Mashpee Man Slays His Proposal to Girlfriend at Lizzie Borden House

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, brought good luck for one Cape Cod resident who mustered up the courage to ask his longtime girlfriend for her hand in marriage. But when your girlfriend is a practicing witch, you have to get creative.

Mashpee resident Ted Manikas surprised Jade Cook with a tour of the Historic Lizzie Borden House in Fall River, and their spooky afternoon turned into a magical celebration.

Ted and Jade have been together for three-and-a-half years.

“Jade’s from Cape Cod, and she somehow convinced me to move to the Cape about four months ago,” joked Manikas.

He was ready for the next step, but he wanted to make the moment unforgettable.

“Jade practices witchcraft and I was trying to come up with something unique and magical for her, and make it the most memorable thing I could,” he said.

The date, 2-22-22, was certainly memorable enough, but Manikas had a plan to propose at the Ice Castles in New Hampshire. It turns out that magical place has melted.

“That’s when I and some of her family started brainstorming and found the Lizzie Borden House,” Manikas said.

Manikas remembered hearing stories when he was a kid of the “40 whacks” 32-year-old Lizzie was accused and later acquitted of inflicting on her father Andrew and stepmother Abby with a hatchet in 1892, but he had no idea that the Borden home (and scene of the crime) was so close by. He booked a tour and an overnight stay for himself, his girlfriend, and their friends and family, and the plan was set in motion.

The crew at the Lizzie Borden House was in on the surprise.

“Our guide, Ryk, was just awesome,” said Manikas. “He was very discreet, and he nailed it.”

Ryk McIntyre was ecstatic to be a part of the plan.

“The manager took me aside to brief me on a ‘cool twist on your 3:30 tour,’” McIntyre said. “We arranged for me to 'choose someone at random' to be Abby when we were in the room that she was killed in.”

McIntyre had Cook close her eyes and imagine the crime unfolding.

Then, he told her, "Open your eyes and turn to face your fate."

Cook turned to find her boyfriend on one knee in a buttoned-down shirt and tie, holding a ring.

"This is a weird place but you're a weird girl," Manikas said as he asked the most important question of his life.

“They said ‘yes,’ which was a great relief to me because otherwise, that would have been a rather awkward last half of the tour,” McIntyre said.

The plan went off without a hatchet -- I mean "hitch" -- and now the rest of the planning is in the hands of the future bride.

“This is her forte from here,” Manikas said. “She is coming up with the rest of the plans.”

The plan is to get married on 3/23/23, another palindrome day that will bring good luck to the newlyweds.

Who knew an iconic murder house could be so romantic?