Man Arrested in Massachusetts After Car Chase in Stolen Vehicle Following Murder in Bangor
A man accused of murdering a Bangor woman was arrested in Massachusetts on Friday after a car chase in a stolen vehicle led to shelter-in-place orders at several schools. Richard Keith Thorpe, 42, of Bangor was charged with murdering Virginia Cookson, 39, who was found dead in a home on Larkin Street in Bangor earlier in the week. The Maine medical examiner’s office ruled her death a homicide on Thursday.
Pittsfield, Massachusetts police responded to a single vehicle crash just before 4:00 a.m. where the vehicle was unoccupied but led officers to believe that the driver may have been Thorpe. Later in the morning, police responded to a report of a stolen vehicle, found the vehicle, and initiated the car chase that ended with no injuries reported.
Thorpe was charged with multiple motor vehicle offenses in addition to the Maine murder warrant. The Pittsfield Police Department confirmed that neither Thorpe nor Cookson have any known connections to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Local schools were asked to shelter in place during the incident, with Taconic High School briefly going into lockdown. The department emphasized that it was necessary to apprehend Thorpe despite the disruptions caused, and he is expected to be arraigned at Pittsfield District Court in Massachusetts.
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