In a turn of events in Bangor, Maine, the tranquility of an ordinary residence was shattered when officers discovered the body of Virginia Cookson, aged 39. Following a post-mortem examination on September 27, the Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta concluded her death was the result of homicide. In connection with her death, a warrant for the arrest of Richard Keith Thorpe, 42, was issued by the Bangor Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division and the State of Maine Office of the Attorney General, according to the Facebook post from the Pittsfield Police Department.
The pursuit of Thorpe took a dramatic turn on the morning of September 27 when the Pittsfield Police Department (PPD) responded to a car crash near West Street and Onota Street, where the vehicle was found abandoned, indicating Thorpe had been the driver. Despite an extensive search of the area yielding no results, the situation intensified when a stolen vehicle report was filed before 7:00 a.m., prompting the PPD to issue a BOLO for the suspected vehicle.
The chase reached its climax as the stolen vehicle, identified at around 8:30 a.m., led officers on a high-speed chase through residential streets, disregarding traffic laws and putting morning commuters and school buses at risk. School operations were briefly disrupted, with local institutions including Taconic High School imposing a lockdown for approximately five minutes as a precaution during the chase. Eventually, the PPD forced the vehicle to a halt on Euclid Avenue, a collision that fortunately caused no serious injuries.
Thorpe was arrested without further incident and faced several motor vehicle charges, besides the out-of-state warrant for murder – said Detective Tim Shaw of the Bangor Police Department. His arraignment is expected to take place at Pittsfield District Court.
