On this day in history, July 19, 1969, a former Kennedy aide was killed in the ‘Chappaquiddick incident’
Mary Jo Kopechne, 28 years old and prominent political operative, was found dead in the overturned car of Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., in a tidal pond near Chappaquiddick Island on this day in history, July 19, 1969.
Dubbed the “Chappaquiddick incident”, Kopechne’s death and the chain of events before and after the disaster became a national scandal for the young senator from Massachusetts – and “destroyed Ted’s presidential ambitions Kennedy for good,” he noted to the History Channel.
It is not clear what happened that night, for many reasons.
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What is known is that Kennedy left a party late on the evening of July 18 with Kopechne, drove a car off the Dike Bridge on Chappaquiddick Island, escaped from his car – and returned to his hotel.
He did not report the incident until later in the morning on July 19, after his car (and Kopechne’s body) had been found.
In a 12-minute long televised speech that he gave on July 25, Kennedy tried to explain what had happened earlier in the week.
This map details the locations and times of events on the night of July 18, 1969. (Getty Images)
Kennedy said he tried to free Kopechne from the car several times before giving up due to exhaustion – and that he didn’t call police because he was slightly concussed and in a state of shock.
The senator said the meeting was a “brokerage that I had encouraged and helped by supporting an enthusiastic group of [Robert] Kennedy campaign secretaries.”
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“Mary Jo was one of Sen. Robert Kennedy’s most loyal employees. She worked for him for four years and was devastated by his death,” said Ted Kennedy.
“Because she was such a gentle, kind and idealistic person, we all tried to help her feel that she still had a home with the Kennedy family.”
“For this reason, and because she was such a gentle, kind and idealistic person, we all tried to help her feel that she still had a home with the Kennedy family.
Kennedy denied under the influence of alcohol.”
A frog was seen trying to pick up the General’s Oldsmobile about eight hours after it fell into a pond. Mary Jo Kopechne, 28, a former campaign secretary, was trapped in the car and drowned in the incident. (Getty Images)
Kennedy said, “I find it unbelievable that I did not report the accident to the police immediately.”
In the speech, Kennedy explained that instead of calling the police, he “walked back to the cabin where the party was being held and asked for help from two friends, my cousin, Joseph Gargan and Phil Markham, and ordered them to return at once. the scene with me—this was sometime after midnight—to make a new effort to go down and find Miss Kopechne.”
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“Their dedicated efforts, made at some risk to their own lives, were also unquestionable,” he said.
Kennedy also admitted that there were requests for his resignation from the Senate.
He was first elected to the Senate in a special election in 1962, serving the remainder of his brother’s term after John F. Kennedy was elected president.
Ted Kennedy was re-elected to a full six-year term in 1964, according to the Senate website.
The body of Mary Jo Kopechne was found in a car that was turned over by Sen. Ted Kennedy in the “Chappaquiddick incident” on this day in history, July 19, 1969. (Getty Images)
“And so I ask you tonight, the people of Massachusetts, to think about this with me. In facing this decision, I seek your advice and your opinion,” he said.
“In doing so, I seek your prayers – as this is a decision I must ultimately make on my own. “
Kennedy did not resign.
He went on to represent the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the Senate until his death in 2009 at the age of 77.
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He didn’t spend time in jail: He pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and received a two-month suspended prison sentence, according to multiple sources.
No autopsy was performed on Kopechne.
It has been debated that she might have been acquitted if the accident had been reported earlier.
In an August 1969 interview with TIME Magazine, Mary Jo Kopechne’s parents expressed their dismay at how their daughter’s death was handled.
Senator Edward M. Kennedy and his wife Joan are seen here at the beginning of the inquest into the death of Mary Jo Kopechne in July 1969. (Getty Images)
“There are two sides to this,” Mrs Kopechne told the magazine.
“Mr. Kopechne and I on this side and the name Kennedy on the other side. Everyone is on that side.”
And although Mr. and Mrs. Kopechne to the publication that they accepted Kennedy’s excuse for “panic” as the reason he did not go to the police immediately, they did not accept the actions of his friends so much.
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“I don’t understand Mr. Gargan and Mr. Markham,” said Mrs. Kopechne. “They weren’t in shock. Why didn’t they get help? That’s where my questions begin.”
The 2018 film “Chappaquiddick” earned rave reviews for its retelling of the long-discussed story.
Members of the cast and crew of “Chappaquiddick”, a 2018 film about the death of Mary Jo Kopechne. Actor Jason Clarke, fifth from left, portrayed General Ted Kennedy. Actress Kate Mara (center) portrayed Kopechne. (Rich Fury/Getty Images)
In the film, actor Jason Clarke played Kennedy, and actress Kate played Mara Kopechne.
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“Chappaquiddick reminds us that, without Kennedy’s name and influence, the man who drove a car off a bridge, swam ashore and left a young woman for dead, should have gone into hiding and defense, to have gone to prison for a long time. period,” said investigator Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times.
