Netflix has confirmed that its true crime anthology series Monster will return for a fourth season, this time focusing on Lizzie Borden, the American woman accused of murdering her father and stepmother in 1892. The new season, titled Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, will premiere on September 17.
Since its debut in 2022, the show has been described by viewers as "disturbing" and "one of the best true crime series ever." Previous seasons have covered Jeffrey Dahmer, the Menendez brothers, and Ed Gein.
Who was Lizzie Borden?
Lizzie Borden was born in 1860. Her mother, Sarah, died when Lizzie was three, and her father remarried Abby Durfee Gray three years later. In 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were killed with an axe in their home in Fall River, Massachusetts. The murders and subsequent trial received widespread publicity and remain a subject of debate and fascination.
Reports from the time say the household had been violently ill for several days before the murders, and Abby suspected someone was trying to poison her husband. Abby was attacked in the morning while making a bed upstairs, struck multiple times. Andrew arrived home later that morning and was attacked while asleep in a chair downstairs.
Trial and acquittal
Lizzie's sister Emma and the Borden's live-in maid were also present in the house at the time. Lizzie was accused of both murders and went on trial. Another axe murder with eerie similarities occurred in town just days before the trial began. According to some newspaper reports, the jury acquitted Lizzie after just 40 minutes of deliberation.
This is not the first screen adaptation of the Borden murders. Christina Ricci played Lizzie in a television movie, and Chloe Sevigny took the role in the 2018 film Lizzie. Fans can also visit the historic Lizzie Borden house, which its website calls "the most haunted house in the United States."
Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story streams on Netflix from September 17.
