The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-06-21

. back yar1 She stopped there for few
. moments and picked up some pears which
. had fallen 10 the ground from the trees
Then she thought she wouId 20 into TIE
barn for some :Inkers for LeE fish line, al
she xaE going 70 Marion the next day 70
5 fish. Her father told her there were
+ siDkeTs in H.JIe bnx upstairs in the barn
aud shs went there 10 get them. She had
not been in the barn before in three
months. She went upstairs. threw open
Z the door and stood there V lille she ale four
pears. Then she Looked for the sinkeTs
and came into tie house. When she got
T IN she found her father murdered ard
summoned Bridget
On her crosS-exsuiuation SIZE was con.
! fronted with the fact that she had once
before said she went 20 the barn to get q
piece Of iron for her fsn lire and with the
further fact that lying in the yard close 70
the barn door were pieces Of lead with
which she could have made sinsers. Then
she was asked to explain how it was on
tina. ho. morning size went 70 the hotties;
place On the premises 70 stand and eat
pears, place from which. as she had
testified. she could not see the yard or
anybody who came into it or left il, but
=
This. IL must be- borne in mind, was on
the preliminary examination when she
was held for murder. The defendant did
not g on the stand at the trial, but her
physician testified that she was under the
influence Of morphine when examined.
tie rug given her by himself, and that
the effect OF morphine was 10 produce hal
lncin ations. to cloud the mind and cause
person to give confused answers 10 Ques-
tons
The medical ezperts in Boston who eZ-
amined the stomschs Of the murdered man
and woman testified that in their opinion
Mrs Borden was killed from an hour to an
hour and half before Mr.. Borden. They
based this belief upon The stages of diges-
ton Of the food in each Of their stomaehs,
and /, has come 70 be the accepted opinion.
II that is the case and Lizzie was the muir
deress, she must have butchered her
mother about 10 o'clock-thst is at about
the time or before her father went down
town.
This involves believing that with her
mother lying Slaughtered upstairs this
unnatural monster Of girl went calmly
about her ordinary household duties; that
abe chaited and laughed with Bridget
Bridget testified to that-sud then took
her chances on Bridget getting ont # the
way long enough 10 split open her fathers
head as il lay resting On the pillow, y hieh
she had smoothed for him TO rest upon. Il
Involves also believing that after butcher
ing her mother, with Bridget about the
house and apt to come upstairs at any mo-
meni, she was able TO make way with her
weapon and her blood-soaEei garments Of
slaughter as quickly and defily as she aid
after the murder Of her father.
Much stress has been laid upon the fact
Of Lines wonderful composure after her
first Incarceration. but this. It now seems
probable, was rather the effect OF NOR
prime than IF natural self-cGnrrol. At all
events, during the trial just closed, she
has conducted herself very mnch as an
ordinary woman. trifle less than ordi-
narily emotional, would have done
like crisis. Emotion. strong emotion.
Is paroxysmal and not continuous. Hu-
manly could not endure the strain ii ii
were. And Lizzie has broken down al
several points, and at several other times
las only controlled herself By an effort
visibly strong.
From the frat IL was apparent on the
trial that the police, having conceived a
suspicion of the girl, bent every fact and
circumstance 10 accord with that sus-
pcion. 1t was not 80 much a case of find
ing out who the murderer was as OF prov
ing Lizzie Borden guilty. Every other
theory of the crime was rejected. There
seems to have been even no attempt to IN
yestigate any other theory or to discover
any other solution. Every fact was
brought out by the police as strongly as
possible to tel against her, and this spirit
was 20 apparent that it worked the de-
struction Of the case OF the prosecution.
In their hurry to convict the police
rushed in headopg, coniradlctlng each
other on most material points, until the
prosecution found itself involved in b. pc
less tange of something akin to perjury
and the verdict of acquittal became almost
a fore2one conclusion.
With that verdict Of acquittal comes the
old mystery. If LIZZIE Borden did not COM
nit the double murder, who did?
The assassin, whoever it was, must have
| come and gone unseen.
| At the head Of the stairs In the Borden
| house there is closet in which he could
/ have lain concealed. When Mrs. Borden
came upstairs he might have approached
/ bcl llOW III tiIo DcuibOiH WilcIc ne
was found and murdered her. Then he
might have hid in his closet again until he
| thought there was another opportunity,
sneaked downstairs and murdered Mr.
| Borden as he lay asleep on the sofa, Lizzie
| being as she said in the barn. After that
| he escapes TO the street and goes away
| nnnoticed with his weapon under his
coat.
All this Of course does violence to dozen
! probabilities and enables the murderer to
dodge what would seem to be almost In evil
table chances of being caught at his work
| or seen coming away from it. But are
they any more violated or the chances
| taken any greater in this case than they
| are on the theory that Lizzie Borden did
the deed? Is it any more impro bable that
murderer could have so acted and
escaped than it is that Lizzie could have
! twice transformed herself with igh ming
change rapidity from blood-soaked
butcher to spotless. primly clad young
woman, free in the first instance from all
signs Of excitement or agitation. and In the
second only agirated as girl naturally
would be who had just discovered her
| father lying murdered at her feet?
In whatever way you look at this crime :;
in whatever way you try to picture it and
conceive how it might have been done, YOU
! have 10 make no your mind to accept
tab if,lI ~.