Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1892-09-02
HELD FOR TRIAL.
Miss Lizzie Borden Bound Over
to Grand Jury
By Judge BIaisdeII at Fall River, who
Finds Probable Cause.
Counsel jennings Powerful and Eioqueat
Argument Failed to Aeqsit her.

made by Attorney Jennings for the defenc
and District Attorney knowlton for tn
prosecution.
( Judge Blaisdell said that sympathy shoul'
be laid aside, and that duty, stern duty, re
qnires upon this evidence but one thing Il
be done. Supposing man had been seel
in the chamber of Mrs. Borden, tn
/ guest chamber of death, an,
/ that he was in the room of the father whel
death came: suppose the man should tel
many different stories as Lizzie has done
the way would be plain. find that she il
probably guilty.
She was ordered remanded to the count,
jail at Taunton for trial at the Noyembe
term
All witnesses were ordered to recognlZ,
for the November term of court.
The Arguments.
Mr. Jennings opened the argument fol
the defense.
lie said among other things that the com
plant alleges that on the 4th day of August
Andrew j Borden was killed by his dsugh
ter. He approached the subject with feel
ings different from any other ease he ha,
ever handled.
Mr.. Borden was not only his client but
his friend, and had any body told him four
weeks ago that he should now be pleading
for the daughter of his old friend he
should have said ii was beyond the bound
of credit.
That Andrew j. Borden was murdered
there is no doubt and that the time of the
murder has been established there is also
no doubt. The alarm was given at II. .l3
to Il and we know so far as we can
know from the evidence that the time be-
tween Mr.. Borden's last entrance into the
house and the alarm was from "a minutes to
half an hour.
What took place after he got there:
Bridget Sullivan told her story and she left
him in the sitting room reading newspa-
per. Within half an hour Andrew J. Bor-
den had to go into the house, have his talk
with Lizzie if he had one, go up stairs and
down stairs. and lie down on the sofa, un-
less he was killed and placed on the sofa
The time must be reduced To
from 10 to Is minutes for the commission
of the deed.
There was unnecessary brutality about it
that suggests internal hatred and revenge
or insanity. This case is one of circum-
stances and if there are those which weigh
against the defendant, you are bound to
observe these which are for her equally as
well. The theory of the government seems
to have been that the crime was committed
by the inmates of that house, all their work
seems to have been directed by that one
idea.
The isolation of the Borden house has
been shown, it is claimed, because nobody
could get ont as there were people all
around to see who passed and repassed, if
any there were, and the attempt is made to
show that no persons were seen. What Is
the fact. however: They know the house
has been burglarizcd within two years and
the barn broken into within two months and
the facts are not disputed We show some
thing the police ought to have discovered,
the stranger within the gate, as told by Mrs.
Manly.
They have spent night and dav following
up clues to convict Lizzie Borden, hut
know nothing about Mrs. Manly and the
man she saw. because they are not looking
for ANYBODY outside, The extraordinary
thing is that the police cant find the man
Dr. Handy saw but they can find the axe
or axes Lizzie Borden killed her father
with. There is the fact that strange men
were there who haven't been found. Those
men got there and the neighbors didn't see
them. and doesn't it follow that others might
have gone in and vet not have been seen by
the neighb0rs:
Lizzie has told about seeing man dodg-
ing about the house. and it hasn't been con-
tradicted. Isn't it entitled to some weight:
Mrs. Chagnon heard somebody making
noise at the fence on the fence on the divis
ion line the night before. We say that this
goes to break down the governments claim
that this deed was committed by somebody
in the house.
So far as we know, Morse. Lizzie and
Bridget Sullivan were the only persons in
the house at the time with the murdered
persons.
Mr.. Morse having accounted for his time
leaves the others alone. The youngest
daughter and the servant (And right
here counsel called attention to the words,
Youngest daughter.'j She is the pet of
the family. the one whose fingers were last
clasped by the dead father, and the one
" hose heud last rested against his breast.
Lizzie here burst into tears and Mr.. Jen-
niugs was himself almost in tears. Con
timing he said that he did not believe that
either Bridget Sullivan or Lizzie committed
the decd
Now Andrew j. Borden could not have
got into the house before l0.45 and there
are % minutes of Bridget's time unac-
counted for and nobody has asked her on
the part of the prosecution what she was
doing all that time.
If she could do three windows in IL min
4 - 81, H. - g.,
hour to wash the other four The point is
this, if Lizzie doesn't explain everything as
she goes along if she trips in her testimony,
then she must be the guilty party think the
government. If Lizzie had opportunity to
commit this murder, then Bridget Sullivan
had an opportunity.
Following Mr.. Borden from his house at
o.30 the counsel brought him back at the
time testified to and said that if Lizzie
killed her mother she must have done it
while her father was out of the house, but
she has told her story about her movements
at that time and the telling of the story the
counsel said was in the line of an outrage
as he had told the district attorney at the
time, that the inquest was taken for no
purpose bu, to put Lizzie on the rack, and
there is nobody who heard that testimony
read the other day but said so.
In regard to the prussie acid, counsel
sand it was clearly a case of mistaken
identity. cases of which are on record in
great numbers. Lizzie Borden was part OF
the time in her room sick and part of the
time at Miss Russelfs. Continuing he re
ferred to the nnrufiied appearance OF
Lizzie'- clothes and hair at the time of the
discovery of the bodies and to the absence
of blood and hair on hatebet, axes an,
clothes examined by Prof. Wood.
The counsel demanded his clients release
There is nothing to hold her on Th.
government can find no motive, no blood
no person. and he said a woman brough
up a. she hal been shouldn't be sent Il
prison. -'Don't put the stigma of murder
upon this woman until you have reason ts
do so.
A, the conclusion of Mr.. Jennings argu
ment the crowd broke into applause.
The Prosecution.
District Attorney Knowlton opened TO
the government. The carrying out Of duty
= - a.