The Woman Who Snapped

The song goes, “Lizzie Borden took an axe, gave her mother 40 whacks,” but how much truth is behind the tune? Although she was never convicted, Borden’s alleged crimes — murdering her stepmother and father — continue to haunt us. Was she an ordinary girl caught in an extraordinary situation? Or was she what society labeled her: a “Woman Who Snapped”? In this episode, the true crime writer Tori Telfer and notable guests unpack the intrigue, psychology and history behind the “Woman Who Snapped” label, presented by CBS All Access.

Dr. Stefani Koorey is a historian and editor of the Lizzie Andrew Borden Virtual Museum and Library. Dr. Helen Gavin is a psychologist and professor at the University of Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. She is co-author of the book Female Aggression. Dr. Anna Motz is a clinical psychologist in the United Kingdom, who often works with violent female offenders. She wrote the book Psychology of Female Violence: Crimes Against the Body.