Elena

I saw it all, but I didn't do it.

I didn't speak because I was afraid I would be killed, but I lay in bed with my eyes open watching the whole thing.

Okay.

Investigators were like, no.

And then they got more convinced of her guilt when they learned the insurance policy she had taken out on the furniture, which was in the name of Mrs. Miller, an acquaintance of Lizzie's who lived in New Jersey.

Oh, good.

It was Miller who directed detectives to Lizzie after the fire.

And they found her hiding in a hospital in New Jersey where she claimed she was being treated for peritonitis as a result of medical malpractice.

Wow.

There's a lot to unpack there.

So much that is layered.

They were further convinced of her guilt when they learned her son had told one of the nurses in the hospital that his mother had set fire to the house before they fled for New Jersey.

One thing about kids is they will rat you out.

Kids are going to rat you out.

They're usually honest.

Now, although they had hoped to question her further about the fire, hospital staff in Camden refused to let them continue to speak with her, saying that she was medically fine, but they believed her to be feeble-minded, quote-unquote.

That's not my quote.

Less than average intelligence and possibly even insane.

Okay.

After everything they'd learned in their investigation, detectives didn't doubt what they'd been told by the hospital staff, but they did bring Lizzie back to Philadelphia to stand trial for arson.