Netflix's smash-hit true-crime anthology series, Monster, is taking a sharp turn into historical mystery. Creators Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan have officially set their sights on Lizzie Borden, the infamous 19th-century figure acquitted of the brutal 1892 hatchet murders of her father and stepmother.
Following previous seasons tracking modern killers like Jeffrey Dahmer and the Menendez brothers, this latest installment asks a familiar, chilling question: Are monsters born, or are they made?
The Bloody History Behind the Buzz
In August 1892, Fall River, Massachusetts, became the epicenter of American true crime. Abby Borden, 64, and her wealthy but miserly husband, Andrew Borden, 70, were found hacked to death in their family home.
While the famous schoolyard rhyme claims Lizzie gave her mother "40 whacks" and her father "41," the historical reality was slightly different:
- The Weapon: It was a light hand-hatchet, not a full-sized ax.
- The Toll: Abby was struck 19 times; Andrew met his end on the living room sofa with 11 blows.
- The Suspect: Lizzie, then 32, was arrested after trying to buy poisonous prussic acid and burning a blue dress shortly after the killings.
During her high-profile trial, Lizzie’s defense team painted her as a delicate, tightly-corseted Victorian maiden incapable of such "feral" depravity. Because the murder weapon was never found and much of the evidence was circumstantial, an all-male jury acquitted her. She lived the rest of her days shunned by her hometown, leaving behind an enduring, unsolved mystery.
How Netflix is Reimagining the Case
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story promises a fresh, psychologically complex lens on the tragedy. Ella Beatty stars as Lizzie, portraying her not as a cartoonish villain, but as a woman pushed to the brink by Victorian societal constraints.
Showrunner Ryan Murphy has teased that the series explores a "legacy of female rage and reaction." Viewers can expect:
- The Maid Connection: Examining Lizzie's rumored, intimate relationship with the family's Irish maid, Bridget Sullivan.
- An Unexpected Parallel: In a striking narrative twist, the show weaves in scenes featuring Sarah Paulson as Aileen Wuornos—the Florida sex worker convicted in 1992 of killing seven men.
By pairing Borden with Wuornos, the creators aim to examine how extreme systemic oppression can drive women to violence across different centuries.
Why the Obsession Endures
The Borden case remains the ultimate open-ended mystery. Over the last half-century, actresses from Elizabeth Montgomery to Christina Ricci and Chloë Sevigny have stepped into Lizzie's shoes, each offering a unique reflection of their era's cultural anxieties.
Because there was never a conviction, the story remains a blank canvas for exploring family dysfunction, greed, and the limits of justice.
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story streams on Netflix on September 17.
