Diksha Sundriyal
In Netflix’s ‘Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,’ the brutal murder of Andrew and Abby Borden is presented as one piece of the puzzle that is Lizzie Borden. Over the course of eight episodes, we discover shocking details about Lizzie’s life, while the relationship with her father and stepmother sets the stage for the axe murders. Although Lizzie is eventually arrested for the crime, she is not the only family member suspected of it. Her uncle, John Morse, also comes under scrutiny for the timing of his arrival, which was so close to the murders. What makes him even more mysterious is the way he slipped into the shadows after the trial, with none the wiser about what happened to him and what he really thought about his niece’s role in the murders. SPOILERS AHEAD.
John Morse Receded Into a Private Life After Lizzie Borden’s Trial
John Morse died on March 1, 1912, at the age of 78 in Hastings, Iowa. No specific cause of his death is known, though it is likely that he died of old age. He is laid to rest in Hastings Cemetery, and is not known to have had any wife or children. He was a native of Somerset, Massachusetts, where he was born on July 5, 1833, to Anthony Morse. Nothing much is known about his childhood, though he was surrounded by several siblings and half-siblings, one of whom was Sarah, who would eventually marry Andrew Borden and give birth to Emma and Lizzie. In the show, he is revealed to be a butcher. In real life, he learned the meat business at a young age, working for about two years for Charles and Isaac Davis in South Dartmouth.
When he was twenty-two years old, he moved to Illinois and made it his home for 14 years. Still, he is known to have harbored love for his hometown of Somerset, which he repeatedly visited over the years. He was known to have traded in horses and cattle. Those who knew him remembered him as an amiable person who loved fishing and wished to retire early. For almost the entirety of his life, John lived a quiet life, but he became a household name after the murders of Andrew and Abby Borden. He was revealed to be one of the last men to talk to Andrew. It was known that he had spoken with Andrew the night before, though the exact contents of their conversation were never revealed. He took this secret to his grave.
The Netflix Series Gives a Fictional Spin to John Morse
At one point, it was reportedly remarked by an attorney involved in the Borden trial that John and Andrew’s conversation could have shed light on the true identity of the murderer. Some people suspected that he may have had a hand in the murder; if he hadn’t done it himself, he might have helped Lizzie. The fact that Abby Borden was found dead in the guest room where he was staying also cast a shadow of doubt on him. All these theories remained without evidence, especially since his alibi had already cleared him of suspicion in the early stages of the investigation. On the day of the murders, he had left the house early in the morning and gone to Weybosset Street to meet with some relatives. He had last seen the Bordens at breakfast, and when he returned in the afternoon, the couple was found dead.
When he testified at Lizzie’s trial, he didn’t give any information that could confirm or deny his niece’s guilt. Some accused him of speaking in Lizzie’s favor in exchange for money. However, this was never proved. After the trial, he left town and remained out of the spotlight for the rest of his life, having never again publicly talked about the case or what he thought of Lizzie’s role in it. The Netflix series uses this lack of knowledge to fill in the gaps with a fictionalized version of him, presenting him as a butcher who names his knives and introducing the conflict over his desire to borrow a loan from Andrew. His conversation with Lizzie, in which he tells her he knows what she did, is also a fictional element added to heighten the drama and intrigue of an already shocking and puzzling crime.
Read More: Emma Borden: What Happened to Lizzie Borden’s Sister? How Did She Die?
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