Did Lizzie Borden really kill her parents? The truth may be more complicated than the infamous so-called "nursery rhyme" suggests.
On this episode of ON THE KNOWS with Randall Kenneth Jones, author and legal scholar Cara Robertson joins Randall to revisit one of America's most infamous unsolved murder cases: the 1892 killings of Andrew and Abby Borden and the sensational trial of Lizzie Borden.
Drawing on her meticulously researched book, "The Trial of Lizzie Borden," Robertson examines the courtroom evidence, the testimony that never reached the jury, the controversial allegations surrounding a possible poison purchase, and the legal strategies that helped secure Lizzie's acquittal.
Why did Victorian-era attitudes toward women shape the case? How did newspaper reporters turn a murder trial into a national spectacle? And what can the trial teach us about the difference between historical evidence and the stories we want to believe?
With Randy's trademark curiosity, personal knowledge of the case, humor, and fascination with true crime, this conversation explores the mysteries, personalities, and cultural forces that have kept the Lizzie Borden case alive for more than 130 years.
Was Lizzie guilty, innocent, or involved in ways we may never fully understand? Despite what the various fictionalized retellings have told you, you can now listen and decide for yourself.
Cara Robertson began researching the Borden case as a Harvard undergraduate in 1990. She holds a PhD from Oxford University and a JD from Stanford Law School. She clerked at the Supreme Court of the United States, served as a legal adviser to the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, and has written for various publications. Her scholarship has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center, of which she is a Trustee.
Keywords: Lizzie Borden, Cara Robertson, The Trial of Lizzie Borden, Lizzie Borden trial, Lizzie Borden murders, true crime history, unsolved murder mysteries, Victorian crime, American criminal justice, historical true crime, ON THE KNOWS, Randall Kenneth Jones.
#LizzieBorden #TrueCrime #CaraRobertson #TheTrialOfLizzieBorden #TrueCrimeHistory
Cara Robertson: www.CaraWRobertson.com
Randall Kenneth Jones: www.RandallKennethJones.com
Susan Bennett: www.SusanCBennett.com
Kevin Randall Jones: www.KevinRandallJones.com
