Man accused of killing Bangor woman appears in court for first time, cause of death revealed | Local News

BANGOR – On Wednesday, Sept. 30, 42-year-old Richard Thorpe made his first court appearance at the Penobscot Judicial Center for his alleged connection to the death of 39-year-old Virginia Cookson, a Bangor woman who was last found dead in her home Week.

According to an affidavit obtained by ABC7/Fox22 News, on the morning of Sept. 25, two of Cookson's co-workers from the Quality Inn in Bangor arrived at the residence at 200 Larkin Street after she failed to show up for work.

When they entered the house, they found Cookson in a downstairs bedroom, “awkwardly positioned” and covered with a maroon blanket. According to the affidavit, one of the co-workers touched Cookson's exposed foot and felt it was cold.

The affidavit states that when authorities arrived, they found an HDMI cable wrapped around Cookson's neck.

In the affidavit, sources close to Cookson provided details of their account of the relationship between her and Thorpe, her ex-boyfriend.

They say a family member spoke to authorities after being called to the Larkin Street home on Sept. 20. Thorpe told police: “In the past he had been abusive and had threatened to kill Virginia” and “recently choked Virginia.”

According to the affidavit, on the morning her body was discovered, a car registered to Thorpe was filmed by a Vine Street School video camera leaving 200 Larkin Street just before 4:30 a.m. Phone records also show Thorpe was in the entire area of ​​Cookson's home several times Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning. Thorpe's last appearance at this location occurred just before 4:30 a.m

On Thursday the 26th, the chief medical examiner's office ruled her death a homicide. The affidavit states the cause of death was strangulation.

On Friday, Thorpe was arrested by local police in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, after pursuing a vehicle.

On Monday, Thorpe was charged with murder and is being held without bail in the Penobscot County Jail.