Andrew and the Bedroom key

[snokkums]

I remember reading somewhere that Andrew kept his bedroom door locked because of theft in the house. I also read that when he came back from his business rounds, he put the key on the fie place mantel. If he was worried about theft, why didn't he put the key in his pocket? Also, if he was doing this with the bedroom key, could he had been doing this with the house key? I mean, although he was well respected, he wasn't well like, someone could have come in and taken the key, and come back to kill him. It's a possablity.

[DJ]

Judging from previous posts, there are basically two camps of thought on the key issue:

One, that Andrew left it on the sitting-room mantel for convenience's sake, so Abby would know where it was;

Two-- and the one I hold to-- is that it was Andrew's way of saying to the household (Emma, Bridget, but Lizzie in particular) that he believed the household burglary to be an inside job. In other words: By placing the key in a known spot, he was double-dog-daring whoever committed the burglary (someone he believed to be in the household) to try it again.

If he really believed someone from outside committed the burglary, he would not have left the key lying on the mantel, in plain sight, would he? A burglar from outside, given the oppurtunity, would have tried the key in all the doors until he found a fit, or maybe just pocketed it for the heck of it.

Mr. Borden obviously believed his bedroom was secure, even if the key were out in the open-- which is to say, he didn't think anyone from outside was going to burgle the house.

Doesn't seem as if he felt he had "an enemy," then, as Lizzie claimed to Alice Russell.

Also, if the placement of the key were meant to be a convenience to Abby, then why not give her own key? It would have made sense to have had a spare. After all, there were how many keys to the front door? At least four? One for every member of the family. And, wasn't Bridget out calling the night before the murders, carrying a key so she could let herself in?

[augusta]

It would have been pretty hard for a thief to get into the Borden's house (however there were windows one could break into ...). And if one did, I would think any thief would be busy looking for money or expensive stuff. I wouldn't think a thief would even notice the key. If Andrew were gone, Andrew would probably have the key on himself.

I think I read that Abby did have a key to the house. I was surprised. I'm also sorry I can't remember where I read it so I can post the source.

Snokkums, there are othere links on the key discussion on other threads that you can refer to.

[Yooper]

A random intruder would have to be lucky enough to come across the keys on the mantel, I doubt that he would be looking for them specifically. He would have no idea which doors the keys fit, Dr. Bowen at first gave Mrs. Churchill the wrong key when he asked the women to find a sheet to cover Andrew, so there was more than one key on the mantel. An intruder would probably feel pressed for time, so would not likely try various keys in various doors.

An intruder would have to: 1) get past the exterior door locks, 2) find the keys on the mantel, and 3) figure out which doors the keys fit. The combination of all three creates a very unlikely possibility of success.

I don't remember reading that the keys Andrew carried at the time of the murders were tested as to which locks they fit, so he may well have had a spare key to the bedroom. If he didn't want that known to others, he would have used the mantel key like everyone else.

According to Mrs. Bowen, on the Tuesday before the murders, Abby mentioned to her that "they" had taken her exterior door key. Who "they" were and the purpose for taking the key are open to conjecture.