# I slept where Lizzie Borden killed her parents

> A CBS News correspondent spent the night in the bedroom where one of America's most famous murders occurred, 135 years later.
- Title: I slept where Lizzie Borden killed her parents · CBS News
- Summary: A CBS News correspondent spent the night in the bedroom where one of America's most famous murders occurred, 135 years later. The physical layout of the…
- Keywords: lizzie borden, fall river massachusetts, 1892 murders, andrew borden, abby borden, 48 hours, crime scene investigation, unsolved case, forensic science, jury acquittal, news, slept
- Source: CBS News — https://cbsnews.com/news/slept-room-lizzie-borden-murders-house
- Author: Erin  Moriarty
- Published: 2026-09-17T11:01:03+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: lizzie borden, fall river massachusetts, 1892 murders, andrew borden, abby borden, 48 hours, crime scene investigation, unsolved case, forensic science, jury acquittal, news
## The murders that still haunt America
On August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden, 70, and his wife Abby, 64, were hacked to death in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. Their 32-year-old daughter Lizzie was the prime suspect.
## Why Lizzie looked guilty
Lizzie was home during the midday murders and had a strained relationship with her stepmother Abby. A small hatchet was found in the basement, and the violence suggested someone who knew and hated the victims.
## The jury let her walk free
Despite overwhelming evidence, an all-male jury deliberated for just over an hour before acquitting Lizzie in 1893. The jurors struggled to believe an educated, affluent single woman could commit such brutal murders.

> In 1893, 12 men found it difficult to believe an affluent, educated single woman was capable of such heinous acts.
## A CBS correspondent sleeps at the crime scene
In summer 2019, a CBS News team spent the night in the Borden house, now a bed and breakfast museum. The correspondent slept in Abby's bedroom, right where her body was found.
## The house layout doesn't add up
Walking through the small house, the dining room where Lizzie claimed to be is directly below Abby's bedroom. The thin walls and floors make it nearly impossible she wouldn't have heard her stepmother being attacked.
## The blood evidence problem
If Lizzie used a hatchet to kill both parents, how did she avoid leaving blood on her dress or a trail through the house? She would have needed time to change clothes and clean up, but the murders were reported quickly.
## Modern science would have convicted her
Forensic science in 1892 was rudimentary. Today, investigators would immediately seal the scene and recover even tiny traces of blood from Lizzie's clothing. Modern jurors would likely have reached a different verdict.
## Key takeaway

The physical layout of the Borden house raises serious questions about Lizzie's account of where she was during the murders, and modern forensic science might have proven her guilt.