Michael Mullaly Biography

Born in 1848 in Taunton, Massachusetts, Michael Mullaly, like most of the Fall River Police Department, was of Irish descent. He spent more than three decades as a police officer on the force, most of it as a patrolman, often on waterfront duty. Originally a longshoreman, he was first appointed to the police department in 1877, when he was 29.

By the time of the Borden murders, Mullaly was 42 years old, with 14 years of experience. He was one of the first officers on scene, and the second to interview Lizzie. He was also one of four patrolmen most active in the investigation of the Borden murders, interviewing numerous witnesses. Unfortunately, unlike the other officers assigned to work the case, Mullaly’s reports were not preserved in the Witness Statements prepared for the district attorney to aid in prosecuting the case, so we don’t know exactly who he interviewed other than Hyman Lubinsky.

Mullaly was called to the witness stand at the jury trial to testify as to what he did and saw the day of the murders and in subsequent searches of the house. He famously contradicted his superior, Assistant Marshal John Fleet, on the stand, testifying that he saw Fleet take the handle of the handleless hatchet out of the box in which the head was found. Fleet denied doing so.

After the trial, Mullaly went back to patrol duty. Unlike other officers who worked the Borden case, most of whom advanced in rank, Mullaly remained a patrolman. A logbook he kept in 1896 is today preserved at The Fall River Historical Society. He continued serving in the department until his sudden death from heart failure in 1908. He was 59 years old and survived by his wife, Margaret Ring Mullaly and the couple’s four children.