i've always heard the elves are weight-lifters, so it might have taken fewer of them than you think!
It also shows that IF an outsider sneaked in and killed the Bordens, they must have come in the side or back door.
the back door leading into the cellar was found locked, leaving only the side door for an intruder to get in and out.
they layout of the borden house was weird, so some of the blocking of doors of one room leading directly into another is understandable. for instance the door in the guest room that lead directly into lizzie's room. wasn't there a desk or something that blocked the door leading from the elder borden's into lizzie's room? in addition to being kept locked? if so, it was even more dysfunctional.
the locked dress closet is the one that truly baffles me. who does that?
While understanding that the rooms in the Borden home were quite small and therefore every inch of wall-space was precious, this blocking of doorways with furniture (especially the heavy, bulky furniture of those days) just tells the story of the family's broken relationships.
The sisters needed privacy, weren't getting it, Abby was no doubt deeply unhappy with the situation and lonely. Why didn't Andrew, the stubborn old goat, decide that his mature daughters needed a place of their own? It wasn't as if he was oblivious to the atmosphere. He even spoke about 'trouble at home' on one occasion.
really good points. why *didn't* andrew just set them up in their own place, so peace could reign? it's not like he couldn't afford to. miser though he may have been, you'd think it'd have been worth it to him to shell out the dough so they weren't living in a ticking time bomb anymore.
I think this is the thread I was thinking of, but there are several where mrs Dr Bowen and poor Abby's keys (and other keys in this strange household) are mentioned.
This is a great thread and has got me thinking. What if Andrew had decided it was time for the "girls" to get out on their own and his plan was to move them out to a Ferry Street- like environ and Uncle John was there to facilitate the move? The "girls" may not have been pleased to be making such a lateral move, they might even consider it movin' on down instead of up.
Unfortunately, perhaps, there doesn't appear to have been any signs that Andrew was contemplating anything in the property line except some changes to the Swansea farm(s). He had already 'sold' the Ferry St house to the girls some time before, if you remember. It was tenanted but neither Emma or Lizzie were interested in being landlords (just in complaining if Abby or her family got anything) and so he bought it back from them.
If he had suggested anything like that I think the sisters would have refused to go. It would definitely have been too downmarket for them.
It would seem that Andrew may have thought it was an inside job or the action of a good friend since he asked them to drop the complaint, or who knows maybe some of the items turned up and they didn't want to admit to that. I wonder if Bridget had any friends who came to the house for various reasons.
I've never read that Bridget told anyone about her social life, apart from mentioning one time that she did not have a boyfriend. She seems to have met one friend away from the house (up the street) on the Wednesday before the murders, but I can't imagine her holding a party because Mr Borden was away, though maybe she, and the Borden sisters would have liked to!
On the day of the daylight robbery all three women (Lizzie, Emma and Bridget) seem to have gone about their chores or pastimes as usual. I'm sure if two or three people had popped into the kitchen to see Bridget (and therefore would have had access to the back stairs leading to the older Bordens' rooms) either Emma or Lizzie would have mentioned it. It would have been very unusual anyway. It wasn't Bridget's day off and none of the three went out shopping at any time apparently. Andrew probably took his keys with him.
I did wonder,when this thread started, about whether any of Andrew's customers for his vinegar, pickles etc called at the house on the day, but again nobody saw anything and the side door was probably snibbed.
Curryong wrote:On the 24th June 1891 Andrew decided to go to his property in Swansea. Unusually, Abby decided to go with him. When they arrived back home the couple found there had been a robbery!
The desk in Abby's dressing room had been broken into, papers had been rifled through and Abby's small collection of jewellery, including a gold watch and chain, (and Russian leather purse) of great sentimental value, had disappeared.
Andrew had also lost items very precious to him, namely €40 in gold and €80 in notes. A book of horse-car tickets for the use of the family had been stolen too.
The only people in the house on the day of the robbery were Bridget, Emma and Lizzie. None of them saw or heard anything!
Now, I know Miss Lizzie became very excited and talkative when the police were called in, and drew attention to a nail in the cellar door, but I'd really love all your opinions, not so much on Whodunit, but why. What do you think was the motive for this very odd episode?
Knowing Lizzie being a bit of a Klpeto, I wonder if she might have been the thief. I mean, no one saw or heard anything which leads me to believe it was an inside job. If one of the girls or the maid didn't do it then they had to have had let someone in to do the deed.
Suicide is painless It brings on many changes and I will take my leave when I please.
Yes, Snokkums, it has been speculated over the years that because Lizzie hated Abby so much she might have been the thief.
She became very excited and talkative according to a later policeman's recollections and showed the police a cheap nail that had been stuck in a lock. She said the thieves must have got in through the cellar door. None of the items were ever recovered except for some of the horse-car tickets. People who were interviewed by the police said that they had been given them by Lizzie.
