People Index

The Borden murders introduce us to a world of vivid characters in 1892 Fall River who seem straight out of a grim Victorian novel. There is, of course, Lizzie, the mysterious woman accused, who may or may not be a cold-blooded killer. There is Andrew, the frugal Yankee patriarch keeping control of his household, and Abby, the stepmother who fills her plate but ignores her stepdaughters. We have Emma, the stoic older sister who may or may not have lied to protect her sibling, the eccentric uncle (John Morse) who shows up to spend the night without a whit of luggage, and Bridget the hard-working Irish maid who is afraid to go upstairs.

There is also Alice Russell, the spinster best friend who turns on Lizzie in court, and Seabury Bowen, the kindly doctor across the street who gives her morphine to calm her nerves, and Reverend Edwin Buck, the loyal minister who escorts her to and from the courtroom. Add to this a handful of overwhelmed Irish cops, brilliant lawyers locked in battle, scrappy reporters digging up dirt, along with various scheming others (like a spying jail matron), and we have a profoundly compelling cast playing out the most perplexing domestic tragedy of the age.

For a quick introduction to how the people listed below fit into the Borden murder saga, you can find sketches of each in the following categories: The Borden Family; Lizzie’s Friends and Supporters; the Police and Prosecutors who investigated the crime; and the most important Witnesses at the trial.