Mary Jo Kopechne | |
|---|---|
 1962 college yearbook portrait | |
| Born | July 26, 1940 |
| Died | July 18 or 19, 1969 (aged 28) Poucha Pond, Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suffocation[1][2] |
| Burial place | Larksville, Pennsylvania, U.S.[1] |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Caldwell College |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, secretary, political campaign worker |
| Known for | Victim of Chappaquiddick incident |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Parent(s) | Joseph and Gwen Kopechne |
Mary Jo Kopechne (/koʊˈpɛkni/; July 26, 1940 – July 18 or 19, 1969) was an American secretary, and one of the campaign workers for U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, a close team known as the "Boiler Room Girls". In 1969, she asphyxiated when a car driven by U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy left a narrow road on Chappaquiddick Island and overturned into Poucha Pond after they had left a party. According to reports, Kennedy left the party at 11:15 p.m. Kopechne's body and the car were not reported until the next morning, approximately nine to ten hours later.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
upi-buriedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Legal ruling, but there was no autopsy. Fire rescue diver John Farrar testified he believed Kopechne died of suffocation, Inquest into the Death of Mary Jo Kopechne, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Edgartown District Court. New York: EVR Productions, 1970