A Blessing and a Curse: …Took an Ax

Bertha Manchester and another familiar name are whispered throughout Fall River in connection to Lizzie Borden’s upcoming trial. Eliza Borden and her family's history will also come into play during the trial. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Decades after the death of Eliza Borden, someone is murdered with an ax. Not Lizzie Borden’s parents, but an innocent farm girl. How is she connected to Lizzie Borden’s case?  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1848 Fall River, Eliza Borden clearly needs help. She is struggling with depression and her husband, Lawdwick appears to be of little help. This will not end well.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On July 2, 1843, a deadly fire ripped through that section of Fall River, nearly destroying a large portion of the city, including the house next door to Lizzie Borden’s future home. Five years later in that house, the Borden family experiences continued tragedy when Lizzie Borden’s great aunt, Eliza Hathaway Darling Borden, appears to have severe post-partum depression.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There is a section of Fall River, Massachusetts spanning just two blocks, where several media-grabbing tragedies occurred over a century. These were not simple domestic disputes or deadly bank robberies, they were deaths that seemed so out of the norm that perhaps they were triggered by something other-worldly.  Written, researched and hosted by Kate Winkler Dawson  Producer Jason Wehling   Senior Producer Alexis Amorosi  Consulting Producer Kyle Ryan  Researcher Carrie Nolte  Sound Designer Eric Friend  Additional Sound Design by Nicholas Muniz  Composer Curtis Heath  Artwork by Nick Toga  Find my books: katewinklerdawson.com  Follow me on social: @tenfoldmorewicked (Facebook and Instagram)  2024 All Rights Reserved  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is “A Blessing and a Curse,” the twelfth season of Tenfold More Wicked on Exactly Right. This season is very different from what we’ve done before. It isn’t just about one crime or one tragedy within one family…it’s about a section of a city that has seen many atrocities over the years.    It’s also about one family with many connections, reaching back to our last season and the Rebecca Briggs Cornell story. Join us as we investigate the misfortunes that have befallen this infamous town for more than 150 years. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas Cornell Junior is arrested and put on trial for his mother’s murder. Rebecca’s spirit, which visited her brother, was a central witness. Would Thomas be wrongfully convicted? Would he get away with murder? Or was he really guilty?  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As investigators interview more witnesses, someone comes forward and recalls a disturbing conversation with Rebecca Briggs Cornell. She feared her son, but she was also severely depressed. Had she even contemplated suicide?  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rebecca Briggs Cornell’s body is reexamined and something odd is found. Her son, Thomas, is interrogated for her murder if there was one. Was there evidence to prove the case against him in 1673? Is there now? Thomas Cornell Junior might be guilty, it might have been an accident and there may be other possibilities.  Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thomas and his family make a terrible discovery in his mother’s room one night in February of 1673. Rebecca Briggs Cornell led a respectable life only to have it end in tragedy. She’s buried, but she’s not gone. One night, Rebecca’s brother falls asleep and receives a supernatural visitor. Support this podcast by shopping our latest sponsor deals and promotions at this link: https://bit.ly/4dsqzI1 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices