Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story leaves out these shocking details about Lizzie Borden

Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story takes a well-known unresolved murder case into a dramatic story filled with secrets, relationships, and violence. The Ryan Murphy anthology series focuses on Lizzie Borden and explains what happened inside the Borden home in Fall River, Massachusetts, in 1892.

However, the historical record is far less certain. Her father, Andrew Borden, and her stepmother, Abby Borden, were found dead at home from blows inflicted with a hatchet. Lizzie was put on trial in 1893, but there was no strong evidence, no confession, and no eyewitness who saw her kill the two victims.

As a result, Lizzie was acquitted by an all-male jury. While Monster Season 4 follows the key events of the story, it has changed and left out several parts of that history. It invents relationships, rearranges events, and gives characters motives that are not established by surviving records.

Below are the details that Netflix's Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story has left out.

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story didn't mention Andrew Borden's main sources of wealth

Charlie Hunnam plays Andrew Borden (Image via X/@netflix)

As seen in Monster Season 4, Andrew Borden did work in the furniture and coffin business earlier in his life, but that was not the main source of his wealth by the time he was murdered in 1892. The series puts strong focus on this side of his past and also uses a rumor that he cut corpses to make them fit into cheaper coffins.

However, there is no solid evidence supporting that disturbing claim. In reality, Andrew had built his fortune mainly through real estate, property development, banking, and investments connected to textile mills. He also served as a bank president, showing how prominent he had become in Fall River’s business community.

The actual bird incident

In Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Abby is seen killing Lizzie’s doves, which becomes a major emotional trigger. Historically, it was Andrew who killed pigeons (not doves).

Lizzie had apparently built a roost for them in the barn; her father destroyed them because he believed they carried disease. There is little solid evidence they were cherished personal pets in the dramatic way the show portrays.

Uncle John V. Morse as a person of interest

Another detail that the Netflix anthology series does not majorly focus on is that Lizzie’s maternal uncle, John V. Morse, stayed overnight at the Borden house the night before the murders and had breakfast with the family.

He was one of the last people to see Andrew and Abby alive and was briefly considered a suspect (he had an alibi involving visits elsewhere that morning). Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story gives this little or no meaningful attention, focusing almost exclusively on Lizzie and Bridget.

The real alleged poisoning attempt

In Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, there's a part plot involving deliberately spoiled oysters. In the actual case, pharmacists claimed Lizzie tried to buy prussic acid (a deadly poison) the day before the murders, but it wasn't sold to her because of no prescription.

The family had been ill shortly before from what was attributed to spoiled food in the summer heat, but no poison was found in the victims’ stomachs. This prussic-acid allegation was part of the investigation but was limited or excluded at trial.

Bridget Sullivan’s real background and later life

Vicky Krieps plays Bridget Sullivan (Image via X/@netflix)

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story invents a romantic and criminal partnership between Lizzie and Bridget (Maggie). Historically, Bridget was an Irish immigrant (not portrayed with a German-leaning accent).

She gave consistent testimony as a key witness, was never charged, later returned briefly to Ireland, moved to Montana, married an Irish immigrant in 1905, and refused to discuss the Bordens for the rest of her life (she died in 1948). There is no evidence of any close personal, romantic, or conspiratorial relationship with Lizzie.