The Medford Historical Society & Museum begins its 2024 program season with “Lizzie Borden & John Best: Knowlton’s Trials That Gripped Boston’s South and North Shores,” featuring speakers Douglas Heath and Alison Simcox. Hosea Knowlton is best known as the chief prosecutor of Lizzie Borden, whose 1893 trial for the murder of her parents created a national sensation. During his tenure as Massachusetts attorney general, Knowlton tried more murder cases than any man who held that office. As notorious as the Borden trial was at the time, one of his last cases, the trial of John Courtney Best, also involved a horrific axe murder.

In this talk, Simcox and Heath will reveal the facts and bizarre circumstances of this shocking murder and you can decide whether Knowlton’s famous ability to incisively question trial witnesses and present eloquent arguments ensured that justice was served. Simcox is an environmental scientist, local historian and author.  Heath is a hydrogeologist and local historian. They have co-authored five books on the history of Boston’s North Shore.

Reserve your seat through Eventbrite.