BANGOR, Maine (Court TV) — A jury deliberated for just about one hour before convicting a man on charges that he killed his girlfriend.
Richard Thorpe was found guilty of strangling his ex-girlfriend, Virginia Cookson, to death at her home in Sept. 2024, according to court records. His sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 1.
Richard Thorpe appears in court (WABI)
Prosecutors had shown the jury a video of the defendant that he had sent to his mother, local CBS affiliate WABI reported. The video showed Thorpe angry about the breakup with his girlfriend.
Cookson and Thorpe had been dating for several months at the time of her death; the couple met after Thorpe was released from prison after serving time for domestic violence. He had been sentenced to five years but was released early as part of a supervised community confinement program.
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First responders who found the victim reported that she was “positioned awkwardly” and covered with a blanket. Around her neck, they found an HDMI cord that had to be cut off by the medical examiner’s office. While prosecutors urged the jury to convict based on the defendant’s DNA on the cord, Thorpe’s defense pushed the panel to consider other alternatives. “How much of [Thorpe’s] DNA was on the HDMI cord?” Defense attorney Jim Howaniec asked, according to WABI. “Was it a single cell?…Was it on the cord because he held the cord when he was plugging it into a TV? The state’s own expert testified that DNA can be transferred through direct or indirect contact.”
A former cellmate of Thorpe’s was also called to testify during the trial. He said that the defendant told him that he killed the victim in self-defense, according to WCSH. The cellmate said that Thorpe described Cookson hitting him with a cord before he choked her.
As the verdict was read in court, cheers erupted from the victim’s family, The Bangor Daily News reported. “I’m just so happy for the family,” said Assistant Attorney General Kate Bozeman. “Virginia had a really great support system of family and friends. We were grateful to have them here and just so happy for them that this verdict came quickly and it was the verdict that we were all hoping for.”
In court, Howaniec requested a full psychiatric evaluation of his client ahead of sentencing, saying that Thorpe has a history of mental health issues, according to the Bangor Daily News.
