Did Lizzie Borden Really Murder Bertha Manchester? Fact-Checking the Real-Life Killing Featured in “Monster”

Bertha Manchester was killed with an axe in 1893

NEED TO KNOW

• Bertha Manchester, a Fall River, Mass., resident, was murdered with an axe in 1893
• A Portuguese immigrant was later convicted of the crime
• Manchester, played by Linda Reiter, is depicted in Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story

Bertha Manchester’s story is featured in Netflix’s Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, but the series takes considerable creative liberties with her real-life murder.

The fourth installment of Ryan Murphy‘s Monster anthology series, which premiered on Sept. 17, explores the 1892 murders of Andrew (Charlie Hunnam) and Abby Borden (Rebecca Hall) in Fall River, Mass., and the subsequent trial of Andrew’s daughter, Lizzie Borden (Ella Beatty), who was accused of killing her father and stepmother.

The series also features a brief story line involving Manchester, a neighbor of the Borden family, portrayed by Linda Reiter. In the show, Manchester mistreats the family’s maid, Bridget “Maggie” Sullivan (Vicky Krieps). Lizzie subsequently kills Manchester with a hatchet, with Maggie present, before the pair turn their attention to Andrew and Abby.

While Manchester was a real person who was murdered in Fall River, her death occurred in May 1893, shortly before Lizzie’s trial began, according to William D. Spencer’s book The Other Fall River Tragedy: The Murder of Bertha Manchester. In fact, Lizzie was already in jail awaiting trial at the time of Manchester’s murder, and there is no evidence linking her to the crime.

By incorporating Manchester’s murder into the Monster narrative, the series reimagines her death as a precursor to the Borden killings, taking creative liberties with the historical timeline and Lizzie’s alleged involvement in the crime.

So, what actually happened to Bertha Manchester? Here’s everything to know about the Massachusetts woman and her portrayal in Monster.

Who was Bertha Manchester?

In Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, Manchester is portrayed as an old spinster who lives near the Borden family and mistreats their maid, Maggie, when she comes to work for her.

However, in real life, Manchester lived with her father, Stephen Manchester, and younger brother, Freddie, on the family’s dairy farm on New Boston Road in Fall River, per The Hatchet: Journal of Lizzie Borden Studies and Spencer’s book. There’s no evidence that she had a personal connection to Lizzie or her family, or that Maggie worked for the Manchesters.

What happened to Bertha Manchester?

Manchester’s murder is the first crime depicted in Monster season 4. After learning that Manchester whipped Maggie with a cat-o’-nine-tails, Lizzie agrees to help the Borden family’s maid kill her.

Lizzie strikes Manchester in the abdomen with an axe, but when Maggie fails to intervene as planned, Lizzie takes Maggie’s hatchet and delivers a fatal blow to Manchester’s skull. The killing sets the stage for Lizzie and Maggie’s subsequent plot against Andrew and Abby.

The real Manchester met a similarly violent fate, but the circumstances were quite different. On May 30, 1893, the 22-year-old was home alone at her family’s dairy farm in Fall River while her father, younger brother and a farmhand were in town selling milk, per The Herald News.

When they returned, they discovered Manchester’s body in the kitchen. She had suffered more than 20 blows to the head with an axe, and several of her teeth had been knocked out, per Spencer’s book.

Manchester’s murder occurred nearly 10 months after the Borden killings on Aug. 4, 1892, and Lizzie was already in jail awaiting trial at the time, despite being shown in Monster as having returned home. There is no evidence linking her to Manchester’s death.

Who actually killed Bertha Manchester?

Although Monster depicts Lizzie as Manchester’s killer, the real-life crime was attributed to someone else entirely.

A 19-year-old Portuguese immigrant named Jose Correa de Mello was arrested in connection with Manchester’s murder, per The Herald News. He had previously worked on her father’s dairy farm.

Author and historian Stefani Koorey told The Herald News in August 2023 that de Mello spoke no English and had worked for Manchester’s father, Stephen, “off and on.”

In Spencer’s book, the author recounts that de Mello allegedly entered the Manchester home looking for wages he believed Stephen owed him. He thought no one was home, but Bertha discovered him.

Spencer described Manchester as “well-built and feisty” and someone who would likely defend herself if threatened, per The Herald News. She reportedly swung an axe at de Mello twice before he managed to overpower her.

Citing de Mello’s defense attorney, Spencer writes in his book that “mad passion” overtook him during the struggle, per The Herald News. After gaining control of the axe, de Mello repeatedly struck Manchester in the head, killing her, before fleeing the farmhouse.

De Mello ultimately turned himself in to the authorities on June 3, 1893 and received a life sentence, per Spencer’s book. After pleadings and petitions from the Portuguese community in Fall River, de Mello was released in January 1914 after serving approximately 21 years and was deported to Portugal.

De Mello’s confession came just days before Lizzie’s trial began on June 5, 1893, raising questions about whether his arrest influenced the jury. Although jurors were sequestered and prohibited from reading newspapers during the trial, they may have already known about Manchester’s murder and the suspect in custody.

Spencer theorizes in his book that the timing of de Mello’s confession may have influenced Lizzie’s acquittal, raising the possibility that jurors considered whether he could have been responsible for both murders, though nothing has been confirmed.

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