Houses of Horror: The Lizzie Borden Mystery and a Possible Serial Killer in Philly

September 24, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

Houses of Horror: The Lizzie Borden Mystery and a Possible Serial Killer in Philly

On the morning of August 4, 1892, Andrew Borden, a 69-year-old wealthy mill owner, and his wife Abby, 64, were killed with a hatchet inside their home at 92 Second Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. Abby was slain first upstairs, struck 19 times while apparently making the bed. Roughly ninety minutes later, Andrew, napping in the sitting room, was struck 10 or 11 times. Lizzie Borden, Andrew's 32-year-old daughter, was arrested a week later, tried the following June, and acquitted after about 90 minutes of jury deliberation. No weapon, bloody clothing, or eyewitness testimony ever conclusively tied her to the crime.

The case became national news and produced the famous rhyme—"Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother forty whacks"—though the whack count is historically inaccurate. The author of the poem is lost to time.

The Locked House and the Ninety-Minute Gap

The Borden house had an unusual layout. The outside doors were locked from the inside. The parents' living area was downstairs, the daughters' upstairs, and moving between them required going downstairs, crossing, and back up. There was one flush toilet in the basement, one spigot in the basement, and water available in the barn outside. The house had no running water in the living areas.

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What you'll learn

1 Houses of Horror: The Lizzie Borden Mystery and a Possible Serial Killer in Philly
2 Timestamped Outline
3 (00:07) **Opening: 1581 Pamphlet Market** - The episode opens with a vivid scene of a merchant reading crime pamphlets in Nuremberg, 1581, describing sensationalized accounts of serial killers Christman of Kirpin and Peter Nishund
4 (03:54) **Introducing the Lizzie Borden Case** - Hosts Jason and Tyler introduce the famous Lizzie Borden nursery rhyme and the basic facts of the August 4, 1892 murders in Fall River, Massachusetts
5 (06:42) **Why the Case Became National News** - The hosts explain the social dynamics that made this a media sensation
6 (08:19) **Expert Producer Justin Joins** - Producer Justin, who grew up ten minutes from Fall River, provides local context and details about the bungled police response
7 (11:56) **The 90-Minute Gap** - The hosts identify the central mystery: why would an intruder kill Abby, then wait 90 minutes to kill Andrew?

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Eugene Horsch

Show Notes

Jason and Tyler are back and they're breaking down one of the most mysterious cases in American history: the murder of Lizzie Borden's parents. With the help of producer Justin, they look into the case against Lizzie, alternative suspects, and why the story was ripe for an adaptation in Ryan Murphy's Netflix series 'Monster.'
Then, they look at one of the most messed-up cases they've seen recently: the R.C. Horsch investigation in Philadelphia. Are we looking at a serial killer situation?

Today's agenda:

(00:00) The grisly case of Christman of Kerpen

(02:22) Lizzie Borden took an axe ...

(10:26) The 90-minute gap.

(14:08) Wouldn't it make a noise?

(24:27) Let's talk about motive.

(30:44) The Lizzie-Bridget theory.

(39:11) So who did it?

(55:35) One more thought on Bill James.

(01:00:45) The Philadelphia house of horrors: What is happening here?

(01:15:04) Doomscroll: The Florida plastic surgeon who defended himself.

(01:22:39) We almost went to war with China ... because of a chatbot.

(01:23:55) The Russian-backed murder plot we're obsessing over.

(01:26:50) A new King Tut theory.

Hosts: Jason Concepcion and Tyler Parker
Producer: Justin Sayles
Video editing: Jordan Satmary
Engineering: Jason Arreola
Social media: Paige Ransbury
Thumbnail: Matt James

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