes shown Borden with epilepsy, but these are creative interpretations rather than factual accounts.
Why Lizzie Borden Was Found Not Guilty
A jury acquitted Lizzie Borden on June 20, 1893, after roughly 90 minutes of deliberation. The prosecution presented plenty of suspicious circumstances, but the physical evidence was inconclusive. No blood was found on Lizzie, and the murder weapon was never conclusively identified. The murders occurred during a narrow window of time, yet investigators could not tie the hatchet found in the cellar directly to the killings.
Judge Justin Dewey emphasized the presumption of innocence to the jurors. Key pieces of evidence that could have aided the prosecution were excluded. The judges refused to allow Lizzie’s inquest testimony to be used at trial because she had given contradictory answers without a lawyer present. Testimony from drugstore clerk Eli Bence, who claimed Lizzie tried to buy prussic acid the day before the murders, was also deemed inadmissible.
Lizzie’s character and social standing played a role as well. She was a Sunday school teacher, active in her church, and well liked in the community. Attitudes about gender and class at the time made it difficult for an all-male jury to believe that a woman of her standing could commit such brutal murders. Defense attorney George D. Robinson, a former governor of Massachusetts, argued that Lizzie was incapable of violence, a point underscored when she fainted after the prosecution produced the victims’ skulls in court. Lizzie did not take the stand in her own defense, which prevented her from incriminating herself under cross-examination. The conflicting testimony of the prosecution’s main witnesses also worked in her favor.
How the Bertha Manchester Case Affected the Trial
Days before Lizzie Borden’s trial began, another ax murder shocked Fall River. On May 30, 1893, 22-year-old Bertha Manchester was found dead in her father’s farmhouse on New Boston Road. She had been killed by more than 20 axe blows to the head. The timing was significant. Lizzie was behind bars awaiting trial when the Manchester murder occurred.
The Boston Globe headlined the similarities between the two cases, noting that more than one Fall River citizen had been heard advocating the release of Lizzie Borden based on these developments. The Manchester murder suggested that the brutality of the Borden killings could have been the act of someone else.
The case was solved quickly. Jose Correira (also identified as Jose Correa de Mello), a 22-year-old Portuguese farm worker, was arrested for the murder. He had been fired by Bertha Manchester for sleeping on the job and had arrived in Massachusetts from the Azores in April 1893—a full eight months after Abby and Andrew Borden were slain. There could have been no connection between the two murders.
The jury that would decide Lizzie’s fate had already been impaneled when the Manchester murder made headlines. They were aware of the murder but had no knowledge of Correira’s apprehension until the end of the Borden trial. Whether the Manchester case swayed the jury remains debated. Some observers at the time believed it placed doubt in the jurors’ minds, as the similarities suggested the Borden murders might also have been committed by an outsider. However, there is little concrete evidence that it directly influenced the verdict. Modern assessments note that while the Manchester case complicated perceptions of culpability, its impact on the jury’s decision is uncertain.
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What the Netflix Show Explores
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story frames the murders as a possible conspiracy between Lizzie and the family maid, Bridget Sullivan. The season explores themes of female rage, repression, and power within an oppressive Victorian household. Ella Beatty said the role allowed her to investigate “this complicated person’s psychology” and examine an American crime that feels “almost mythic in proportion”.
The show takes creative liberties with the historical record. It promotes the idea that Lizzie and Bridget were having a relationship, a theory previously explored in the 1984 novel Lizzie by crime writer Evan Hunter. The series also includes modern music choices, with needle drops from Kate Bush and indie rockers Wet Leg.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story is the fourth installment in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s true-crime anthology, following seasons about Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers, and Ed Gein. It is the first season to focus on a female subject. All eight episodes are available to stream on Netflix.
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