Crime Library - Chronologies

Problems with Time

One of the problems with this enigmatic case is that the timelines of those involved (where they were before, during, and after the crimes) are inconsistent within themselves and in comparison to other's versions of events. Famous for her contrary explanations, Lizzie Borden, in her Inquest testimony, offered up many different accounts of her whereabouts that fateful morning. While her contradictory answers may be due to stress and the doses of morphine she had been given to calm her nerves by family physician Dr. Bowen, her inability to remember properly where she was and exactly what she was doing has been the subject of debate for over a century.

Presented here are four timelines for your consideration. Each timeline (William Moody, John Morse, Bridget Sullivan, and Lizzie Borden) is based entirely upon their own testimony, either at the Inquest, Preliminary Hearing, or the trial itself. The Legal Chronology is simply a timeline of the court proceedings in the case.

The first chronology is based on provable facts that have been double checked for accuracy in several sources. The Probable Sequence of Events chronology is the only speculative work on the list. It is, however, the best guess possible, based on the evidence in this case.