Man accused of killing ex-girlfriend in Bangor has been released from prison early

BANGOR (BDN) — The man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend in Bangor last month was released from Maine Department of Corrections custody about two months before her death.

Richard Keith Thorpe, 42, is charged with intentional or knowing or reckless murder in the Sept. 25 death of Virginia Cookson, 39, of Bangor.

Employees found Cookson's body in a home on Larkin Street after she failed to show up for her shift at the Quality Inn for the first time ever. Her colleagues told police they believed Thorpe was abusive, according to an affidavit included in court records.

According to WVII, when authorities arrived at the scene, they found an HDMI cable wrapped around Cookson's neck.

The coroner's office in Maine ruled that Cookson was strangled in a homicide.

When Thorpe was first charged in Cookson's death, it was unclear when and why he was released from prison, as he was sentenced in January 2021 to nearly five years in prison for domestic violence and aggravated assault. He began his Maine Department of Corrections sentence on January 27, 2021 at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham.

He was released from prison on Feb. 13 and placed in the Supervised Community Confinement Program, said corrections spokesman Samuel Prawer. The program allows a person to serve part of their sentence outside of prison, but within strict parameters. The person is still considered to be in the custody of the correctional facility.

Thorpe was in the program until July 2, when he was fully released from Maine Department of Corrections custody, Prawer said.

Any time someone is released from prison before the scheduled end of their sentence, it is because they have earned sentence reductions, known as “good sentence,” for various reasons outlined in state law.

Thorpe has a lengthy criminal history dating back to May 1999, including felony charges that prohibit him from owning weapons, according to his 44-page criminal record, which was requested by the Bangor Daily News.

Cookson and Thorpe began dating and living together in April, but according to court documents, Thorpe had recently moved out because they had separated.

Thorpe was denied bail and remains in the Penobscot County Jail. He is scheduled for a status conference on Nov. 25 at 8:30 a.m