The Monster series on Netflix explores the lives of past notorious serial killers. Those covered have been Jeffrey Dahmer; Menendez brothers and Ed Gein. The latest season saw the the story of Lizzie Borden being told.
The installment has seen a lot of criticism.
In June 1893, Lizzie Borden was tried and acquitted of the murder of her father and stepmother. It became one of the most infamous unsolved mysteries in U.S.A. history
It's worth remembering that the series might explore IRL crimes but it's no faithful adaptation: the facts are generally dramatised for entertainment.
Viewers tuning into the latest series of Monster are being treated to a smorgasbord of dark drama, gore and chilling twists - with a side of romantic intrigue.
The suggestion that there is a spark between Lizzie Borden and housemaid Bridget 'Maggie' Sullivan hasn't gone down well with a lot of people.
A host of Netflix subscribers have complained that this aspect of the storyline is historically inaccurate, while others don't understand why the show that is centred around the brutal axe murders in 1892 has been 'sexualised'.
An array of viewers reckon this part of the plot in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story was downright unnecessary.
Taking to X to share their thoughts, one person said: "Can somebody explain to me why they made Lizzie Borden a lesbian in the Netflix show? Because, as far as I know, that is not actually the case."
A second wrote: "Of course Netflix makes Lizzy Borden a lesbian…Smh."
While a third chimed in: "Lizzie Borden was innocent. Lizzie Borden was not a lesbian. Lizzie Borden did not kill anyone. She went on trial. She was found to be not guilty. I know everything about the story, facts, trial, etc, everything. "Don’t let Netflix weirdos lie to you about an innocent woman."
While delving into the murders of her father and stepmother, as well as the fallout that followed - which landed Lizzie in the dock - the eight episodes also explore the theory that she was a lesbian.
Ella Beatty, who stars as the woman accused of the killings before she was later acquitted, shares a host of tender moments with her co-star Vicky Krieps in Monster.
They smooch, share a bed, vow to be partners in crime and the maid even declares her love for Lizzie...however, there isn't any concrete evidence that this actually happened in real life.
It's a topic which has long been debated by historians but it seems that the show's creators, Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan used a lot of artistic license when depicting the alleged romance on screen.
The cast themselves have admitted that there was 'not a lot of information' to go off when preparing for their roles, as like Billie Lourde put it, 'there wasn’t all this media that we have now in the 1800s'.
Discussing how she struggled to 'research' her character of Emma Borden, she told The Hollywood Reporter: "It’s not like today, when we have TikTok and documentaries and books."
"So what was so fun about that is we got to create our own version. We’ve been talking about it being more like a painting than a documentary," Lourde went on. "It’s an interesting way of doing this because most of the other seasons have been by the book, down-to-the-word true."
Explaining why this storyline featured in the series, Brennan said this theory was an 'interesting thing to play with dramatically', while sharing his personal thoughts on Lizzie's sexuality.
"Even if we didn’t think it was true, I’d still do it," the screenwriter said. "But I actually happen to think that was true."
Krieps, the actress who cosies up to Beatty in the Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, also shared her assessment of this rumour.
She told the publication: "The question of, 'Why would you do a story about different serial killers?' and, 'Why would you do it about a man or a woman?', is about exploring what is in between - the black and white, right and wrong, good and evil. The truth is usually in the middle, and I think the same goes with sexuality. We have a very simple way of seeing stories, and I think in this case, it is really breaking that pattern."
Director Max Winkler said the aim of the series was to tell Lizzie's story, as well as the one of 'the symbol of what she represents'.
It is unlikely that Lizzie would have openly discussed her sexuality due to the stigma surrounding it at the time, however, some people think the fact that she never married supports the argument.
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Facts regarding the case
Did Lizzie Borden actually kill her parents?
In 1892, wealthy former businessman, Andrew Jackson Borden and his second wife, Abby, were murdered in a double homicide in their home in the mill town Fall River, Massachusetts.
Abby was killed with 18 blows of a hatchet to her back, while Andrew was murdered 90 minutes later while he took a nap. His face was disfigured beyond recognition.
One of the main suspects was Andrew's daughter and Abby's stepdaughter, Lizzie Borden: a single woman, aged 32, who was still living in the family home and taught Sunday school.
All the doors to the house were double locked and the only other people in the house except Andrew and Abby were Lizzie and the maid Bridget Sullivan.
The crime was baffling to the local town but reports then surfaced from the family physician Dr. Bowen that Andrew, Abby and Bridget had all faced a stomach upset shortly before the murder; with Abby thinking she had been poisoned.
During questioning, Lizzie struggled to maintain a consistent story and a local pharmacy clerk claimed he saw her buying poison a day before the murder, making her look guilty.
When Lizzie went to trial for the murder, a jury of 12 men deliberated for an hour before acquitting her and the crime remains unsolved. However, it's worth noting that many at the time struggled to believe that a woman could be capable of such grotesque violence.
Why did Lizzie Borden burn a dress?
During the trial, Lizzie's close friend Alice Russell alleged that she saw Lizzie burn a dress which another witness had claimed she wore on the day of the murder.
Under cross-examination, it became apparent that she burned the dress in broad daylight and in front of two witnesses.
Did Lizzie Borden kill her parents with an axe?
As mentioned above, Lizzie was acquitted of murdering her parents.
However, it's worth specifying that there seems to be some confusion regarding the murder weapon used to murder the Borden parents. Technically, they were not killed by an axe; it was actually a hatchet: a smaller, more compact, one-handed axe.
Was Lizzie Borden in a lesbian relationship with her maid?
Bridget Sullivan was the maid working in the Borden household. In the Monster adaptation, she is depicted as Lizzie's lover.
This follows a tradition set by the 1984 novel, Lizzie, by Evan Hunter and the 2018 film, Lizzie. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the two women were having an affair at the time of the murder (or at all).
Lizzie also tended to call Bridget by the wrong name, referring to her as "Maggie." This suggests the two didn't have a close relationship.
After the murder, Bridget returned for a short while to Ireland, where she was originally from, before moving back to a different American town and ultimately marrying a man.
Who was Lizzie Borden's sister Emma?
Emma was a real person, and was Lizzie's 42-year-old, unmarried sister who also lived at the family home. She was allegedly out of the house during the time of the murder as she had gone to visit friends.
Emma stood by Lizzie during the trial and, when testifying, poked holes in the prosecution's case but tellingly didn't suggest her sister was innocent.
What was Lizzie Borden's motive?
The Ryan Murphy adaptation strongly suggests Lizzie's supposed murderous impulses stemmed from growing up in an abusive household. There is no evidence to suggest this was the case; though some writers have speculated to this effect.
The only clear motive for the murders would be the fact that Lizzie and her sister would come into a generous inheritance upon the murder of their parents.
In 1887, Andrew had bought his wife Abby’s sister a house to reside in, which caused Lizzie upset as it seemed out of character with his frugal nature and she claimed that he was favoring his wife's family over her.
Is Lizzie Borden connected to Aileen Wuornos and Countess Elizabeth Bathory?
In Ryan Murphy's Monster adaptation, parallels are drawn between Lizzie Borden and other alleged female killers such as Aileen Wuornos and Countess Elizabeth Bathory.
However, there is no direct link between these women; beyond the possibility of violent and murderous instincts.
It was because the murder weapon was never found and the suspicious pharmacy visit ruled inadmissible, the case against Borden remained circumstantial.
Convinced that Lizzie possessed neither the physical strength nor the moral depravity to be what the prosecution called a "feral… insane fiend," the jury acquitted her after a brief deliberation.
No one else was ever tried for the gruesome killings, and Lizzie lived under a cloud of suspicion, shunned by many in her hometown, for the remainder of her life.
Fictitious details in the series
The story about Andrew Borden cutting the legs off corpses appears to be a myth
Monster depicts Andrew Borden as a woodworker and undertaker who chops the legs off corpses so they will fit into smaller, cheaper coffins. As noted in several books and articles over the years, including Sarah Miller’s 2016 book, The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and the Trial of the Century, the grisly story was an unsubstantiated rumor that nevertheless persisted in the public imagination.
"The more discerning minds of Fall River could doubtless dismiss such outlandish gossip for what it was," writes Miller.
That said, the show’s funniest moment is born from this detail, so at least there’s that.
There’s no evidence Bridget Sullivan had an affair with anyone in the Borden family
There has been ample speculation over the years — however unfounded — that Lizzie and the family’s maid, Bridget Sullivan, were having an affair and that Sullivan may also have been an accomplice in the murders. The theory was popularised by Evan Hunter’s 1984 novel Lizzie and later depicted in the 2018 film of the same name.
While there’s no historical basis for that depiction, The Lizzie Borden Story goes even further by portraying Sullivan as having an affair with Andrew Borden. On the series, Sullivan even becomes pregnant with Andrew’s child before miscarrying.
Sullivan did indeed work in a tense household, owing in part to friction between the Borden sisters and their father and stepmother, but there’s no evidence that she had a sexual relationship with anyone in the Borden household or was pregnant around the time of the murders.
The Bertha Manchester ax murder was real but Lizzie and Sullivan had nothing to do with it
On Monster, Lizzie and Sullivan plot to kill a family friend, Bertha Manchester, who abused Sullivan while Sullivan was working for her. The murder is framed as a dry run of sorts before Lizzie and Sullivan take out their rage on Andrew and Abby. Lizzie does the gnarly deed herself but it’s a messy affair; with Lizzie’s ax getting stuck in Bertha’s intestines.
Bertha is based on a real woman who, like Andrew and Abby, was brutally murdered with an ax in Fall River. There’s no evidence that Lizzie and Sullivan were involved or that Sullivan ever worked for Manchester.
Monster depicts a Portuguese former farmhand being unjustly arrested for the murder. In reality, Jose Correa de Mello confessed to the attack and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder; according to The Trial of Lizzie Borden.
Furthermore, the timeline is off. On Monster, Manchester is murdered before Andrew and Abby. The truth is actually a bit more chilling — Manchester was murdered literally days before the beginning of Lizzie’s trial, on 30 May 1893.
A writer for The New Bedford Evening Standard, however, dismissed any "parallel with the Borden case," writing, "Everything about the Borden mystery points to a well-concocted plan to kill, while the evidence in the Manchester case points to a struggle and sudden impulse to kill."
Andrew Borden’s murder wasn’t nearly as dramatic as the series makes it
As depicted in Monster, Andrew’s death is a lengthy, violent affair. After returning home following a night spent with a sex worker, he discovers Abby’s body and is attacked by Sullivan. He manages to fight off Lizzie and escape to the basement — with an axe sticking out of his shoulder.
When he emerges much later, Andrew fights back and even threatens to kill Lizzie first. It’s only after seeing a vision of his late wife, Sarah, that he stops long enough for Lizzie to deliver the fatal blows. Even then, he stumbles around for several moments before Lizzie finally hacks him to death.
In reality, Andrew’s murder appears to have been much quicker. According to Sullivan’s testimony, Andrew returned home that morning, spoke briefly with Lizzie and later settled into the sitting room.
When his body was discovered later that morning, he was lying on the sofa with a face that, according to one witness quoted in The Trial of Lizzie Borden, looked like "a mass of raw meat."
There was no indication of the prolonged struggle depicted on Monster. Dr. Seabury Bowen, one of the first people to examine Andrew, testified that nothing in the sitting room appeared to have been disturbed.
There’s no evidence John V. Morse tried to blackmail Lizzie
Lizzie’s uncle, John V. Morse, visits the Bordens shortly before the murders and asks Andrew for money to open a butcher shop. Though briefly considered a suspect, he provides a strong alibi. He later confronts Lizzie, claiming that his experience as a butcher has convinced him she committed the murders and attempts to extort her for the money. "You’re going to hang, Lizzie, without my help," he says. Lizzie refuses.
Per the New Bedford Evening Standard, Morse did have some experience as a butcher but there is no evidence that he tried to blackmail any member of the Borden family.
Lizzie did spend the night under the same roof as the bodies — but she wasn’t alone
After murdering Andrew and Abby on Monster, we see Lizzie staying alone in the house with their corpses laid out in the dining room. It’s a chilling image but it’s not entirely true.
Alice Russell, a neighbour of the Bordens, testified that Andrew and Abby’s bodies were laid out in the dining room but she also revealed that she stayed the night. Reports also suggest that Emma, Lizzie’s sister, had returned home that evening, and John V. Morse was also at the house overnight.
Emma Borden is not known to have accused Lizzie of the murders — or attacked her
The series depicts Emma and Lizzie as having a somewhat fraught relationship, one that takes a devastating turn right after the murders. Upon learning of her father’s death — and seeing his body — Emma attacks Lizzie in the kitchen and calls her a monster believing her to be responsible.
Even later, when she visits Lizzie in prison, she isn’t convinced of her innocence. She even chops down Lizzie’s beloved cherry trees (which also appears to be another invention).
There’s no evidence that Emma was suspicious of her sister in real life. According to Miller’s The Borden Murders, Emma was by Lizzie’s side when she left the courthouse while the jury deliberated. Years later, Emma and Lizzie did have a falling out, which contemporary reports linked to Lizzie’s friendship with actress Nance O’Neil and her theatrical circle. Robertson wrote in The Trial of Lizzie Borden that Emma moved out of the house she shared with Lizzie in 1905 and "never spoke to her sister again."
Lizzie didn’t meet Nance O’Neil until more than a decade after the murders
In the second episode, Lizzie attends a matinee performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream featuring real-life actress Nance O’Neil. In reality, O’Neil didn't enter Borden’s life until 1904; more than a decade after Lizzie was acquitted of the murders.
The two developed what The Trial of Lizzie Borden describes as "a close if short-lived friendship." Their closeness contributed to later speculation that Lizzie may have been romantically attracted to women, but there is no definitive evidence that she and O’Neil were lovers.
O’Neil therefore played no role in preparing Lizzie for trial
Lizzie’s trial, for as momentous an event as it was, only occupies a small portion of The Lizzie Borden Story. In Monster’s telling, Lizzie feels doomed heading into it, only for O’Neil to appear and, despite believing Lizzie is guilty, coach her on how to act more "ladylike" at the trial to generate sympathy. This involves fainting and crying at pivotal moments. All O’Neil asks in return is for Lizzie to be her benefactor.
Lizzie’s displays of emotion during the trial were certainly remarked upon by those in attendance but considering Lizzie and O’Neil didn’t strike up a friendship until a decade after the trial Lizzie was obviously not coached by the actress.
The sequence also makes Lizzie’s courtroom demeanor seem more central to her "not guilty" verdict than the historical record supports, while underselling how effective her defense team was in dismantling the prosecution’s case.
Lizzie never gave a victory speech on the courthouse steps
At the end of episode 7, Lizzie gives a passionate speech on the steps of the courthouse following her acquittal. She speaks of her relief at being found not guilty and declares she will make her heart and home a safe haven for everyone, including animals. It’s framed as a triumphant moment; with plenty of Lizzie supporters shown in the crowd.
It’s also quite cinematic, complete with a cover of "Bitter Sweet Symphony" and for good reason — it didn’t actually happen. Though Lizzie did shake each juror’s hand to convey her gratitude, Robertson notes that upon leaving the courthouse, "Lizzie herself said very little to most of the reporters." By all accounts, she was relieved that the trial was over, but didn’t pause to bask in the moment.
The Borden house wasn’t a bed-and-breakfast in the ’80s — and what is Shelby reading?
This is a strange one. In episode 6, Monster jumps forward in time to the 1980s, depicting a scene in which Aileen Wuornos, who would later receive six death sentences for murder, visits the Lizzie Borden house with her girlfriend, Shelby.
The scene itself is fictional — there’s no evidence Wuornos ever visited the house — and the property didn’t begin operating as a bed-and-breakfast until 1996.
During their stay, Shelby reads from a book that chronicles Lizzie and Sullivan’s murder of Andrew and Abby. One might assume she was reading from Evan Hunter’s Lizzie, a fictional account of the Borden murders that implicates Lizzie and Sullivan and depicts them as lovers. The sections Shelby reads are nowhere to be found in Hunter’s book.
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So why does the Lizzie Borden story continue to be so fascinating – especially to writers?
"There's something about an acquittal that's open-ended," Cara Robertson, author of The Trial of Lizzie Borden, tells the BBC. "And the case has a lot of what we look for in a detective story: limited number of suspects, it hinges on alibis of timing, and if we are saying that Lizzie Borden is the killer, then this is really a story of deep psychological drama."
I was really disappointed with this latest installment. It felt more of a romance series than one of a killer. When I watch things like this, I expect only factual information. Fantasies and the use of imagination can be used for other series' and movies.
I didn't see the point of the Aileen Wournos angle - unless it leads to the next season.
This became my least favourite of the Monsters series'.