Mary Jo Kopechne
Mary Jo Kopechne | |
|---|---|
1962 college yearbook portrait | |
| Born | July 26, 1940 |
| Died | July 18 or 19, 1969 (aged 28) Poucha Pond, Chappaquiddick Island, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Suffocation |
| Burial place | Larksville, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Caldwell College |
| Occupation(s) | Teacher, secretary, political campaign worker |
| Known for | Victim of Chappaquiddick incident |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Parent(s) | Joseph and Gwen Kopechne |
Mary Jo Kopechne (/koʊˈpɛkni/; July 26, 1940 – July 18 or 19, 1969) was an American secretary, and one of the campaign workers for U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy's 1968 presidential campaign, a close team known as the "Boiler Room Girls". In 1969, she asphyxiated when a car driven by U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy left a narrow road on Chappaquiddick Island and overturned into Poucha Pond after they had left a party. According to reports, Kennedy left the party at 11:15 p.m. Kopechne's body and the car were not reported until the next morning, approximately nine to ten hours later.