Sensational headlines, societal upheaval and a gruesome crime that shook Fall River, Massachusetts, to its core.
Turn off the lights and cozy up to the fireplace as we bring you the spookiest type of story we can — one straight from the history books.
America’s first trial of the century came from an unusual source: Lizzie Borden, a 32-year-old unmarried upper-class woman in 1892 New England. Borden’s father and stepmother met their final moments in one of the most brutal of ways, at the hands of someone with an axe.
Did she do it? With the help of two writers, we bring you inside the courtroom for Borden’s trial, a legal spectacle set against the backdrop of yellow journalism and a nation gripped by details of a crime among the affluent, complete with an all-star cast of attorneys.
Special guests:
- Cara Robertson, author of The Trial of Lizzie Borden
- Mark Olshaker, co-author of The Cases That Haunt Us
Sidebar tackles the top stories you need to know from the legal world. Join reporters Hillel Aron, Kirk McDaniel, Amanda Pampuro and Kelsey Reichmann as they take you in and out of courtrooms in the U.S. and beyond and break down developments to help you understand how they affect your day-to-day life.
This episode was produced by Hillel Aron. Intro music by The Dead Pens. A transcript will be available later this week.
Editorial staff is Sean Duffy and Jamie Ross.
For more ghastly news from this century: