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Man Accused of Murder in Bangor Back in Maine from Mass.

Man Accused of Murder in Bangor Back in Maine from Mass.

Photo: 560 WGAN Newsradio


The 42-year-old man accused of killing a Bangor woman last week is back in Maine after being returned from Massachusetts over the weekend.

Richard Thorpe faces murder charges in the death of his ex-girlfriends, 39-year-old Virginia Cookson.

A co-worker found Cookson’s body at a home on Larkin Street last Wednesday after she failed to show up for work.

The Maine medical examiner’s office ruled her death a homicide Thursday, and police arrested Thorpe Friday in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, after a car chase in a stolen vehicle that prompted shelter-in-place orders at several schools.

Thorpe was booked at the Penobscot County Jail at Afternoon Saturday.

The Bangor Daily News reports Thorpe has a lengthy criminal history dating back 25 years, including felony charges that prohibit him from possessing guns.

Those charges multiple counts of theft, burglary, criminal trespassing, drug possession, trafficking in prison contraband, furnishing alcohol to minors, assault, robbery, carrying concealed weapons, eluding police and resisting arrest.

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