Questions About The Iron Lizzie Used

[SweetieDee]

I know Lizzie referred to ironing her handkerchiefs and mentioning that she kept checking her "flats" to make sure they were hot.

Does anyone have any idea what kind of iron she would have been using? What it looked like perhaps?

Surely the police checked the iron, to see if the shape of it matched the first initial whack on Abby's forehead, right?

Any input would be greatly appreciated! Thank you. :)

[mbhenty]

Yes SweetieDee:

A clothing Iron has been discussed by many as a possible weapon in the Borden murders. But it was never considered during the actual crime. Most were just to blunt. Also, you would need to be awfully powerful to bury one in someone's head.

Most Victorians had two irons. They were just slabs of iron with a handle. You would wait for them to get hot, and while you used one, the other was kept hot. Later ones were more inventive, and had compartments where you could fill it with coal or hot water.

For sure it looked like one of those pictured below:

Interesting topic, though.

[SweetieDee]

Thank you for your information and the photos! That was very much appreciated. :)

I wish there was a photo of Abby's forehead so we could see what the wound looked like. One of my theories is very detailed with lots of background dynamics leading up to it, but in a nutshell I believe that Lizzie, who really was ironing that morning, had words with Abby in the dining room, and followed her up to the bedroom. More words were exchanged, and in a fit of rage, Lizzie hit Abby in the forehead with the iron, then she "freaked out" because she wounded Abby so badly (perhaps unconscious). I don't think a hatchet was something she ever intended to kill anyone with; it was what she grabbed in a state of panic as a means to finish Abby off. I also believe that because some of the whacks were light and unsure, that it took Lizzie numerous whacks to the back of the head before she picked up some momentum and made the rest of them count.

Those irons look like they could cause some major damage, to a forehead at the very least!

[Smudgeman]

Interesting theory SweetieDee, and welcome to the forum by the way! I don't think Lazy Lizzie was ironing at all, just more lies on her part about what she was doing that morning. I don't think she would have used 2 weapons to kill Abby. I believe she had pre planned the attacks, and knew exactly what weapon she was going to use.

[SallyG]

The only problem with the theory is that those little irons are HEAVY!!! If you have never hefted one, you are in for a real treat!!! Going after Abby still holding the iron and the cloth wrapped around the handle (because unless it was wood, that was hot, too) would not be much different than me going after my husband to continue talking to him while still carrying a 5 lb bag of potatoes!! I would put the potatoes down first!!! It would be an interesting theory...if those little suckers just weren't so heavy!!!

[snokkums]

I think that's a excellant theolry. I think there was alot of anamosity (sorry of the spelling) between the girls and Abby. But, I am with Smudgeman on this one, I too, think the murders were pre-planned. And the irons were pretty heavy back then.