Mary Jo Kopechne

Mary Jo Kopechne (July 26, 1940 – July 18 1969) born in Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, was the only child of insurance salesman Joseph Kopechne and his wife Gwen. Upon graduation from Caldwell College for women, Kopechne moved to Washington D.C. initially to work as secretary to U.S. Senator George Smathers and subsequently as secretary to Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Kopechne died in Chappaquiddick, Massachusetts when a car driven by Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy, in which she was the passenger, went off a bridge and overturned into a pond. Earlier that evening, the two had been attending a party along with other Kennedy aides and several women who had served as "boiler room" girls in the 1968 Presidential campaign of Senator Robert Kennedy. Kennedy managed to escape from the submerged car, but he left the scene and inexplicably did not report the incident or Kopechne's wherabouts. The next day authorities discovered Kennedy's car and recovered Kopechene's body. Though Kennedy pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident after causing injury, several details of Mary Jo Kopechne's death remain a mystery. (See "Chappaquiddick" section below.)

Related Topics:
July 26 - 1940 - July 18 - 1969 - Forty Fort, Pennsylvania - Caldwell College - Washington D.C. - U.S. - Senator - George Smathers - Robert F. Kennedy - Edward "Ted" Kennedy

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