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John Morse

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Murderer (Alleged)

The Resume

    (July 5, 1833-March 1, 1912)
    Born in Somerset, Bristol County, Massachusetts
    Uncle of alleged murderess Lizzie Borden
    Spent the night in the guest room on the 2nd floor of the Borden family's 2nd Street Fall River home the night before the murders of Andrew and Abby (August 4, 1892)
    Testified at Lizzie Borden's Trial (June 7, 1893)
    Remains a primary suspect in the murders

Why he might be annoying:

    His middle name was Vinnicum.
    Abby Borden was found dead in the guest room he had been staying in the night prior.
    He was visiting his brother-in-law to discuss business matters - it has been speculated that their conversation, particularly about property transfer, may have aggravated an already tense situation.
    He regularly turns up in arguments for Lizzie Borden's innocence, as the primary suspect (even as his motive was virtually nonexistent).
    When he was first interrogated about his whereabouts at the time of the murders, he provided an airtight alibi - one many skeptics claimed was 'a little too perfect.'
    Case in point, he remembered the exact number of the streetcar he rode on, the conductor's number, and even took the trouble of introducing himself to six Irish priests he met on the streetcar, explaining his entire itinerary to them for no apparent reason.
    A popular theory puts forth that he, Lizzie, and perhaps Emma, all conspired to kill Andrew and Abby, and then engaged in an elaborate cover-up to get Lizzie acquitted.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He traveled extensively, and lived in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa.
    He was known as a farmer and a horse trader.
    His older sister Sarah Anthony, Lizzie and Emma's mother, died of uterine congestion and spinal disease at only 39.
    If he did indeed have something to do with the murders, one potential motive put forward was that he had learned Andrew sexually abused his daughters and had him killed in a rage (and killed Abby because she knew about the incest and enabled it).
    He was most likely innocent of any involvement and was 'in the wrong place, at the wrong time.'
    In that case, he would have returned to the Borden house, after visiting his niece, only to find that his in-laws had been brutally murdered in their home by an unknown assailant.
    Little is known about the final years of his life, as he was famously private.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


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Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying