Mary Jo Kopechne (Chappaquiddick) Part 01

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FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION/PRIVACY ACTS SECTION
COVER SHEET
SUBJECT:
CHAPPAQUIDDICK  MARY JO KOPECHNE!_

FBI BOSTON" I-B1 WASH DC   " J  "ff  MT " M W MT -3 1 I  1,1,-_l%¢,%_
245PM URGENT 7/19/69 AMG
-Q  _-.--
TO DIRECTOR
FROM BOSTON
TURNED QAR IN wmzn TENTATIVELY IDENTIFIED AS ABOVE, wno vms
FORMER SECRETARY to FORMER ssmnon ROBERT F xznmzmr £5 " " §b!<,,b&#39;7bK
CONFIDENTIALLY ADVISED THAT DRIVER or AUTOMOBILE WAS sarmon4&#39;,, ~
31- I -"ad &#39; -
Ir. F&#39;" --
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Miss Uandy_.-_./1
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-   PHN! INFO CONCERNING.  4
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on nus one   _:y ~§ QIQIEE ff: fj .1, f Z sneaarowu, b&#39;7cJ 5&#39;71! __
mnnws vmzynno, mss, m>v1s1~:1> BODY or FEMALE FOUND 1n 0VER- 5*
EDWARD M JQENNEDY WHO WAS UNINJURED STATED FACT SENATOR KENNEDY
WA DRIVER IS NOT BEING REVEALED TO ANYONE
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U I JUL 25 1969WASH DC &#39;
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0% .Director: J. Edgar Hoover Q  :2 . &#39; _Fedcral Bureau of Investigation, 6.-1-&#39;5Washington, D.C. _v  h"9292-?""92_:_,§9, - &#39; &#39; &#39;  s  Ia.t .sp__, nov.  rsse hp
Dear:  I J 7"  "~: ~ ~7""&#39; &#39; "" " &#39; B--&#39;___&#39;.~"-/J1 W/If L/__/11  ¬"____4 /!;/ 92&#39;I talked ag orning to the yo , local mortician. He ve rif

,- .. - <_Imy first letter to you: that in his cense
_erab1e experience with the  &#39;|92
the Florida Canals; he could nor recall a single victim92&#39;l drownings in
. U -92did not show some vestage of LIVOR ...Abre.sions...or some other "id »{n
..92 .
~fv&#39;I_"92r: m:~.r1-s.  I know oi course that you folks noticed this in all the
. ., 92 ;preliminary hearing.! Unless the92exhumation is ordered: Miss Kopeohnds; ..  
" 9292name will be added to mother long list of American women who have
by default in your "Jurisdictional Alibi". I have trie e too  tug
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par tici2to un =.eI-S+.,-1nd the evanishment of good American traditions: but
bid determination oi obliterating records oi/J&#39;92m>:rican women: is
ir]_&#39;=j_tp_ting since you tell us repeatedly that sympathy in our confuse?
. 13 &#39;tion goes to the perpetrator and not the victim of our escalating So-
§ 5K7! /// . 4 _, , Q, - f _¢#_ cial Revolutionm I. _ , *3! 
RECORDED .
The immaculateness of Mary 1°i7C°P.é°h1iés at
igeq
dlargéging  Only a
. -- 13&#39; L:nose and mouth congestion? Has [no/t eluded you_}_"&#39;g.,. Hoovge/1:?!/&#39;1_:i:e tor lci
sa ~ ~ys that it is a thousand/toione shot that the girl rrc&#39;f:&#39;>=r went into
- i£3 NOV 1-of
the windshield and remained quiet in the tonneau oi the car. 1;?-
I have never recognized in twelve , 10118 Years: "°3"¢
I 92 _ - ---  .single trick  Except a ch1__]_d_ishJurisdic;t&#39;i2nal92nttexcpt...to not ¢S.L92/6
"  »~ ~ 11: e F on-ma. V4 .~ .¢,..&#39;_,_-,_.;sh;Alp»~5,*<¢L;=%§**.Y?&#39;I"»¬>§§    ran/alidated deathbc_&rtificate fo  t 1%} er P_ _    ;_>__&#39;l-£3 VA    _  & ne   92.th e   r» I? It-_ H ._,§..r, .;~,,x.,_ »__ ,.    8
d rs -about our {Ere 34&#39;/CZ 0* a U S 3en&#39;92t0r&#39;s Midni-Bht eni-Ema &#39; &#39;°ne won 6 y / L . 4 92 1.
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Note to Mr. Hoover:
I have to explain again in this national confrontation that your
92».;"i>f"~well-ggin "JURISDICTUONAL ALIBI"9psychoanalytically9is just another
unconcious cendonation of vie1ence...which you have repeatedly charged
to the misdirected sympathies of the American public. .. to the "Per-
pntrntor"
" Is it possible, Mr. Hoover that you are getting old like the rest of
§us...when you let beautiful women drown gnwith so much impugnity?I
 I don*t even read the Pest-Toastie boxes snymore...and I use to al-
- ways have a tin-badge and an FBI gun.!
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TRUE COPY
TOWN C LERK
STURBRIDGE , AMASSACHU SE &#39;ITS
July 23, 1970
~&#39; F.B.I.
Washington
D. C
&#39; _.   &#39;_1,&#39;.,;_, _/,.&#39; ¢§&#39; JGentlemen, 7" / &#39; / /I
The enclosed was received by mail on July 21, 1970.
- Dilys A. Reynolds
~ Town Clerk.
&#39; I
TRUE COPY
REC-"10 //1/C e 4 &#39;/&#39;4 /55
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TOWN CLERK   ., STURBRIDGE. MASSACHUSETTS 4% J3, /770. ,5___,  .
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Advise Ted Kennedy
To: RESIGN !
St. Vincent&#39;s
 Cemetery  - Mary Jo
92/ 7- "18-69
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am-10 9&#39;/I awn -_ /55Mr. lI!l1ys§&#39;¢*_4eyn0lds l _, " &#39; -
&#39;Ionm_C1erk *
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Dear Mr. Reynolds:
Your letter of July 23rd an
been received, and your
appreciated.
_ Sincerely yours,
u 1nmEmm@&#39;CiQ1
July 30, 1970
d enclosure have
interest in contacting the FBI is
t identifiable in Bufiles. The Crime Records.  NOTE: Correspondent is noD &#39;sion recalls an anonymous communication receiv several months&#39; &#39; &#39; [K0p¬Chne had sent
similar in suggestmg that Senagig .-"
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ago of a similar n"ature which indicated that Mary
ter where she is buried. The message wasthe card from the creme y&#39; tor Kennedy resign. if/~» 3;
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Transmit the following in
Vin
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522-an _ &#39;
.74 .
/ I FBI
Date 5/15 /73v . . 
 Type in plainlext or code!
AIRTEL" &#39;

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BS 66e4051
Transcript of testimony at an inquest _
captioned "KENNEDY TESTIMONY," pages
numbered 6 through 9
A 58-page manuscript captioned "ALL
HONORABLE MEN  and WOMN! -= Or, Perjury
at Edgartown," by ALBERT S. PATTERSON
x
On 5/ 14/ 73    ,5! P
e oer S - &#39; . reel-
dence ,_ ssa_c__g§e_tts, was inter- D? Dviewe A t e I&#39;OV1eI&#39;1C¬, - oe Iland Resident Agency. QB
is known to the Boston Office inasmuch as he was previous ~&#39; er-
viewed in the case entitled, "JAMES WALTER MC CORD, aka; ET AL;BURGLARY OF THE DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEE HEADQUARTERS,
WASHINGTON, D. c., JUNE 17, 1972; 10c  Bufile 139-409; BS 139-164!.had been interviewed re the MC CORD case  had bqbeen contacted by E. HOWARD HUNT for the purpose of ainfng 1
information regarding activities of members of the KENNEDY family.was previously engaged in the motel business, Cape Cod, b&#39;7Dfl and was acquainted with some members of the KENNEDY family.
Mr. furnished instant enclosures which he had B73found among his papers ch he had currently been reviewing. He  .. _,speculated possibly  TERSONfmy, in fact, be E HOWARD.  , according to inforh-Ia ion resulting from Watergate, had T_ a egedly falsified documents i an effort to defame JOHN F. KENNEDY, _ and ROBERT F. KENNEDY. has no reason, other than pure
-Iv. .speculation, to identify ATTERSON as HUNT. H
92;
The maerial whi
h  furnished the FB s 5&#39;71!received b    1 ~  min b" 9
* end  J eeeme friends

ring t E ufrTni¬r of 1969 when ot wre wor ing for the4; in Whington, D. C. subsequent y rans °fe re 0 sf Office where he is now an Adm1.!&#39;1iSCI&#39;3.tiV¬b&#39;!]!
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BS 66-4051
Assistant.  and ave remained close friends b&#39;7T7:blCand  note transmitting the enclosures to b&#39;ID
incl d d th &#39; &#39;u e e statement it was being sent "for your amusement
and amazement."
stated while he did not know whether the B! D
enclosed materia would be of interest to the Bureau it wasbeing furnished to the FBI for any action deemed appropriate.
Foregoing is furnished for information. No further
action at Boston.
-31. ..
30

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Hr. Albert S. Patterson
$07 West 111th Street
New York, NJ. 10025
Dear I-ir. Patterson: Y Q
hmclosed please find a copy of the "INQUEST" and if you are->
satisfied with it kindly send me the sumo! $1 or if not, return
the copy to me.-  We %77?7l@&#39;r£wa@a{M:
°CtvOb81&#39; S!
 Re: Kenned In uest
Very truly yours,
, 0 _
mu A Clerk 1
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New York, N. Y. 10025
5 Se&#39;pt&tbcr 22, 111;
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Honorable J-:=.mes A. Boyle
Bdgartovm, 3.3:-1ssachusctts -
Subject:  ]13&#39;J.II.73ST
Dear Judge Boyle: .
" I have hem trying unsuccessfully to locacbe a copy or &#39; -
transcript of the inquest that was held last winter regarding Sen-
ator Kennedy&#39;s explanation of the accident and related events that
resulted in the droming of lclary Jo Kopechne, aver which Iunder-
stand you presided. &#39;

! Can you assist me in obtaining or locatirj sud: a copy?
! Cm; you ms. we if Senator Ken:&#39;1ed_y snore under om. as
to the accuracy oi the explanation he made public via radio/TV a
year ago last summer? .
Thanking you in advmce, - ~
~ ~ &#39; Very truly yours,
" .o.l1.bert S. Patterson
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507 Vest lllth Street
&#39; - New York, 8.1. 10025 . a_u9u5t 200  _ .
Honorable John C. Stennis .
Senate Office Building _ -
Hashington, D.C. &#39;92
Dear Senator Stennis:
I am in the process of accumulating what I believe to be in- *
contestable evidence, and a lot of it, that a very well known United
States senator committed perjury on several counts rather recently,
expressed in terms of years. ~
Moreover, the nature of these perjurious statements and the
occasion on which they were made strongly suggest that this senatormay have not only instigated but participated in a major crime. If
this should be the case, I believe the United States Senate and the
American public should knnw about it. .92
I also believe this matter should first be brought to the at-
tention of the Select Co;4ittee on Standards and Conduct, of which I
understand you are the chairman, for scrutiny and further action. if
warranted. At the present time, I would estimate completing this work
in several more weeks or possibly a couple of months. Rather than
sending it to you through the mails, however,~I would much prefer
handing it to you in the course of a personal interview, perhaps to-
gether with one or more others of your committee to be.selected byyou, in Washington. Naturally, I would like to know, first, if this
would be agreeable with you, and, second, if such a trip on my part
would not be considered atnthe "convenience of the government". In
short, are funds available to your committee to defray the limited ex-
penses that would be involved-for such a trip?
- I trust that you understand my position and agree that this is
a matter requiring a careful approach.
Slncerely yours,
Albert S. Patterson f»5
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&#39; August 2U, 1971&#39;
- 92
Mr. Albert S. Patterson
507 West lllth Street
New York, New York 10025
Dear Mr. Patterson: _ " _
Senator Stennis, as the Chairman of the Select Committee
on Standards and Conduct of the U. S. Senate, has asked
me to reply to your letter of August 20, 1971.
The Committee would be interested in seeing any evidence
which you have relating to alleged misconduct by a Senator.
In order for me to determine_whether the matter lies within
the jurisdiction of this Committee, and to make a _
preliminary evaluation of the evidence, I would like to
have a better idea of what you have before we authorize
any expenses for your travel to Washington, D. C. I
would suggest that you send me a sworn statement cf the
allegations together with enough of the underlying
evidence on which I can base such a determination.
Naturally, this communication with you will be held on a
privileged and confidential basis.
With appreciation for your interest in the affairs of the -
_Senate.
Sincerely yours, -
_ Benga l R. Fern&#39; Chief ounsel &#39;-
BRF/dbk »" &#39; &#39;
&#39;92§
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 New York, N.Y. ll &#39;
September 3, 1971
Benjami R. Fern, Esq.* &#39;
Chief ounsel ,
Select ittce on Standards and Conduct* _
United ates Senate V - __
Washington, D.C. 20105 c  _92
Dear Hr. Fern: . "
letter of the 20th to
expressed, I can tell
of lussselnsetts.
I heard the Senator&#39;s radio/TV explanation of his "ncident" of mid-
July 1969, in which Mary Jo Kopechne lost her life from drowning, in the course
of which he made one particular statement that, due to certain epecific&#39;know1-edge that I possess, left me with no choice but disbelief. Some time later, Iobtained a published copy of the inquest that was held the following winter and
I Iound the same incredible statement made under oath, alongwith a number of
others that I cannot but regard as perjurious, not only on 
e pat of Senator .
Kennedy but others who were members of the party.- Thank you for your reply of August 24th to my
Senator Stcnnis. Since your initial interest has been
you that the senator referred to is Edward I-1. Kennedy,
_ A sworn statement of my allegations
such as you request, would constitute what I
i n p e r&#39; s o n and discuss with them, andpreference will become apparent in the light of the following, ii it is not
already. ~ &#39;together with derlying evidence,
went to present to the Comittee
I hope the reasn fez such strong
&#39;  I understand your desire for preliminary informatinwell enough, and
to provide you with such I am enclosing herewith a photocopy of the last pageof_ the mentioned published inquest that carries the most significant portion ofpresiding Justice Boyle&#39;s official Opinion. If you are not already familiar"with time fact, Senator Kennedy stated under oath during the inquest that heghad
left the cottage that evening at 11:15 with the intention ofrctnrning directlyto his hotel in Edgartom, a
ter-dropping !iiss_Kopeehne -offst hrs, and thathe was unaware that he had made a "wrong turn" until the mascot just before his
car went off the bridge. I now draw your attention to the 
ct that JusticeBoyle expressed grave doubt as to the veracity of those statements.  What isequally unbelievable to me is that Justice Boyle concerned himself with whether
there was "anything criminal in  Senator Kennedy&#39;s! g>ar*a?tii@_,_of the mo_tor_ve-_&#39;h_5§_l_g_  emphasis added!, rather than the Senator&#39;s motive for deliberately turn-iw toward the bridge instead of the ferry, as he  the Jus&e! obviously sus-pects. Incidentally, after having reed only =1 portion of 
e inquest, I wrote
to Justice Boyle and asked to when the information should be given if there gas
reason to believe that perjury had been committed in this ingnc
. I received
no reply.! ~  .
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ested in
ous phoIf your interest is now further aroused, and if you should be inter- &#39; -1
reading the entire inquest, it is obtainable  $1.!!! per copy! from _ ,
yal Publ-i_shia:~g» 99¢, 1569» B-roadway-, New York, s:i.Y, 10036. it has numer-
grnphs that are helpful, as well as the complete testimony 6f all wit-
Should you decide to avail yourself of such a version, I respectfully
suggest hat you do so in the most "unofficial". manner possible, such as through
a private citizen or as one yourself. .92 &#39; ;1128828 O
- The question has probably arisen in your mind as to why I should have ~
perceived the alleged per jurious statements and why it would seen that I, alone,
should have noticed a false statement in the Senator&#39;s "explanation." I cannot
answer the question. Moreover, it has seemed most unusual to In as well. It is
possible that a few others did notice it but considered it core discreet, if not
szifer for person, to remain silent, I cannot do so. And I will dd in this
respect that reactions to the inquest from professional observers could be sucmed
up in the way one of them expressed it: "More questions were raised than were &#39;
answered." It is possible, too, that my having perceived the false statement in
the radio/TV account sensitized me to an appreciably greater degree " than all
the others ! who read the inquest or were involved and therefore made me 1:01".
perceptive. To conclude this question from my standpoint, I refer you once again
to the parenthetical portion of the last paragraph on the preceding page.
&#39;  If you still want a sworn statement from me, kindly prepare the state-
ment based on the information given herein  in duplicate, please!, send it to me
and I will either sign it before a notary public or use it as a guide to make
another in which such alterations as I may believe ere in order uni p10p8t,8lld
send it to you after notarizaLi.on.&#39; . &#39;  &#39; .
Please be mindful that what I wish to present to the Committee is ":__1__c-:g_
light that I am convinced will -expose perjury and offer sound explanation for
other incredible statements and contradictions, as well as possibly opening the
way, finally, for justice to resume its proper course.
As indicated in my letter to Senator Stennis, however, I an in the pro-
cess of preparing and -assembling in proper and intelligible order the various
statements and allegations referred -to that I regard perjurious and unsupport-
able. There is a limited amount of time I can spare for this work, however,
and it is not anticipated being finished before the end of this math. In fact,
I have not been able to finish reading quite all of the testimony and I wish to
do so in the interest of thoroughness.
A reply at your earliest ccmreaience would be appreciated.
Very truly yours,
-&#39;~-0; _5
_ Albert S. Patterson  
A$1>:s -

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Mr. Albert S. Patterson
507 West lllth Street
New York, New York 10025 &#39;
Dear Mr. Patterson: &#39; --
I have
that I
matter
beforeyour letter of September 3, 1971 butliregret
cannot express any further interest inyour
until I have the bases of your allegdions &#39;
me in order to evaluate them. &#39;
Sinéerely yours, A ~
a  _ 5&2 J/>J92-?» njamigg
. Fer» 
A Chief Co ysel
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CNew York, N.Y. 10025 *592L
July 29. l972 &#39; 1 ;
PRrvA&#39; and CONFIDENTIEL -" 7 &#39; " &#39; p
Honor le John Stennis, Chairman
Select Committee on Standards and Conduct 92 &#39;
Senate Office Building _ 92&#39;
Washington, D.C. - ~
Re: Kennedy-Kopechne Inquest
Dear Senator stcnnis; - _
Included among the several enclosures herewith is a photo-
copy of a letter I wrote you last August 20th, the present purpose
of which is to refresh your memory. Photocopies of sequelae to
that letter are also enclosed so that you may have the ready bene-
fit of full knowledge of subsequent developments. ~
It has taken this long, almost a year, to renew the matter
with your Committee for several reasons. One is that, so numerous
are the perjuries and so monstrous the hoax of the alleged "acci-
dent" and the attempted "rescue", the task begun proved far greater
than then envisioned. Not just the Senator in question, but virtu-
ally every survivor of the cook-out party committed perjury, if do;
all. And as I went deeper and assembled and organized the evidence.
I found myself facing the duty of writing a full-scale book, expos-
ing the whole affair for what it was. This could not be accomplish-
ed in the relatively short time I anticipated in the late summer of1971. &#39;
QAnother timeconsuming tasx concerned what I then considered
a most obvious and flagrant perjury  alluded to in my letter to Mr.
Fern!. My contention was based on what was regarded some years ago
as sound, scientific fact. Nevertheless, I decided that obtaining
unimpeachable confirmation from competent and recognized authority-
would be the best course before making such an accusation openly. --
I wrote many letters, but received very few replies. I also did
further research and discovered that knowledge in the area involved
has been extended since it was taught to me. Not that the earlier
teachings have been refuted, but modified. I am still extremeli &#39;skeptical of the senator&#39;s claim, but a retreat of even less thgn
IX from a previously believed 100% applicability forces me to aban-
don accusation of perjury on this particular ground. There is no
point in pursuing this specific item furtherat least, at this
moment--and it is not mentioned in my book. Others abound.r . _ Q

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Senator Stennis  Page 2 i PRIv ZyQ_anl CONF_IDEl92&#39;rI_AL
Also from the standpoint of time, I felt obligsi to read two
books on the subject that came to my attention late lastfall and
winter. They are mentioned. in  book. Ad~d~iti-onaa-llj. thies has
necess ily been a spare-time project. &#39;
o much for accounting for interim time and txanspirations.
As you will see, the enclosed manuscript is the first section of»
my book, All Honorable Men  and"women1_. Although excerpts from
the testimonies of a number of others are included, it deals prin-
cipally with the Senator&#39;s testimony. It constituts about twenty-
five percent of the total, which is about three-quarters or a little
more finished as of this writing. I believe this is the portion
your Committee would be most concerned with, and/or concerned with
first. Certainly, it more than satisfies Mr. Ferns request for i_
"underlying evidence of my allegations of perjury. Where seven
outright perjuries are cited and detailed in the manuscript, three
additional ones were perceived as my work progressedin sections
dealing primarily with the testimonies of others closely associated
with him and these additional perjuries are cited tlzrein.
I reinforce the recommendation made early in the book that
Kennedy&#39;s testimony be read_ straight through in order to gain
the best overall view and comprehension of the e&#39;.&#39;"_nt as a whole, _
then go tack and look up the perjuries and quasiper-juries as they
are referenced. Detailing of the perjuries begins on page 20, the
quasi-perj-uries  anomalies! on page 25. "Skim" reading would be a
serious mistake. &#39;MI.
_ You and/or your colleagues may find yourselves wondering
about the authenticity of my source. I received my copy of Q15
Ingaest from the Clerk of Courts in Edgartown, havizg been re-
ferred to her  Mrs. Campos! by Judge Boyle in his handwritten re-
ply to my inquiry to him about obtaining testimonial transcript.
Photocopies of that correspondence are&#39;also enclosed.
At the time I had the title page photocopied. I had antici-
pated copyrighting each section as it was finished. Then I learned
that a restricted and limited circulation of a manuscript prior to
publication does not jeopardize copyrightability, that copyrighting
a work of this sort implies t&#39;nat&#39;it has been made public. I did
not proceed with the copyright application and none of the manu-&#39;-&#39;
script has  yet! been made public. .
ow there are several other things you should know, Mr. ~
Stennis, the importance -of which can hardly be overezphasized. At_ ._., . 8
. Q

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5&#39;».Senator Stennis Page 3 PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL
this stage, I can only amplify the contents of the second para-
graph  my initial letter to you  Aug. 26, l9?l!. The informa-
tion c .tained in All Honorable Men  and Women!. especially the
first ction, is going to be made public. whether it will be be-
fore 0 after a Senate investigation/action will depend almost ex-
clusively on the decision made by your Committee. In this connection,
,it is most important that you know that I have made arrangements for
its publication as automatically as possible coinciding with my un-
timely death or sudden and/or undue incapacitation. Especially -
under such regrettable circumstances, and to pre-answer the question
that is certain to arise in the collective mind of a fair portion
of the public--whether you were made aware of it?--my experience
with you will be included in the publication. Not only will the _
publication be made domestically, but in several foreign countries
and in more than one foreign language  another time consumer!. In
any event, the period of secrecy is approaching an end.
As you will note below, copies of this letter, with photo-
copies of the previous correspondence, are being sent concomitant-
ly to your fellow Committeemen. Additionally, a copy of the manu-
script is being sent to your Vice Chairman, Senator Bennett. I
regret not being able to provide each, individually, with a copy.
However, if strictly private means for photocopying are available
to you you have my permission to make extra copies for those di-rectly concerned with this affair. _f
Although I provide the answers to a number of hitherto un-
answered questions in my book,.I daresay they stimulate still
others to which answers are yet lacking. I would anticipate be-
ing able to answer some of those, but there are questions still in-
completely answered in my mind, too. However, I believe the an-
swers are obtainable and my conviction is strong that they should
be found. _ ,
A few of the questions in your mindls! probably concern me.
For instance, you may wonder at ng motive. That can be answered
readily in one word: duty. And please accept such assurance as
I can give that I do not seek to draw attention to myself. I can
also tell you, and you may be interested in knowing it, that in] _the past I have been given a governmental clearance for Secret.i &#39;
The agency involved was the Navy; the time, circa 1958-1962. I1
would assume this is verifiable through the records of either or
both the Navy and the FBI. &#39; - ~
2/O

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c iiSenator Stennis  Page 4 iPRIVI92§_.and gCOI_~IgFIDI-.gN&#39;IIAgI.
Concluding for the moment, I now anticipate your agreeing
that a ersonal meeting and discussion of this matter between my-
self a" &#39;your Committee would be most desirable and advisable. I
can ar nge to take the time to visit Washington largely at your
conven&#39; nce, as originally proposed, but would be amenable to any_
other suggestion you might like to offer. In any case, several p
days notice would be preferred. &#39; Z
"Sincerely,
/ . ¢ZZ$&#39;mM~ i
- _ Albert S. Patterson
ASP: 5
Encl.
Wallace F. Bennett"///
John S. Cooper
Len B. Jordan
A  Hon. William B. Spong, Jr.
L Hon. Herman E. Talmadge .I &#39; Benjamin R. Fern, Esq.cc: Hon.
Hon.
Hon.
P.S. Early acknowledgment of receipt of this communication by all
recipients would be appreciated. l  3
|92 .. i Q p
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orCod and having visited these &#39; ,.l am aware some
roads are paved. _
TIIE COURT: I am sorry, that is not quite responsive. The
question is whether or not you realieed the road front the
ferry to the cottage was paved.
MR. DINIS: That is correct.
TIIE WITNESS: Yes.
THE COURT: That is, did you become aware of it during
your two ips?
THE WITIEESS: Weil, I would just say it was not of partic-
ular notice to me whether irwas paved or unpaved.
THE CO RT: Were you-driving the ear in either one of
these tim &#39;. -&#39; -
THE WI .&#39;ESS: I was not.
 By Mr. Dinis! 9292&#39;eli, while you were driving down Dyke
Road and after you noticed i: w:; a dirt road and you
were driving at twenty miles an hour, what happened,
I-Ir. Kennedy?
Well,I became -- -
THE COURT: I&#39;m going to ask one question. At any time
after you got on the unpaved road. the so-called Dylte
Road, did you have a realization that you were on the&#39;7  &#39;Well, 52:. !!Enis.l would say thaL{vi:tg lived on Cape
wrong road.
THE WITNESS: .92&#39;o. r
THE COURT: Do you remember the question?
THE WITNESS: After I realized it was an unpaved road,
what did I become aware of!
 By hit. Dinis! Well, after you realized it was an unpaved
mad and that you were driving at twenty miles an hour,
what happened titer-P
I went oft" Dike Bridge or I went off a bridge.
You went off a bridge into the water?
That is correct.
Did you apply the brakes of that automobile prior to
going off into the water?
Perhaps a fraction of a second before.
What prompted you to do that? <
WclI,I vtasabout to go off a bridge and I applied the brakes.
Were there any lights in that area?
! le __
lights on my vehicle.
Did you realize at that moment that you were not heading
ior the ferry? I
At the moment I went off the bridge,I certainly did.
Do you recall whether or not the -strike that question -
1vell,92vhat happened after that. Senator?
I-ell, I rememberedthe vehicle itselfjust beginning to go
off the Dike Bridgti and the ncxt thing I recall is the
mn92&#39;ement&#39;5T&#39;3T:iry"Io next to me, the struggling. perhaps
hitting or kicking me and I, at this tirne,ope_r_ied my eyes
and realized I was upside-down, that water was crashing in
&#39;_5&#39;rTE?,&#39;Ihat&#39;Tt was iteh&#39;_lgti_c_l¬!I knew that and I was ableto get half a g92.tlp.PI"would say, of air before I became
completely immersed in the water. I realized that Mary Jo
andl had to get out of the car.
I can remember reaching down to try and get the door-
knob of the ear and lifting the door handle and pressingII-»
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.:a.t I V .~92 0Were you aria/here was a::y water :&#39;.::.:2t; :2: oz
the passenger st, V .There was eorpplere blackness. Water seemed to rush infrom every potnt,trom the windshield. from underneath
me, above me. ll almost seemed like you couldn&#39;t holdthe water bhek  ten with your hands. What ! was eorzscicus
of was the rushing of the water. the blackness, the fad
that it was impossible to even hold it back.
And you say at that time you had a thought to theeffect
-that you -rnay not be found until &#39;rnorT92&#39;ii-tg?i
I was sure that I was going to drown. -*
Did you make any observations of the condition of hits
Kopechne at that time? _ - ,- ~
At what time? &#39;.At tihat particular moment when you were thrashing around&#39; 7int e car
Well, at the moment ! &#39;.v.-:s threshing arczznd I r::: t.&#39;;:i::;
to find a way lhai we both couiti get out oi the ear, and at
some time aftcrl tried the door and the windowl became
convinced I was never going to get out.
Was the window closed at that time?  A . .
The window was open. ,
On the driver s side! &#39; _
That: correct.
And did you go through the window to pt out of the car?
I have no idea in the world how l got out of that car.
Do you have any recbllection as to how the automobile
left the bridge and went over into the water? &#39;
How it left the bridge?
Yes. What particular path did it take?

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That right.
Did you have more than one?
Yes,I did. _
How many did you have!
I had two. _
TIIE COURT. What time was this?
THE WITNESS. The first was about 8 o&#39;clock.THE COURL. I would like to go back before that.I think:hat_ you sa you visited sotnelfriends at the Shiretowrinn-. 3&#39; iI
Tl-IE WITNISS. That is rightsTHE COURg. Did you do some drinking: then?
THE WIT.92&#39; SS. I had about a third of beer at that time.
THE COURT. And you had nothing further until this.
THE 9292&#39;lT.92&#39;ESS. .92&#39;o.l had nothing further.
And when did you have this second rum and coke?
The second some time later on in the evening. I think
before dinner, sometime about 9:35. It would be difficult
for me to say.
Now, during the afternoon of the l8th did you have occa-
sion to spend some time with your nephew, Joseph
Kennedy?
lmight have greeted him in a brief greeting. but otherwise.
no. I know he was concerned about where he was going to
stay; that he had some reservations and that somehow
they had gotten cancelled. but I would say other than a
casual passing and a greeting,l would say No.
He was at this time on Chappaquiddicl: Island?
Not to my knowledge. I never saw him at Chappaquiddick.
Did you see him at the Sltiretown Inn?
I might have seen him in inquiring whether he could stay
It the Shizctown Inn.
Did he stay with you in your room?
No, he did not. -
THE COURT. I would like to ask some questions. You
Slid you had a portion of beer late in the afternoon at the
Shiretown Inn&#39;.
THE &#39;9292lTt92lISS. That is correct.
THE COURT. Then you had two turns and coke at this
cc&#39;t~a2e at Chappaquiddick Island some time after you
&#39;lrf&#39;-&#39;eu.a. *&#39;"&#39;-t 8:30?; Cruz 9292&#39;ITNESS. Till! is right.
1
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aO&#39;*TlIE COURT. Who poured those drinks?
THE 9292&#39;I&#39;I&#39;.92&#39;ESS. Mr. Crimmins poured the first one. I
poured the second one.
THE COURT. What amount of rum did you put in?
THE WITNESS. It would be difficult, your Honor, to
estimate. .
THE COURT. Well, by ounces.
THE WITNESS. By ounces? I suppose two ounces.
THE COURT. I mean, some people pour heavy drinks.
S0 e pour light drinks.13$ WITNESS. Yes.
IKE COURT. When did you take the last one?
TIIE 9292&#39;lT=92&#39;ESS. I would think about 9 o&#39;clock. The only
way I could judge that. your Honor, would be that I ate
about I0:0U and it was sonte time before I ate.
THE COURT. You had nothing alcoholic to drink after
eating?
THE 9292&#39;Il&#39;l92&#39;F.SS. No.1 didnt.
TIIE COURT. How much liquor was at this cottage?
TIIE WITNESS. There were several bottles so that I
wouldn&#39;t be able to tell specifically.TI-IE WITNESS.  not. &#39;
TIIE COURT. Did anyone at the party to your knowbige?
TIIE IVITNI-.SS No, absolutely not.
THE COURT. In your opinion would you be sobertthe
time that you operated the motor vehicle to the like ,Bridge?  -&#39;THE WITNESS. Absolutely sober. "&#39;
Senator Kennedy. what did you do immediately folbting
»your~relcaw-fron=rthe"aut&#39;oTn6t5ile?I was swept away by the title tItat5was flowine ataLv
extraordinary rate through that narrow cut ther_e&#39;a§t:s
swept along by the tide and called Mary Io&#39;s naine tmill
was able to make my way to what would be the em side
of that cut, waded up to about my waist and started hck
to the car. at this time was gasping and belching and cg!»
ing, went back just in front of the car.
Now, the headlights of that car were still on and lwas
able to get to what I thought was the front of ll: tar,
although it was difficult - and I was able to identify the
front of the car from the rear of the car by the &_hts
themselves. Otherwise I don&#39;t think I would be able iotcll.
How far were you swept along by the current?
Approxintately 30-40 feet.
Did you pass under the bridge?
The vehicle went over the bridge on the south silk and
rested on the south side, and that was the directioarthe
current was flowing, and I was swept I would think tothe
south or probably east. which would be the eastern are
of that. 92
Some 39 feet?
I would think 30 to 40 feet.
Now, in order to get back to the car was it ncecssaryior
you to swim?
I couldn&#39;t swim at that time because of the cum-:1]
waded into - swam to where I could wade and thrn wded
along the shore up to where I could go to the front dthe
car and start diving in an attempt to rescue .92la!3&#39;.Io.
Was the front of the car facing a westerly direction?
I would thirtl; it was facinc in a northerly dire-uabn.
Well, in regard to the bridge could you describe the
location ot the automobile with relation to the brirége?
Well, your llonor, in the direction of north and south I
Wlii d0 Ii-1 i."_&#39;>t I can.
THE COL-RT; We don&#39;t have any map, do we! .
MR. TELLER. The bridge runs north and south.

rIy
close to nortlt and south.
THIL COURT. That ts, coming towards Edgartown would
be north and towards the ocean would be south?
MR. TlEl.LIZP.. Y-:5. sir.
I-IR. Dl;92|S. May we use the chalk,your Honor?
TIIE COLiIt&#39;I&#39;. Yes. if it is helpful.
Would that be helpful. Mr. Kennedy?
It may b-.-.
I belicv: there is a board behind you.¬tSSI.IIl&#39;lltlg the bridge is north and south-
&#39;:s.
[92-itncss draws a sketch on blackboard.!
I would bet that. hat bridge runs more cast-west thannortI:.soutit. " K1,!
MR. TIZLLER. Not due-ctly north, but sotitheastmIth-
west. -
Will you indicate, Mr. Kennedy, Edgartown? &#39;
I would tatltet have counsel draw and respond.l oi be K!

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ABy the time I came up I was. the bcvtimate would be
somewhere over here. which would be probably 8-10
feet. it is difficult for me to estimate specifically. and I
think by the time I was able at least to regain my
strength,I would say it is about 30 feet after which time
I swam in this direction until I was able to wade, and
wade back up here to this point here, and went oter to
the front of-the ear, where the front of the ear was, and
Crewled 0 to here, dove here. and the tide. s92.==&#39;-ruld»
sweep oult E way There. and then I dose repeatedly from
this side u il. I would say, the end. and then I will be
swept awa_ the first cot.-pl: or times. again back O92&#39;¢f
to this side, could eorne hack again and again to this point
here, or perhaps the third or fourth time to gain en-
trance to some illci here until at, the very end when I
couldn&#39;t hold my breath any long.-r I was breathing so
heavily it was down to just a matter or seconds. I would
bold my breath and I could barely get underneath the
water. I was just able to hold on to the metal undercar-
riage here, and the water itself came right out to wherel
was breathing andi could hold c-n,l it.-ew that I }l:SI could
not get under water any more.
And you were fully aware at that time of what was
transpiring?
Well, I was fully aware that I was trying to get the girl
out of that car and I was fully aware that I was doing
everything that I possibly could to get her out of the car
and I was fully aware at that time that my head was
throbbing and my neck was aching and I was breathless,
and at that time, the last time, hopelessly exhausted.
You were not confused at that time?
Well,I knew that there was a girl in that car and I had to
get her out.I knew that.
And you tooi. steps to get her out?
I tried the best I thought I possibly could to get her out.
But there was no confusion in your mind about the fact
that there was a person in the car and that you were doing
the best you could to get that person out?
I was doing the wry best I could to get her out.
THE COURT. May I ask you some questions here about
the depth of the water? &#39;
THE 92llTi92&#39;ESS. No, it was not possible to stand. The
highest level of the car to the surface were the wheels
and the undercarriage itself when I held onto the under-
carriage and the tide would take me down, it was up to
this point. [Indicating.l
[By the Court] You were not able to stand up at any
point around any portion of that car?
THE WITNESS. Yes.
Mr. Kennedy, how many times if you recall did you make
an effort to submerge and get into the car?
I would say seven or eight times. At the last point, the
seventh or eighth attempts were barely more than tit e-&#39;0:
eight-second submersions below the surface. I just couldnr
hold my breath any longer.l didn&#39;t have the strength even
to come down even close to the window or the door.
And do you know how much time was used in these
efforts?
It would be difficult for me to estimate, but I would
think probably l$20 minutes.
And did you then remove yourself from the water?
I did.
And how did you do that!
Well, in the last dive I lost contact with the vehicle again
and I started to come down this way here and I let
myself float and came over to this shore andl came onto
this shore her-:, and I sort of cmvzled and I staggered up
some place in here and was very exhausted and spent onA
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A~»t  v _ &#39; v .
That  eonect.  &#39; -
And you spent another IS or 20 minutes recovering on
the wes&#39; ante of the river?
That is -zotrect.
Now, following your rest period, Senator, what did youdo after that?  &#39;
$92&#39;cII.I- ~
You may remain seated. &#39;
A-ll~ri|zht&#39;. AitFr"l&#39;ii&#39;:Ts able to regain my breath I went back
to the road and I started dO9292&#39;tl the road and it was
extremely dark and I could make out no forms or shapes
or figures. and the only ray that I could even see the
path of the road was looking dorm the silhouettes of the
trees on the two sides and I could watch the silhouette of
the trees on the two sides and I started going down that
road walking, t-rotting, jogging, stumbling, as fast as I
possibly" could. --,__...-._.-.~..A-~=»=.-._-.-.-e..-?;..¢._.;-»~ ~ »..; ...- ...-t.a M.» ---7. ._..-._..1 ~.t>>.s_ -&#39; - 1-~-J ~L-1~--- ----~x-----1 H &#39;e " e-<. -- - ~.~92~A&#39;-.- ~. 1_&#39;~LL*A1l53£$ j; r:-L-;_~§;¢:=§:-5.125-a§_n;1§-*_:i=1.$§!1¢*&#39;r~=l*e*=-4* - l_.-_. _._...__ .1-4» -~ . ~ - " A *4  " W * &#39; &#39;,__§~.n Q ._._.__.._.-.__c. 1.. ...¢_.._v..-.-__.__,__r...- - _ - _.. _ -

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That is right.
And whet: did you finally stop the w &#39;ite automobile that
you were riding in?
Mr. Gargan drove the vehicle across the bridge to some
location here tindicatingl and turned it so that its head-
lights shown owr the water and over the submerged
vehicle.  Indicating on blackboard!
And what ha pencil after the three of you arrived there?
Mr. Gargari id .92Ir. Markliarn took off all their clothes,
dove into th ».1.=atc~r~, and procce~dcd"to dire rep&#39;e&#39;ai&#39;ediy to
try and save ary Jo.
Now, do yo recall what particular time this is now when
the threc of "LI were at the -- _ 
I think it w at I320, Mr. Dinis. I believe that l looked
at the Va&#39;iants clock and l_~<-In-tr: that it was 12:20.
Now, I-Ir. Lallosa remained .it the cottage?
Yes, he did. 
Was hlr. l.aRosa aware of the accident? _
No, he hadn&#39;t heard - no,I dont believe so. -so one else at the cottage was told of the accident?
o.
How many times did you go back to Dike Bridge that
night? _
Well, that was the only - iQ
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A"run WITNFSS. i  Id to call for assistance 36 to
report the accident tithe police within a few shat mo-
ments after going hack into the car.lYseC, and did oO§?lLIllI.&#39;tg transpire topreveat this?
es.
What was that?With the Court&#39;s indulgence, to prevent this. if theCourtwould permit me I would like to be able to relate Io theCour: thg_imniedia1e,_pcriod, following the ruse tat Sir.
Gargam. Markhazn and I got back in the car.
Tllli COURT. I have no objection.
MR. Di.92&#39;l§. I hau: no objection. _THE I92lT.92&#39;!iSS. Responding to the question of tk Dis-
trict Attorney 
MR. Dli92lS. Yes. - .
Tlll-L WI"! Nl;SS. --at some tirne,l believe it was about -Z5
minutes after Gargan and Starkhaur dose they likewise
became exhausted and no further diting efforts appeared
to be of any avail and they so indicated to me and I agreed.
S0 they came out of time water and came back intothe car
and said to me, !..r. .92IarI<ham and Slr. Gargrin at di
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ALL HONORABLE MEN  and WOMEN!
~ Or, Perjury at Edgartown
.By .
.
4-
Albert S. Patterson
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. .1. _&#39; H D i  Qnrs AND wasnrrosss  "
 It appears to be appropriate at the outset of this inquest ..1
that the reason for its existence, the results that it is intend-
ed to ccomplish, and the rules of procedure and conduct Ivam &#39;adopti g-and ordering...should be pronounced... 
" nquests are, of course, primarily for the purpose of ascer-
taining whether or not any crime has been committed, says the
Massachusetts Law Quarterly, 1921. ~
"The primary object of an inquest is to ascertain facts, to
decide the question of whether or not criminal proceedings shall
be instituted against the person or persons responsible for the
death.&#39;L Massachusetts Law Quarterly, 1925.
An inquest is an investigation. It is not a prosecution of
anybody. It is not a trial of anyone. It is the duty of the
Court to seek out and receive any and all information and testi &#39;
mony which is relevant, pertinent and material to the question as
to whether criminal conduct caused or contributed to the death
and, conversely, to reject that whichiis not. J
"Although the Judge is not bound by the rules of evidence that
apply in criminal cases, it is as much the duty of the Court to
decline to receive such improper testimony to the end that persons
innocent of any criminal involvement be not injured in reputation.
For the reasons stated above and because this is not an ad-
versary proceeding, transcript of testimony will not be furnished
to the District Attorney or counsel." Z &#39; i Z_ _ _ _
Slightly abridged, but with nothing relevant omitted, the &DOV8
were the words of the Honorable James A. Boyle, presiding, at the
opening of the Kennedy-Kopechne inquest, Monday morning, January 5,
1970.
;-During the next four days, twentyseven witnesses testified r
person and several others--physicians, medical technicians, a phys-
icist, engineers, all with a most impressive professional biography
and array of qualifications in their respective fields-testified
by affidavit  which, unfortunately, permitted no questioning of
their statements!. This took more than 750 pages of transcript,
and then came Judge Boyles 4,000-word report, from which the fol-
lowing is excerpted.  The Inquest, p.125.! ,
&#39;...there are inconsistencies and contradictions in the
testimony, which a comparison of individual testimony will-
show. It is not feasible to indicate each one.
Indeed, there were inconsistencies and contradictions. Some
were with respect to certain incidents of comon experience given
by more than one witness, while others involve self-contradictidn
and contradiction with fact. The Judge, please note, implied dis-
belief of certain portions of Senator Kennedy&#39;s testimony by stat-
ing, a little further on and in view of a list of observable facts
gleaned from several of the testimonies  see appendix!--
_ 1 _

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1 _ _ .- I infer...tha£9e:&#39;:nedy and Kcpechne did Qintend to re--_
turn to Edgartown at that time; that Kennedy did r_1_Q_t_ intend
to drive to the ferry slip and his turn onto like Road was
intentional . " &#39; _;
I:- believe it probable that Kennedy knew of 1.-.he,haaar_d._tnat1 _&#39;a-head» of himjon D&#39;i;kje &#39;R&#39;6a"d"Eutthat, for sane reason not
5 arent from the testimony, he failed to exercise due care
a ,he approached the br_idge." .
I agree with the Judge. There were too many imonsistencies
and contradictions to indicate each one, but I think it is quite
feasible to indicate and expose a significant number of them, thef most egregious and particularly those "that can be iown to be ei-ther sel_f-contradictory and/or contradictory to fan: and which 92
are, therefore, perjurious. Such exposure may en
le the reader
_ i~ncluding Judge Boyle! to take any of several possible courses:

! to remove the doubt as to whether Senator Kennedy knew of the
hazard that existed; ! to remove at least some zi the obscurity.
regarding the reason s! why he did not exercise dz: care in ap-
proaching the bridge; ! to decide whether, in fax, the Senator
drove off the bridge deliberately, or ! the reada may go bad-
to sleep. _In essence, then, this book is intended to assist Judge Boyle. 
One of the results of the exposure, however, may he the exposure
, of some inconsistencies and contradictions  implied, at least! on
the part of the Judge  but the Judge is an honorable man--so arethey all, all, honorable men  and women!!. At theend of the book
asks, "What can be done_ about it?" ,,._at least one possible course will be suggested in case the reader
DThe world knows that this inquest concerned an alleged auto-
mobile accident in which, _ just before midnight, July 18, 1969,
_ .Senator Edward M. Kennedy drove off a narrow bridge on Chappaquid-&#39; dick Island just off the southeastern coast of Massachusetts into
_ ~a tidal pond and that -_a passenger, Miss Mary Jo Kugechne, subse-
j gquently lost her life by drowning as a direct result.
-Much of the world knows that the inquest was held in secret.
_ 5 It was so secret, in fact, that, as indicated in the Judge&#39;s open--4 ing remarks, transcripts of testimony were denied tie District At-
torney. Not so much of the -world knows that the inquest was post-
poned four months, and only a little of the world knows, I suspect,
that the inquest has now been made public and is aailable to .all.
Copies may be obtained  $1.00! by writing to the pzblisher: Mag-num-Royal Publications, Inc., l560 Broadway, New Ymrk, N.Y. 10036. -~
This-is the principal source--The Inquest--of the information
about to be given. It is in magazine form, and references to spe-
cific statements in various testimonies will be m
e to page num-
bers therein, as on the preceding page. _1
Two other books, to my knowledge, have previously appeared on
this broad subject. The first was The Bridge at tizapypaqguiyddicky Little, Brown & Co., Boston, in hardcover!, by Jack Olsen, a senior
editor of Time, who did a remarkable job of researching and then
recounting it mostentertainingly. No reference was made to the &#39;
-2-

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inquest and it is  probable that he wrote-GiQprior to the in"-
quest, or in the fall of 1969. 
The second was Teddy Bare  Western Islands, Belmont, Mass.!, g
&#39;by Zad Rust, which was written not only after the inquest, but af;
*ter the emasculated Grand Jury session held another four months
after he inquest. Where Olsen devoted his literary talents to
the p accident Kennedy clan, including Teddy&#39;s Harvard ouster
and t ical Kennedy incidents and anecdotes, the circumstances
leadi g up to the accident and its aftermath, plus his own abso-
lutely unique hypothesis of how the "accident" might have happen
ed  and I wonder if he will continue to believe so, if he still
does, after he reads this book, if he does!, Rust concentrated on
the inquest and the behind-thescenes goingson that may very well
have occurred. It_is a devastating indictment of the Massachu-
setts judiciary, naming individual judges above Judge Boyle, but,
in my opinion, it does not strip Teddy "bare". Both books are
highly recommended to Kennedywatcbers and to any and all having
an interest in this tragedy or in the cause of justice. The for-
mer will probably be found in many libraries, if not bookshops, -
while the latter is available at most American Opinion bookstores
 look in your telephone directory! in paperback at $2.00. Other-
wise, the publisher can provide. Such is the scanty bibliography
herein. Both books will be referred to from time to time.
In the preceding excerpted quotations from The Inquest, as
well as in all the following, all indications of emphasis have
been added. Abridgement has been for the sake of coherence. Te-
dious and unnecessary repetition has been eliminated for ease in
»reading, as well as irrelevancies regarding the selected exposures
and basic facts. For example, there are numerous instances where
answers given were repeated in the form of another question, only
to be reaffirmed. Those questioning accuracy of either content-or
intent may avail themselves of an essentially unexpurgated copy
from the source given. -
Since Senator Kennedy is the surviving principal in this drama,
on whom all other testimonies are merely ancillary, and since he
also testified first, his testimony will be given first here. And,
let it be remembered, Senator Kennedy is an honorable man-so are
they all, all, honorable men  and women!.
Footnotes will be indicated in the customary manner. &#39;Perju-
ries will be indicated by Roman numerals in brackets and will be
discussed fully, or sufficiently, in a section immediately follow-
ing testimony, while other statements of an unusual nature, such
as might fall short of actual perjury, yet lack credibility, or
warrant special comment, will be indicated by Roman letters in
brackets and discussed similarly. A
District Attorney Edmund Dinis put the questions to Mr. Ken:
nedy, indicated by "Q", while the Senator&#39;s answers are indicated
by A. From time to time throughout the inquest, Judge Boyle j
interposed with questions of his own, his questions being slightly
indented and preceded by the words, THE COURT.
_ 3 -
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92
92_ _ ,MON_hTEALTH or MAssAcausE&#39;@ -- -
Dukes, ss. Edgartown District Court
&#39; Edgartawn, Massachusetts 5
_ . - . Monday, January 5, 1319
rmsr nay
. THE TESTIMONY
&#39; OF
&#39; EDWARD&#39;M. KENNEDY
-
TEE COURT: Senator, would you take the witness stand?
SENATOR KENNEDY: Yes. ~ &#39; ~
. sownnn guy. KENNEDY, Sworn
QXAMINATION BY MR. DINIS:
Please give your name to the Court. ~
Edward Moore Kennedy.
And where is your legal residence, Mr. Kennedy?
3 Charles River Square, Boston.
Directing your attention to July 18, 1969, were there plansmade by you to have a gathering on Martha&#39;s Vineyard Island? -&#39; A: There were plans to participate in an annual sailing regat-
ta in 1&#39;-Jdgartown on Friday, July 18th and Saturday, July 19th, and _
with my cousin Joe Gargan, Mr. Markham, Mr. LaRo=a and a nu:& ofother people.y
Q: Could you tell the Court what your activities were during &#39;
that afternoon from the time of your arrival?
A: Well, I arrived shortly after 1 o&#39;clock on July 18th, was
met- by Mr. John B. Crimmins, driven through town, traveled by ferr"
to Chappaquiddick Island to a small cottage there where I changea-
into.a bathing suit, later visited the beach on Izimagiyne the eastside of that island for a brief swim, returned tolithe cottage andchanged into another bathing suit, returned to the ferry slip andwaded out to _my boat, later participated in a race which ended ap-
proximately 6 o&#39;c1ock. ~ .
Q: When did you checkyinto the S-hiretown Inn that day?A: Sometime -after 6:30, before 7 o&#39;clock. _
., Q: What were your activities after that?
A: I returned to my room, washed up briefly and returned to &#39;
Chappaguiddick Island.
Q: Now. were you familiar with the island of Chappaguiddick?
A: Never been on Zchappaguiddicky Island befcre_that day.
THE COURT: You said you took a swim on Chappaguiddick-"Island:
Friday afternoon? C 3
]_./ 1 neat evasion, the 
rst cradc out of the box. The question was vrhe
zr
llr. Kennedy had made such plans, obviously with the cook-out in mini.
The Senator, however, spoke merely cf "plans" involvizg a. mmber oi people
to participate in a sailing regatta. -
. y 5!
- _;i1i:iH

THE
THE
THE
- THE
THE
left on the side?
THE
Q: was
7:30 p.m.?
A: No,COURT: who drove
was i.._..-. _.- . .. _ _ _. >4. _ _.._. __, .;..3>_~.,.~.4.&#39;-- -3- ce:-- -~z_.a-_,.--» ,~,~r~~ ~_->_,-u-~  *l*--»~_ iiii W
H THE WITNESS: CQ5;" I Hid. &#39; i I»  &#39;  &#39;
COURT: What automobile was being used at that time?
WITNESS: A fourdoor Oldsmobile 88.
you to the beach? ;w1&#39;mzss= Mr . Crimmins. _ &#39;
COURT: was the car operated over the Dike Bridge or
WITNESS: No, it was operated over the Dike Bridge.
there anyone at the cottage when you arrived there at
I don&#39;t believe so. _
Q: were there any.other automobiles at that house that after-
noon?
A: One other vehicle, so
my knowledge. -there were two in total to the best of
. Q: Did you plan to stay overnight? ,
No, I did not.
Q What transpired after
A: I took a bath in the tub, which was not available
Shiretown Inn, and soaked myyou arrived at the cottage?
at the -
back; I later was joined by Mr. Mark-
ham, who arrived some time about 8 o&#39;clock, engaged in conversation
with Mr. Markham until about8:30 and the rest&#39;of the group e:~ I
rived at 8:30 or shortly thereafter.
Q: Now, did you have dinner at the cottage? I
A: Well, at 8:30 the rest of the group arrived and were made to
feel relaxed and at home, were served a drink, those who wanted
them, and steaks were cooked
about quarter of 10, I would
Q: Did you have occasion
ing that evening?&#39;
A: That is correct. Two
Q:_ Would you please tellon an outdoor burner by Mr._Gargan at
think. 
to leave the cottage at any time dur-
different occasions. .
us about the first time? 
A: The first I left at approximately 11:15 and I left a second
time, sometime after midnight, by my best juément it would be ap-
proximately l2:l5. I left the immediate vicinity of the cottage
which was probably fifteen or-twenty feet outside the front dooi.
Q: . . Now, when you left on
I was not alone.
And who was with you?
Miss Mary Jo Kopechne
Anyone else?
No. [A]A:
Q:
A:
Q:
A:the first occasion, were you alone?
- Do you know how she arrived? .&#39;Q. .
_ A: To my best knowledge she arrived in a white Valiant that
brought some of the people to that party. "
; Q: Do you know who owned that car?
A: I believe it was a rented car. 0 &#39;
Q: when you left with Miss Kopechne, had you had any prior con~
versation with her?
A: Yes, I had. At 11:15
noticed the time, desired to1
I was talking with Miss Kopechne. 21
leave and return to the Shiretown Inn
and indicated to her that I was leaving and returning to town. She
indicated to me that she was desirous of leaving, if I would be

>_- _--.. ._....
. -A
 I
.0:*.=rr._ _i__.;_.i_i-.l-.,~i_=_-_s:._ _-s-s.-» »-L~:~s=~~e - -.»:~ ~~*:.>*; ~ A E,
ind enough
ing immedia
1car and lef
Q: Does
_A: On pr- &#39; .
to drop : back at her hotel. I  well, I&#39;m leav-
ely; spoke with Mr. Crimmins, requested the keys to the
at that time. -
Mr. Crimmins usually drive your car or drive you? ,
actically every occasion. _ "t
t
Q- was there anything in particular that changed those circu-stancdh at this particular time? .
A:&#39;Ohly
were nclu
appear neces
Q: And W
were driving
ThatA: -
Q: And
A:
Q: Was
. A:
Q: Wasthat Mr. Crimmins, as well as some of the other fellows,
ing their meal, enjoying the fellowship, and it didn&#39;t
sary to require him to bring me back to Edgartown.
hen you left the house at Chappaquiddick at 11:15, you 1
&#39;> &#39; ;
is correct. "a *
where was Miss Kopechne seated?d
In the front seat. [B]- ~ g
there any other person in the car at that time? _
No. &#39;
there any other item, thing, or object in the car at
that time of any size? _
A: Well
Q And, not to my knowledge at that particular time. [C]
on leaving the cottage, where did you go? _A: Well, I traveled down, I believe it is Main street, took V
right on Di
,Q: Didke Road and drove off the bridge at Dike Bridge.
you at any time drive into Cemetery Road?
A: At no time did I drive into Cemetery Road. _
Q: .Didyou pass any other vehicle at that time?
A: I passed no other vehicle at that time and I saw no other
person and I did not stop the car at any time between the time I
left the cottage and went off the bridge.
3!? Q: Do you recall how fast you were driving when you made the
right on Dike Bridge?
A: o.N
AndQ:
A:
clear, extr
Q:
A:
&#39;. THE
THE
THE
THE
THE
. THE
A: Yes,
.Q=
senger&#39;s si
A: No,
Q: HowI would say approximately seven or eight miles an hour.
what were the lighting conditions and weather conditions?
There was a reasonable amount of humidity. The night was
emely dark.
Were the windows opened or closed of the automobile?.
Some of the windows were open and some were closed.
COURT: What about the window on your side?
WITNESS: I would expect it was open.
COURT: You don&#39;t remember that?
WITNESS: I don&#39;t remember that.
COURT: Was it a warm night?
WITNESS: I would think it was cool-at that hour. &#39;
Well, Mr. Kennedy, was the window on the driver&#39;s side open?
it was.  I1 _
And you have no recollection as to the windows on the pas-
de? &#39;
I really don&#39;t.
fast were you driving&#39;on Dike Road? ;

 W _-12....-.._:--.a._»_ee__ _p-;_-»_a__1__-..=_ -,1 - _-..-e- ~ ~- ~» --~- - --A---eel;-=-e--~ _. _- >:_ : ~ -»-__~*~:~-»-;92_&#39;;_._>a.-_.»__-_,_¢-.  ,.__-ea.-_-_.._._._> - ..-_. .. -. -._> _;..._._. .- ,.__-._._le_e_..._-e_ 7- e~4__ "&#39;~ - A a_~__~~ --~  - ~ _-__.aJ: "&#39;»~.--""f.e-»~ .
,_~~, . &#39;.E6: When you left 2 h use at 11:15, what  your destination?
OA: The Ratama Shoresjyythe ferry slip, Shiretown.
Q: Now, had you been over that road from the-ferry slip to the
cottage more than once that day?
_ A: Yes, I had. 4
O: Did you recall at the time that-you noticed you were driv-
ing on a dirt road, that the foad from the ierry slip to the house
-had b "n paved?
A: Well, Mr. Dinis, having lived on Cape Cod-and having visited
these slands, I am aware some roads are_paved. .
THE COURT: The question was whether or not you realized
the road from the ferry&#39;to the cottage was paved. ~
THE wrrnsss: §_e_§_. I
THE COURT: At any time after you got on the unpaved road,
the so-called Dike Road, did you have a realization that you were
on the wrong road? ~ , _
_ THE WITNESS: _!i _>_. [III]
What happened then?
I went off Dike Bridge. _
Did you apply the brakes prior to going off into the water?
Perhaps a&#39;fraction of a second before. .
Well, what happened after that, Senator? &#39;
Well, I remembered.the vehicle itself just beginning to go
off the Dike Bridge [D] and the next thing I recall is the movement
of M ry Jo next to me, the struggling, perhaps hitting or kickingme _3fand I, at this time, opened my eyes and realized I was upside
down, that water was crashing in on me, that it was pitch black [IV].
I knew that and I was able to get half a gulp of air before I became
completely immersed in the water. I realized that_Mary Jo and I had
to get out of the car. 
I can remember reaching down to try and get the doorknob of
the car and lirting the door handle and pressing against the door_
and it not moving. I can remember reaching to where I thought the
window was and feeling along the side to see if the window was open,
and&#39;the-window was closed. And I can remember the last sensation
of being completely out of air and inhaling what must have been -
half a lungful of water and assuming that I was going to drown and
the full realization that no one was going to be looking for us that
night until the next morning [E] and then somehow I can remember .
coming up to the last energy of just pushing, pressing, and coming
to the surface.§/
Q: Senator, how did you realize that you were upside-down?
A Because-that was a feeling that I had as~soon as I became
_§/ The motel where the young ladies stayed, also referred to as The Dunes. -
Q/"Perhaps"? With both of them upside down, than would have been a little
difficult. The normal thing when one is upside down is to right one&#39;s self,
unless it is deliberate, but thre-was no.mention of this. His account of
the actual "accident" and his miraculous "escape" is so filled with distbre
-tions and outright fabrications it may be difficult to follow and look up
each of the references in tum. Heading straight through for continuity,
then reviewing and looking up the references, is advised. _
Q] Do you believe this? Upside down, 
at was he pushing and/5? P"°5$in3
against? Rather, how was he doing it?
&#39; _ "&#39; 5%

----~<~»=~~-~ _._.__ .i._ 5- ._...- __-. .-__.. . ...- .   r. _:-..:..".__"";*:.*x_._  __;:_:;1t__-&#39;~,~::&#39;i;r-"A-11*"1;~:t*;2:rrf:11:::
rrF r""*
.- 1_
aware that--the
I was; I felt I
anything, but I
Q: Were you
were smashed?
_ .A: I wasn&#39;twatmushing in and the blackggs. I knew that-
was upside-down. [F] I really wasn&#39;t sure of
thought I was upside down. 
aware that the windows on the passenger&#39;s side 3
aware of it~at the time. S
Q: .were.you aware-that there was any water rushing in on the A
passen er&#39;s side?
A: There was complete blackness. Water seemed to rush in fro
every ointfrom the windshield, from underneath me, above me.
It alm t d1&#39;k ld &#39; h Os seeme 1 e you cou n t old the water back with your
_ hands.§7 what I was conscious of was the rushing of the water,
the blackness, the fact that it was impossible to even hold it
back.
Q:
pechne
A:
Q: when you
A: Well, at
way that 
find aDid you makeany observations of the condition of Miss Ko-at that time?6 » _ 
At what time?_/
were thrashing around in the car._
the moment I was thrashing around I was trying to-
we both could get out of the car, and at some time
after I tried the door and the window I became convinced I was
never going to get out. -
Q: Was the window closed at that time?
AnThe window was open.
On the driver&#39;s side?
That&#39;s correct. g
And did you go through the window to get out of the car?
I have no idea in the world how I got out of that car.1/
ii
.operation ofDo you have any recollection as to how the automobile léftf
idge and went over into the water?
No.
Did it turn over?
I have no idea. [V]
THE COURT: I would like to inquire something about the
the car. Now, can you describe to me what you
_ saw, what you did, what happened from the point when you flI51
saw the bridge?
_ THE WITNESS: I would estimate that time to be fractions
, of a second from the time that I first saw the bridge and was
on the bridge
THE COURT. Did you have on your high beams?
THE WITNESS: I can&#39;t remember
- THE COURT: It is recommended. * &#39;
THE WITNESS: It is recommended, t sometimes if there isa mist you see better with low beams.E7 ~
_ THE COURT: Did you see that it_was at an angle to the
road?
-4 THE WITNESS: The bridge was at an angle to the road?
___,_, _ ,, , _ V _ r_
gal The reader is requested to contemplate this statement, including the_
qmi£yhg"mwd,aLmmi"- _ &#39;
§/ The question was most. complex and abstruse, of course. &#39;
Z/Ilwwe. fee FQ9? 5-
§/ Just what was the purpose of this verbal game? H
nutes before, he had
said the night was clear  emphasized, page 6!. &#39;

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THE. . _- _. . . ._ -. .1: __.. -1- _.__.-_____..._.___._..._.._..-......__.-_..;........_.-._.__ . r
couzvr = Yes . 
THE WITNESS: Just before going on it I saw that.§y&#39;IG]
THE COURT: Did you make any attempt to turn your wheels 
&#39;! >0to follow that angle.
.THE WITNESS: I believe I did, your Honor. I would assume
th I did try to go on the bridge- {H} It appeared to me at
th time that the road went straight.
THE
dr ing
- THE
THE
else?
- THECOURT: were you looking ahead at the time you were
the car?
WITNESS: Yes, I was. "&#39; _"
COURT: Your attention wasn&#39;t diverted by anything
wn-mess: No, it wasn&#39;t.}.9/ H Q: Going back to the cottage earlier in the day, you stated
you volunteered the information that you had a ru and Coca-Cola?
 A: That is right
Q. How many did you have?
A: Two. The first was about 8 o&#39;clock. The second some time
later on in the evening. I think before dinner, about 9:15.
COURT: what amount of rum did you put in?
WITNESS: I suppose two ounces. »
COURT: You had nothing alcoholic to drink after_eatingTHE
THE
THE
THE
 THE
fluence
THE
THEWITNESS: N0, I didn&#39;t.
COURT: Were you at any time that evening under the in-
of alcohol?
WITNESS: Absolutely not.
COURT: In your opinion, would you be sober at the
&#39; time that you operated the motor vehicle to the Dike Bridge?
* THE WITNESS: Absolutely sober. [J]
 i Q: Senator Kennedy, what did you do immediately following your
&#39; release from the automobile?
A: I was swept away by the tide that was flowing at an extra-
ordinary rate through that narrow cut there [VI] and was swept
along by the tide and called Mary Jos name until I was able&#39;to
make my way to what would be the east side of that cut, waded up
to about my waist and started back to the car, at this time gasp-
; ing and belching and coughing, went back just in front of the car.
Now, the headlights of that car were still on and I was
able to get to what I thought was the front of the car, although
it was difficult, and I was able to identify the front of the car
by the lights themselves. Otherwise, I don&#39;t think I would be
able to tell.i E -,
Q: How far were you swept along by the current?
A: Approximately 30 or 40 feet.
Q: Now, in order to get back to the car, was it necessary for_
you to swim?
A: I couldn&#39;t swim at that time because of the current. I
waded intoswam to where I could wade and then waded along the; _
2/ Then uh did heask the preceding question?
lQ/ The reader is urged to obtain a copy of the
and look at the photo of the bridge  p. 13!V; :
Aug. 1, 1969, issue of Time} _
taken from an estimated dis-. &#39;
tance of some 60 feet on a very dark night through the tindshield of a
simimr auummbile. -

C

b
<.L &#39;"""*"  : &#39;"**:** *" &#39; " " *"   i*":"   &#39;:"Z &#39;T&#39;;t:~.A:-&#39;..._&#39;""7::¥".._"-:.._"- :_&#39;§:.".&#39;; ;:¢*&#39;:?&#39;.&#39;ii:;*§r225;-1%li&#39;SE.§%i.i:-?f"&#39; &#39;..;&#39;=&#39;.*&#39;:_-5.1<l1:&#39;.;;*Q~i_&#39;A~=-~L-:-:~.£»_3--»~;*~-*1 -
| &#39; 92 
92shore to where I cg go to the-front of theg-:1: and start div-&#39;
ing in an attempt to rescue Mary Jo. [K] _
. was the front of the car facing a westerly direction?
I would think it was facing a northerly direction.
Well, in regard to the bridge, could you describe the
tion the automobile with relation to the bridge?
I-$HE~G9HRTe We"don*t hive a map, do we?
THE CLERK: The bridge runs fairly close to north and
south . - &#39;
Q: I believe there is a board behind you. Assuming the bridge
is north and south- V &#39;
A: Yes.  Draws sketch on-a blackboard.! &#39;
-I would bet that that bridge runs more east-west than 
northsouth. [L] ~&#39; &#39;
Q: Will you indicate Edgartown, Mr. Kennedy? &#39;
 A: I suppose the road runs something like this.
~ Q: As you went off the bridge-
A: I think it was like this.  The relationship of the car to
the bridge.! - 4 &#39; -
Q: After you emerged from the automobile, you say you were
swept some 30 feet away from the car... -
A: In this direction.  Indicating.! 
Q: And how much time did it take you after you left the auto-
mobile to be swept down to about 30 feet?
A: By the time I came up, I was--the best estimate would be
somewhere over here, which would be probably eight or ten feet.
It is difficult for me to estimate specifically, and I think by
the time I was able at least to regain my strength, I would say
it is about thirty feet, after which time I swam in this direc-
tion until I was able to wade, and wade back up here to this
point here, and went over to the front cf the car, where the
front of the car was, and crawled over to here, dove here, and -
the tide would sweep out this way there, and then I dove repeat-
edly from this side until, I would say, the end, and then I will
be swept away the first couple of times, again back over to this
side, I would come back again and again to this point here, or
try perhaps the third or fourth time to gain entrance to some
area here until, at the very end when I couldn&#39;t hold my breath
any longer, I was breathing so heavily it was down to just a mat-
ter of seconds. VI would hold my breath and I could barely get
underneath the water. I was justrable to hold onto the metal un-
dercarriage hers. and the water_itself came right out to where I
was breathing and I could h ld on, I knew that I just could notget under water any more.1l? 
Q: And you were fully aware at that time of what was tran-
spiring? - 4-3vo
loca-
ll/ Read Hr, Dinis&#39;s question again, then Hr._Kennedy&#39;s reply the second time
and see if you think the question was answered. - I
Additional notes:  a! This particular account has not been abridged. in
deviation from the Senator&#39;s actual words is the fault either of the court
stenographer, the publisher of The Inquest or the present publisher. ¢
 b! Just what he meant by *th&#39;e"&#39;w<,;¢&#39;é{~ itself came right out to where I
was breathing and I could hold on" falls short of being altogether clear.
But then, they have peculiar water around Martha&#39;s Vineyard; you cant
hold it back even with your hands.
_ _t_%9-?___-:37

ax
C- .m...-~a__._. - . - , , 4 ._ --..,- ,___ _ _ . isiieirfeiia _ -q_...._ ..-¢_.-......~.-..aii_..92.-.~___~-_._.._.. _. ..,_;--a4 .*BtJ;-;__~_t».0 _-_..~____-,.;_ __A"_£":-§I&#39;--n.r_**&#39;:t- _~ ~-&#39;==_-;~_=<>~_..-_=-A1...-1~_-..,,.____;__£_ __i..i _-a-;i>:;.<:~_-&#39;__ ;,~~_-:...-M.-;....~.._ _ -- - . _. ..,. . . .. . ., . ...__-. >4.-_4_.=~-, ..,...=...,.~ .a-.:,- &#39;~a -- - V» :51  _ »~_--_. -
A: Well, I was  aware that I was tryizgg get the girl-
out of that car and I was fully aware that I wasiing every-thing I possibly could to get her out of the carand I was fully
aware at that time that my head was throbbing aniuw&#39;neck wasaching and I was breathless, and at that time, 12 last time,
hopele sly exhausted. - .__THE ,CQI_J.B.T.:. May» 1- as-k you some questions 
re about the
dep h of the water?THE WITNESS: No, it was not possible to stand. The high-
est level of the car to the surface were the 
aels and the
undercarriage itself when I held onto the un
zcarriage andthe tide would take me down. It was up to has-§i?dicating!.
ml flmfca/~
THE COURT: You were not able to stand upat any point
around any portion of that car?
THE WITNESS: Yes. . I
Q: Mr. Kennedy, how many times did you make I effort to sub-
merge and get into the car?
A: I would say seven or eight times. At thelast point, I
didn&#39;t have the strength even to come down evenciose to the win-
dow or the door.
: And how much time was used in these effads?
: I would think probably 15 or 20 minutes.
:&#39; And did you then remove yourself from theuater?
A: Well, in the last dive I lost contactvwiti the vehicle
&#39; and I started to come down this way here a I let myself
_ and came over to this shore and I came onathis shore heresort of crawled and staggered up some plau:in here and wasexhausted and spent on the grass.lQ ~
On the west&#39;bank of the river?
Yes.
And how long did you spend resting?
I suppose the best estimate would be 15 u:20 minutes.
Now, did you say earlier you spent 15 or E minutes trying
cover Miss Kopechne? _That is correct. &#39;
And you spent another l5 or 20 minutes remwering?
Now, following your rest period, what didyou do?
Q: I went back to the road and I started down the road and it
was extremely dark and I could make out no fonnur shapes or fig-
ures, and the only way that I could even see thepath of the road
-was looking down the silhouettes of the trees onthe two sides,again
float
and I
very
Q:
A:
Q:
_AA:
Q?
tore
A:
Q;
A:601
as
f
I
i
3
2
and I could watch the silhouette of the trees onthe two sides and
I started going down that road, walking, trotting jogging, stum-
bling, as fast as I possibly could.
Q: Did you pass any houses with lights on?
A: Not to my knowledge; never saw a cottagevdth a light on
it. [N] . - _
Q: And did you then return to the cottage wbne your friendshad gathered? &#39;
A: That is correct. _
Q: And how long did it take you to make thatualk?

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C
Q
~. ... _ ._.~ ..- ,...-_ _. ...-_._ ._ _- ....., ,._.__.,_ ..._._ ~._.._.--.._._.__ &#39;_*__¢~.@A_.Q_, -.1 4 l___ _ -___-,-A ~  -»~_ _-_A -see-
92
I would say :oximatelyl5 minutes.  &#39; " _.
And when you arrived at the cottage, did you speak to any-
one there?&#39;A: Well, I came up to the cottage. There was a car parked
there
hicle
 Garg
as he
Q:
him?
A:
Q:
A:
been
the M
I Q :
131.8116
A:
Q:
therIa white vehicle, and as I came up to the back of the ve J
I saw Ray LaRosa at the door and-I said, Ray, get me Joe
3
8
8!.&#39; And he mentioned something like, &#39;3ight away, and
.as going-in to get Joe I got in the back of the car.
Did Joe come to you, and did you have conversation with
Yes. I said, "You had better get Paul  Markham!, too.
What happened after that? _ 1
-Well, Paul came out, got in the car. I said, There has
terrible accident; we have to go." And we took off down &#39;
in Road there. ~ &#39; 
ow long had you known Mr. LaRosa prior to this evening?
Eight or ten years. s p
Did you have any knowledge that Mr. Lakosa had some expe-
in skin-diving? 92 "
No, I never did.  &#39;
Now, before you drove down the road, did you make any fur-
explanations to Mr. Gargan or Mr. Markham? &#39;
A:
rible
Q:
A:
Q:
were
A:
catio
shown
Q:
A:
dove
.Q=
A:
it wa
Q:
A:ll
i
sBefore driving? No, sir.- I said, "There has been a ter-
accident. Let&#39;s go!" And we took off-
Towards the Dike Bridge area? V
That is right.}Q/ - »
And where did you finally stop the white automobile you
. . 7riding in.Mr. Gargan drove the vehicle across the bridge to some lo-
here  indicating! and turned it so that its headlights
over the water and over the submerged vehicle.
And what happened? _Mr. Gargan and Mr. Markham took off all their clothes, &#39;
nto the water repeatedly to try and save Mary Jo.
Now, do you recall what particular time  it was!?
I believe that I looked at the Valiant&#39;s clock and believe
12:20. &#39;
Now, Mr. LaRosa remained at the cottage? -
Yes, he did.
Was Mr. LaRosa aware of the accident?
No, he hadn&#39;t heard-no, I don&#39;t believe so.
No one else at the cottage was told of the accident?
No. - &#39; .
Now, how long-did Mr; Markham and Mr. Gargan remain there
with you? -- I &#39; ._
,A: I would think about 45 minutes.
Q: And were they unsuccessful in entering the car?
A: Well, Mr. Gargan got half-way in the car. When he came out
he was scraped all the way from his elbow; underneath his arm was
all bruised and bloodied [O] and this is the one time that he wasQ.

N-_....~:.r._;
able to gain entran Q .t_o the car itself.1J_92/  _ Q: And did he t &#39; &#39; "&#39; "
get into the car?-.--..._. -_».~..._,-_4..   _....._s._;...- &#39;1 if lielév-..:;___&#39;_ __ - L ._.___. __ i _:f._t¬,~V4:»_fa::;ji;;5;_. __i__:___?-_:_j:? 7?? ._:a;__.___ __t;_§ T__7_1:_V___:7_: _:,_ ___: , _ _ A____
__-_-tr . &#39; .
you about his experience in trying to
A: Well, I was unable to, being exhausted, to get into thewater, but I Epuld see exactly what was happening and made some ~
suggest1ons.1 _ &#39;Q: So that you were participating in the reSGne efforts?
A:__
Q:
water
. A:well, to that-extent.
Did you have any idea how long Mary Jo had been in the5*
Well, I knew that some time had passed.
Q: Was it fair to say that she had been in the water about an
hour?
--_ A. Yes, it is
Q= Was
. A: No,
_ _&#39; Q; Was
for?
A:
Q:
either
A:Was
Yes, was there any particular reason why you did not call
the police or the fire department?
Well, I intended to report it to the police. thereother
there
thereany effort made to call for assistance? &#39;
than the assistance of Mr. Gargan and Mr. Markham.
any reason why no additional assistance was asked
any reason?1§/ . ,
. THE COURT: That is not quite responsive to the question.
THE WITNESS: I intended to call for assistance and to re- _
port the accident to the police within a few short moments af-
ter going back into the car. A &#39;
Q: And did something prevent this?
A: Yes.
Q: What was that? , ,
,__¢= A: With the Court&#39;s indulgence, to prevent this, if the Court i would permit me I would like to be able to relate to the Court the
 immediate period following the time that Mr. Gargan, Markham and
I got back in the car.
THE COURT: I have no objection. &#39;
H-- THE WITNESS: Responding to the question of the District At-
torney--at some time, I believe it was about 45 minutes after
Gargan and Markham dove, they likewise became exhausted and no
further diving efforts appeared to be of any avail and they so _
indicated to me and I agreed. So they came out of the water _
&#39; and came back into the car and said to me, Mr. Markham and Mr.
Gargan at different times as we drove down the road tp ards theferry that it was necessary to report this accident.1u7 A lot
Qof different thoughts came into my mind at that time about how
I was going to really to be able to call Mrs. Kopechne at some
time in the middle of the night to tell her that her daughter
- was drowned, to be able to call my own mother and my own father,
- relate to them, my wife, and I even-even though I knew that
Mary Jo Kopechne was dead and believed firmly that she was in
~ the back of that car [E] I willed that she remain alive. Q
}§/ But was somehow unable to establish contact with Eary Jo? " s

;l:-_.--:_.<-._._>...~;s..~-.-.. -Q-~ » - -> _~_ _a,.._~.~. ~ ~---.-s__._-- .r-V.-_-. L, _.,A-___~-~&#39;~&#39;*:-2: &#39;:-";*::_~_-?_;:~»__4_-- »,.»9»92___:_._1-_-i.;_;._.:- -__§_;z::__.__:5._Q&#39;_¢v._,,%,¢_.-A.:_92:<, .3&#39;§! ~_: ...,,,__,.,-_ ..___92.. _,_,.._ __ __ . _.__ _ _,_. . . ~ .. -~»_ --~ ~- - -- -- - -» 3- - -
As we drove dog:-that road I was almost 1£Qing out the front
- window and windows trying to see her walking down that road. I re-
lated this to Gargan and Markham and they said they understood this
feeling, but it was necessary-to report it. And about this time we
came to the ferry crossing and I got out of the car and we talked
there just a few minutes. I just wondered how all this could Pos-
sibly have happened. 1 also héd sort of a thought and the wish anddesire 
nd the hope that suddenly this whole accident would disap-
pear, a d they reiterated that this has to be reported and I under-
sstood at the time that I left that ferry boat-left the slip where
the ferry boat was, that it had to be reported and I had full in-
tention of reporting it,&#39;and I mentioned to Gargan and Markham
something like, "You take care of the girls, I will take care of I T the accident." That92is what I said and I dove into the water.
. - Now, I started to swim out into that tide and the tide sud-
denly bedame, felt an extraordinary shove and almost pulling me
down again, the water pulling me down, and suddenly I realized at
that time even as I failed to realize before I dove into the water
that I was in a weakened condition, although as I had looked over -
that distance between the ferry slip and the other side, it seemed
to me an inconsequential swim; but the water got colder, the tide
began to draw me out and for the second time that evening I knew ;
was going to drown and the strength continued to leave me. By this
time I was probably 50 yards off the shore and I remembered being
swept down toward the direction of the Edgartown Light and well out
. into the darkness, and I contined to swim, tried to swim at a
slower pace to be able to regain whatever kind of strength that was
left in me. - I .
And some time after,_I think it was about the middle of the  jchannel, a little further than that, the tide was much calmer, gent-
ler, and I began to get my-make some progress, and finally was
able to reach the other shore and all the nightmares and all the
tragedy and all the loss of Mary Jo&#39;s death was right before me &#39;
again. And when I was able to gain this shore, this Edgartown
side, I pulled myself on the beach and then attempted to gain some
strength. After that, I walked up one of the streets in the direc-
tion of the Shiretown Inn. ,
By walking up one of the streets, I walked into a parking lot
1 that was adjacent to the Inn and I can remember almost having no
further strength to continue, and leaning against a tree for a
length of time, walking through the parking lot, trying to really
gather some kind of idea as to what happened and feeling that I
just had to go to.my room at that time, which I did by walking
through the front entrance of the Shiretown Inn up the stairs. [Q]
Q: Do you have any idea what time you arrived at the ShiretownInn? &#39;
K: I would say some time before 2:00.
Q: Did you talk to anyone at that time? ;
A: I went to my room and I was shaking with chill. I took off
all my clothes and collapsed on the bed. And at this time I was
very conscious of a throbbing headache, of pains in my neck, of
strain on my back; but what I was even more conscious of is the i
tragedy and loss of a very devoted friend.
Q: Now, did you change your clothing?E
.-
s A/4
.- 14__.&#39;:_____

_ . . _ _. _ ,...._ .._. .__ . . _ _.._ .._ . ;_-_._._ . 1 A -_.&#39;.".&#39;_,_;.t:&#39;:;-::-:&#39;;:v:&#39;:-~: --A A _a »_~~,_.,..
o
SA: I was unable regly to determine, detect amount of
&#39;time, and I could hear noise that was taking
around me, on top of me, almost in the room,
of time I w nt sure whether it was mornin 9nighttime,l§7 and I put on-and I wanted to
on som dry clothes that were there, a pantsopenedzghe door and I saw what I believed to
one st_ ding under the light off the balcony
it was.i He mentioned to me it was, I think,
.int0 the room. ER} -
Q: Had you known Miss Kopechne prior to
A: Well, I have known her--my family&#39;hasplace. It seemed
and after a period
or afternoon or
find out and I put
and a shirt, and I
be a touristI
or some-
and asked what time
2:30, and went back
guly 18th? ._
known her for a num-
ber of years. She has visited my house, my wife. &#39;Sbe has visited
Mrs. Robert Kennedy&#39;s house. She worked in the Robert Kennedy Pre
idential_campaign, and I would say that we have known her for a
number of years. .~
. Q: Now, directing your-- .
A: If the question is, have I ever been out with Mary Jo--
Q: No, the question was whether you just
_prior to this event.knew her socially
A: Well, could I give you a fuller explanation, your Honor?
THE COURT: Go ahead
THE WITNESS: I have never in my life, as I have statéd in
my television, had any personal relationship whatsoever with
Mary Jo Kopechne. I never in my life have been either out with
Mary Jo Kopechne nor have I ever been with her prior to that
occasion where we were not in a general assemblage of friends,
associates, or members of our family.
Q: Directing your attention to the 19th,
did you meet anyone at your room?
A: Not at 7:30 a.m. &#39; &#39;at around 7:30 a.m.,
Q: Did you meet anyone at anytime that morning at your room?
A: If your Honor would permit ma to giveI would like to be
specifically responsive, and I can, I think.
ing to the Court if I just
ever the Court wants. "
g Q: Well, what time did
A: I never really went
Q: After that noise at
meet anyone? e
A&#39; Sometime after 8:00to bed that night
briefly Mrs. Richards, and Mr. Gargan and Mr.It might be mislead-
gave a specific response to it. Wha;
you get up that morning?1Q
2:30 in the morning, when did you first
. I met the woman that was behind the coun
ter at the Shiretown Inn and I met Mr. Richards and Mr. Moore, very
Markham, and I saw
Mr. Tretter, but to be specifically responsive as to who I met in
my room, which I believe was the earlier ques
ham and Mr. Gargaa. -
Q: Now, what time did Mr. Markham and Mr.
A: About a few-- I would think about 8:30Q: Did you have any conversation with  them! at that time? .tion, was Mr. Mark-
Gargan arrive? VJ00
it
su-
§_B_/Zihvo or three Zsnurs earlier he Tadjbeenzchiefly concemed  how  1
was. Ibmknesa at noon?
19/ Nb; there are indications that we shall soon see that he spent a good part
of it telephoning. Also, see discussion of Anomaly R.
- 15 -1%.?

.1 T&#39;&#39;f.&#39;~:_".&#39;° I""&#39;T&#39;I7"Z""Tf.i."f*"§" £"." °"."iI  1 &#39;f&#39;.ifI"i."1.fT&#39;I _- .&#39;:.I*1&#39;2.-i-;_Yr*_::;:*Ye;:-:=<:-&#39;a=4..::...."~ &#39;f"-&#39;92=:&#39;.2&#39;92>a.-Ha~»-a~c_1<~~r
I Us * &#39; - A: Yes. They agaed had I reported the accgget, and why I &#39;
hadn&#39;t reported the accident: and I told them about my own thoughts
and feelings as I swam across that channel and how I was always
willed that Mary Jo still lived; how I was hopeful even as that J
night went on and as I almost tossed and turned  ?--Auth.!, paced -that rqom and walked around that room that night that somehow whenthey arrived in the morning that they were going to say that Mary
Jo was,still alive. I told them how I somehow believed that when
the sun came up and it was a new morning that what had happened
the night before would not have happened and did not happen, and, &#39;
how I just couldn&#39;t gain the strength within me, the moral strength,
to call Mrs. Kopechne at&#39;2:00o&#39;clock in the morning and tell herthat her daughter was dead.§Q/ . I H, 
Q: Now, at some time you actually did call Mrs. Kopechne?
A: Yes, I did. &#39; _
Q: And prior to calling Mrs. Kopechne, did you cross over on
the Chappaquiddick ferry to Chappaquiddick Island?
Yes, I did. - "
And was Mr. Markham and Mr. Gargan with you?
Yes, they were.
Now, did you-then return to Edgartown? _ _
Yes, I did. -
Did anything prompt or cause you to return to Edgartown? 4
Well, what do you mean by prompt?
Well, did anything cause you to return?
Other than the intention of reporting the accident, the in-
tention of which had been made-earlier that morning. [S]
Q: But you didn&#39;t go directly from your room to the police de_partment?  ~
A: No, I did not. 1
Q: Did you have a particular reason for going to Cnappaquiddick
first?
A: Yes, it was to make a private phone call to one of the dear-
est and oldest friends that I have,and that was to Mr. Burke Mar-
shall. I didn&#39;t feel that I could use the phone that was availabl.,
the public phone that was available outside of the dining room at
the Shiretown Inn, and it was my thought that once that I went to
the police station, that I would be involved in a myriad of detailsand I wante7 to talk to this friend before I undertook that respon-
sibility.21 _
Q: You mean that &#39;THE COURT: Excuse_7e, Mr. Dinis, I think we will take theQ:
A:
~ noon luncheon recess.23  &#39;
ZQ/ Mme agakn how
have been known
&#39;in.air bubbles,or why was he so certain that Eary Jo was ded? People
to survive for several hours in submerged cars, breathing
and it is known that Mary Jo lived for a while thusly.
And was it lack of moral strength that kept him from calling for profesg
sional help while, hopefully, there was still tine? i
Note: This reply o£_the Senator&#39;s is faithitd.to the text in Ihe Innuest.
El] According to Jack Ulsen, in The Bridge at Chappaquiddick, er. Kennedy could
have had his choice of a dozen public phones within two blocks of the Inn.
22/ Unfortunately, we will never know what Er. Dinis&#39;s question was.
._ »/3
-~lJ
_¢/,4/
i
92