Not much is known of Hepzibah's early life, but as an older woman, she befriended the young wizard Tom Riddle during one of her visits to Borgin and Burkes. After Hepzibah revealed her two greatest treasures during one of Tom's visits to her home, Tom killed her, and used her death to make the cup into a Horcrux. Because her house-elf Hokey, who was very old and forgetful, claimed she had accidentally mistaken the poison for sugar when preparing Hepzibah's cocoa, Riddle was never suspected of the murder.