Episode 11: The Case the Jury Never Heard: How Lizzie Borden Walked Free

Actually... Forgotten Stories for Curious Minds · Sep 15, 2026 · 19m

Everyone knows the rhyme: Lizzie Borden took an axe and gave her mother forty whacks. But nearly every part of it is wrong.

In 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were brutally murdered inside their Fall River home, and Andrew’s daughter Lizzie quickly became the prime suspect. The case against her included contradictory testimony, an attempted poison purchase, a mysteriously burned dress, and a possible murder weapon found in the basement. But when Lizzie went on trial, the jury never heard some of the prosecution’s most damaging evidence.

In this episode of Actually, we look beyond the infamous…