Cinema VinesBridget Sullivan, the Borden family maid, remains a pivotal figure in the infamous 1892 murders that shook Fall River, Massachusetts. She was the only other person in the house on the night Lizzie Borden’s parents, Abby and Andrew, were bludgeoned to death on August 4, 1892. Sullivan’s testimony on June 7, 1893, provided the only eyewitness account of the day’s events, yet her role has long been shrouded in ambiguity.
Born in Cork County, Ireland, Sullivan immigrated first to Newport, Rhode Island, then to South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, before arriving in Fall River four years before the murders. She worked for the Borden household for two years and nine months, performing washing, ironing, cooking, and sweeping. Her bedroom was on the third floor, directly above Mr. Borden’s, with his room above the kitchen. Sullivan was the only domestic worker in the house, aside from a farmhand named Alfred who occasionally performed chores.
On the fateful day, Sullivan was cleaning windows when she heard a bell at City Hall and noted the time as eleven o’clock. She claimed to have been awake, hearing no sounds of intruders, and that Lizzie Borden shouted from the kitchen, “Maggie, come down! Father’s dead; somebody came in and killed him.” Sullivan’s account, delivered during her trial, was the sole witness statement regarding the murders.
Despite her testimony, Lizzie Borden was acquitted, and no murderer has ever been identified. The case has resurfaced with Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series “Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story,” where actress Vicky Krieps portrays Sullivan. The series suggests that Sullivan may have been more than a witness—possibly an accomplice—sparking renewed interest in the historic crime.
Sullivan’s life after the murders was spent in Anaconda, where she lived for 45 years. Her parents, Eugene and Margaret (Leary) Sullivan, are noted in her testimony, and she remains a key figure in the enduring mystery of the Borden slayings.
