The Portland daily press., 1892-08-13
Is the Plea Put in by Lizzie Borden
When Arraigned.
SHE WAVES EXAMINATION AND
is COMMITTED TO AWAIT AC-
TION OF GRAND JURY.

FALL RIVER, August 12.-Lizzie Bor-
! den was arraigned this morning in the
Second District court, Judge j. G. Blais-
dell, on charge of homicide, in killing
her father and stepmother.
The court room was packed. The
prisoner was represented by Andrew ].
Jennings. She was quite calm and
pleaded not guilty.
Her counsel objected to her examina-
tion before the same justice who sat at
the inquest. The objection was over
ruled and Nj. Jennings filed exceptions.
The case was continued to August %.
The prisoner was committed without
bail. Morse and Bridget Sullivan were
held in $500 each as witnesses.
The Borden Safe.
The Borden safe was opened this
morning after John A. Marer of Boston,
had been at work on it about eight
hours. The contents will not be given
for publication.
They consisted of a large amount of
cash and some few papers. They were
bundled and tied with strong cord, and
rington had affixed their signatures on
the outside the bundle was taken to the
Safe Deposit and Trust Co., and de-
posted.
The guard has been taken from the
neighborhood of the house with the ex-
ception of one officer and John v.
Morse is again at liberty. If Miss Bor-
den be able to be removed she will be
taken to Taunton jail this afternoon.
Review of the Evidence.
A review of the testimony upon which
Lizzie Borden was arrested for murder,
shows that there are material discrepan-
cies in the statement of Lizzie as COM
pared with that of the servant, Bridget
Sullivan. These consist principally of a
variance in regard to the time at which
Lizzie said she went out to the barn. In
fact, EBridget was led up to the point
where she remarked that she could not
see how Lizzie went out to the barn at
| ALL
Coupled with this came Officer Med
| ley's statement that he examined the
| loft of the barn most carefully, and could
| lllu uO OloCC Va ctuJ Ci1O it0sAliS3 ONSAA
| there, although Lizzie stated positively
| that she went to the loft to secure her
| lead sinkers in order to go on her fishing
trip to Marion.
He found so much dust that he easily
traced his own movements, but was una
| BILE to find the slightest evidence of any
| one having been there before he went up
| there.
| His trip was made in the afternoon of
| the day of the murder, less than five
hours after Lizzie said she had been
there.
This satisfied the district attorney that
Lizzie had made mistake about going
into the loft of the barn.
Another point came up when the sub
| ject of the mysterious letter from sick
friend was touched on. Bridget Sullivan
stated in her evidence that she never
knew anything about this letter until
she heard Lizzie tell about it when the
| body was discovered.
Until then she supposed Mrs. Borden
| was in the house.
Lizzie on the stand admitted receiving
| the note from the boy who delivered it,
| but she gave very unsatisfactory de-
| scription of the lad.
| Then, as the note failed to appear in
| search of the house, she assumed at
| once that it was put in the stove and
burned by Mrs. Borden.
| On this note rested the truth of Liz
zie's statement as to the reason she did
not call her stepmother when she found
the old gentleman's body in the sitting
room.
So the officials made most active
search to find the writer of the missive
and the boy who delivered it, but have
not succeeded. This satisfied the dis
trict attorney that Lizzie had made an
| other mistake.
Lizzie was asked in regard to her at
tempt to purchase prussic acid at
| Smiths drug store the day before the
murder. This she positively denied hav-
ing done, and the state then called in
two drug clerks, who declared Just as
positively that she did call, but did not
succeed in purchasing the poison.
| The satisfied the district attorney that
| Lizzie had made third mistake. 1t
was accordingly assumed that as Lizzie
| had made three mistakes she was not in
| the barn when her father was murdered
| and was. therefore, in the house; that
| she was also in the dwelling when Mrs.
| Borden was murdered, and in the kitch-
| ell could hardly have failed to hear the
| heavy fall: that she had some reason fol
not irving to find her mother other thar
she gave, because there was no note
delivered to make her think Mrs. Borden
had gone out.
with the evidence that these state
ments of Lizzie are incorrect came the
| thought that others of her stories might
suffer from lack of reliability, coupled
with the other peculiar circumstances,
and the district attorney made up his
mind that the woman should be formal
| ly taken into custody.
A Blood-Stained Axe.
This afternoon and evening there
rumors that the police have procured the
hatchet with which the Borden murders
were committed. No hatchet like the
one in custody can be found in the local
hardware stores. 1t is said that the
head of the hatchet fits into the murder
Gus wounds in Mrs. Borden's head. the
blade of the implement is represented as
being very thin and very sharp, meas
uring about 81 inches in the widest part
1t is what is known among
among farmers as an old fashioned
thrash wood hatchet, except for the