Final Project: The Frances Cochran Murder File
Background Information: Frances Cochran was a 19 year old female who was reported missing by her mother on July 17th, 1941. She was brutally murdered on July 20th, 1941 due to an anonymous tip through a local radio station that led them directly to the body. Frances Cochran was 5 feet tall, 100 pounds, sweet face, curly hair, and last seen wearing a dark blue suit with a lobster pin. She was last seen by a friend when getting off a bus after telling her she was going to buy a dress for a dance that night. Her friend watched her get into a large black squared-back car. On July 20th, 1941, Frances Cochran’s mother contacted the local radio station, WESX, and begging for them to help find her daughter. Less than an hour later, the anonymous caller directed them to the body.
Crime: After the anonymous tip led the police to the body of Frances Cochran, off of Swampscott Road, they found her body sexually assaulted, beaten with a baseball bat, and strangled to death. A piece of wood, that was about 1 inch in diameter, was jammed down her throat. Cochran’s head and face were bludgeoned. Cochran’s body had knife marks on her forehead and bruises on her legs and body. Dirt was dumped on the body that was not from the area the body was found. Parts of clothing were wrapped around her throat and set on fire in attempt to burn the body. There were fresh oil stains on her clothes and around the crime scene. Her purse, water, and one white shoe were missing. The lobster pin was found in the underbrush nearby. The only evidence found on the body were teeth mark, several dark hairs, and a single red hair. There was no blood found on the scene.
Suspects: Over 1,900 people were questioned. Hundreds of tips were received and recorded. Along with those interviewed were the Triggers, a group of middle-aged men who hung around the woods off of Swampscott Road to peep on couples having sex. The police report that recorded the interviews was called “Triggers, Ghosters, and Creepers Night at the Salem Police Station.” One of the Triggers was a draftsman and drew a detailed map of the paths, terrain, and “good observation posts.” None of the Triggers saw Frances Cochran, dead or alive. After 50 years, in July of 1991, Janice Knowlton called Salem police detectives. Through recent counseling, she had uncovered repressed traumatic memories from her childhood. Knowlton believed she witnessed her father, George Knowlton, kill numerous women around the North Shore and during the forties, he traveled between New England and Los Angeles, killing several women. Janice Knowlton believed that her father committed the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short—more commonly known as “Black Dahlia.” When learning about Frances Cochran’s case, she began to experience flashbacks of a large squared-backed car, walking in the woods with her father, and other details that resonated with Frances Cochran’s murder. Knowlton even recalled fetching a piece of wood for her father.
Conclusion: The police have not arrested anyone and the case has gone cold.
Crime: After the anonymous tip led the police to the body of Frances Cochran, off of Swampscott Road, they found her body sexually assaulted, beaten with a baseball bat, and strangled to death. A piece of wood, that was about 1 inch in diameter, was jammed down her throat. Cochran’s head and face were bludgeoned. Cochran’s body had knife marks on her forehead and bruises on her legs and body. Dirt was dumped on the body that was not from the area the body was found. Parts of clothing were wrapped around her throat and set on fire in attempt to burn the body. There were fresh oil stains on her clothes and around the crime scene. Her purse, water, and one white shoe were missing. The lobster pin was found in the underbrush nearby. The only evidence found on the body were teeth mark, several dark hairs, and a single red hair. There was no blood found on the scene.
Suspects: Over 1,900 people were questioned. Hundreds of tips were received and recorded. Along with those interviewed were the Triggers, a group of middle-aged men who hung around the woods off of Swampscott Road to peep on couples having sex. The police report that recorded the interviews was called “Triggers, Ghosters, and Creepers Night at the Salem Police Station.” One of the Triggers was a draftsman and drew a detailed map of the paths, terrain, and “good observation posts.” None of the Triggers saw Frances Cochran, dead or alive. After 50 years, in July of 1991, Janice Knowlton called Salem police detectives. Through recent counseling, she had uncovered repressed traumatic memories from her childhood. Knowlton believed she witnessed her father, George Knowlton, kill numerous women around the North Shore and during the forties, he traveled between New England and Los Angeles, killing several women. Janice Knowlton believed that her father committed the 1947 murder of Elizabeth Short—more commonly known as “Black Dahlia.” When learning about Frances Cochran’s case, she began to experience flashbacks of a large squared-backed car, walking in the woods with her father, and other details that resonated with Frances Cochran’s murder. Knowlton even recalled fetching a piece of wood for her father.
Conclusion: The police have not arrested anyone and the case has gone cold.
Halloween in Salem
I have never spent a Halloween in Salem so I was excited that this would be my very first year. Little did I know what I was in for when I was watching a street show with my friends and boyfriend. The street show performer was Kilted Colin. Kilted Colin was actually hilarious and if you have not seen him, you definitely should go see him.
His main act was him riding a unicycle, wearing a kilt, and juggling those bowling pin looking things. He started his show off with throwing a marshmallow approximately 30 feet in the air and catching it in his mouth. He achieved his goal after about three or four attempts. He moved onto playing with a hat. He put it on by rolling on the ground and then continued to do some cool tricks with it, including rolling it up and down his back and shoulders. Kilted Colin then decided it would be a good idea to juggle five balls at once which was cool. Finally he moved onto his main act, the unicycle.
Kilted Colin pointed out three men and wrapped kilts around their shoulders. Then they had to do some sort of warm up session which included rotating the hips and skipping around. Then, he pointed at me and asked me to catch a ball with an eyeball in it. I told him, “I can’t catch.” But he proceeded to throw it at me and to my amazement, I caught it. He then grabbed my hand and skipped around.
He asked me to throw two of his bowling pin juggling things to him once he got up the unicycle. Let me tell you that did not go well. I told him, “I can’t throw.” But again, he proceeded with his show. Once up there, I got anxious and threw one of the bowling pins before I was given the cue. I, then, chucked the bowling pin at him when I was given the cue. Let’s just say, I made sure to let him know I was not joking around when I said I could not throw. He made me walk the last one over to him and hand it up. It was really embarrassing, but to say the least it was fun.
I enjoyed spending my Halloween downtown and I cannot wait until next year to go to downtown again.
His main act was him riding a unicycle, wearing a kilt, and juggling those bowling pin looking things. He started his show off with throwing a marshmallow approximately 30 feet in the air and catching it in his mouth. He achieved his goal after about three or four attempts. He moved onto playing with a hat. He put it on by rolling on the ground and then continued to do some cool tricks with it, including rolling it up and down his back and shoulders. Kilted Colin then decided it would be a good idea to juggle five balls at once which was cool. Finally he moved onto his main act, the unicycle.
Kilted Colin pointed out three men and wrapped kilts around their shoulders. Then they had to do some sort of warm up session which included rotating the hips and skipping around. Then, he pointed at me and asked me to catch a ball with an eyeball in it. I told him, “I can’t catch.” But he proceeded to throw it at me and to my amazement, I caught it. He then grabbed my hand and skipped around.
He asked me to throw two of his bowling pin juggling things to him once he got up the unicycle. Let me tell you that did not go well. I told him, “I can’t throw.” But again, he proceeded with his show. Once up there, I got anxious and threw one of the bowling pins before I was given the cue. I, then, chucked the bowling pin at him when I was given the cue. Let’s just say, I made sure to let him know I was not joking around when I said I could not throw. He made me walk the last one over to him and hand it up. It was really embarrassing, but to say the least it was fun.
I enjoyed spending my Halloween downtown and I cannot wait until next year to go to downtown again.
100 Things Before I Graduate
As I read through the list of “100 Things to Do at Salem State before You Graduate,” I pulled out my phone notepad and jotted down the numbers I have already done in my month and a half of being here. I jotted down 22 numbers of the 100 things to do. Plenty of these things are easy to do and I have done several of them a few times. Some of the things I have done consist of going to the Peabody Essex Museum, walk around Forest River Park, taking the weekend shuttle to the mall, making friends with an RA, and that is only a small bit of what I have done here in my short amount of time.
One of my favorite things I have done since I have been here is take the weekend shuttle to the mall. As freshmen, we struggled in the beginning of the year with trying to figure out how to contact the shuttle service and what times they were open. Most weekends at the beginning of the year, the shuttles were not running which was frustrating for us but we did not really understand how they operated just yet then. Since then, I have taken the shuttle to the mall twice. The first time is my favorite experience with the shuttle.
It was a Friday night and the shuttles started at 7pm. We called at 7pm to have a shuttle take us to the mall. It picked us up at Bowditch Hall around 7:15pm and it was packed. There were six of us and there were already three people in the van, plus a friend of the driver riding shotgun. The driver told us to squeeze because two of the people were getting off at Peabody Hall. We were only missing one seat so it was a quick squeeze. The driver played country music which I did not mind at all. We stopped in downtown first to drop off the third person who was in the shuttle and then we were on our way to the mall.
The shuttle was buzzing with excitement even though the mall closed at 9pm. We were dropped off at the entrance by Legal Seafood and once inside, the two boys parted ways and the four of us, girls, went to Lush. We spent over 20 minutes in Lush, just in awe of the newest Halloween collection that they had just released. We watched the do a bath bomb presentation of one of my favorite Halloween bombs, Lord of Misrule. Along with that, they showed us the shower cream which I still have in my shower from last Halloween. The worker, then, showed me a body scrub that smelt exactly like Lord of Misrule, but was available year round. Along with that, we ended up buying some lipstick from Lush. I got a burgundy color and my friend got a blue color.
Once we finished with Lush, we went to the comic book store where we found the boys and called the shuttle because the mall was closing. The shuttle picked us up around 9:10pm. We got in debating if we should go back to campus or go downtown, but it was raining that night. So we decided to go back to the dorms. The same driver had picked us up and we continued to jam out to country music. It was a wonderful experience and I am so glad I got to experience it with some close friends I have made here.
The shuttle was one of many of the great experiences I have had here since I have been here. It was fun and so worth it. I would suggest everyone trying this just once in their time of being here.
One of my favorite things I have done since I have been here is take the weekend shuttle to the mall. As freshmen, we struggled in the beginning of the year with trying to figure out how to contact the shuttle service and what times they were open. Most weekends at the beginning of the year, the shuttles were not running which was frustrating for us but we did not really understand how they operated just yet then. Since then, I have taken the shuttle to the mall twice. The first time is my favorite experience with the shuttle.
It was a Friday night and the shuttles started at 7pm. We called at 7pm to have a shuttle take us to the mall. It picked us up at Bowditch Hall around 7:15pm and it was packed. There were six of us and there were already three people in the van, plus a friend of the driver riding shotgun. The driver told us to squeeze because two of the people were getting off at Peabody Hall. We were only missing one seat so it was a quick squeeze. The driver played country music which I did not mind at all. We stopped in downtown first to drop off the third person who was in the shuttle and then we were on our way to the mall.
The shuttle was buzzing with excitement even though the mall closed at 9pm. We were dropped off at the entrance by Legal Seafood and once inside, the two boys parted ways and the four of us, girls, went to Lush. We spent over 20 minutes in Lush, just in awe of the newest Halloween collection that they had just released. We watched the do a bath bomb presentation of one of my favorite Halloween bombs, Lord of Misrule. Along with that, they showed us the shower cream which I still have in my shower from last Halloween. The worker, then, showed me a body scrub that smelt exactly like Lord of Misrule, but was available year round. Along with that, we ended up buying some lipstick from Lush. I got a burgundy color and my friend got a blue color.
Once we finished with Lush, we went to the comic book store where we found the boys and called the shuttle because the mall was closing. The shuttle picked us up around 9:10pm. We got in debating if we should go back to campus or go downtown, but it was raining that night. So we decided to go back to the dorms. The same driver had picked us up and we continued to jam out to country music. It was a wonderful experience and I am so glad I got to experience it with some close friends I have made here.
The shuttle was one of many of the great experiences I have had here since I have been here. It was fun and so worth it. I would suggest everyone trying this just once in their time of being here.
On-Campus Field Trip
I am not a sports person unless it is football, particularly the NFL, especially the Patriots. So when I found out my roommate played volleyball, I was not that interested until she invited us to a game and my other roommate said we would go. I was a little intrigued and also a little annoyed that I had to go to the game, but I decided to do it for my on-campus field trip because the opportunity presented itself.
The game was at 7pm in the Twohig Gym at the O’Keefe Complex we have on campus. There were about five or six of us going to this game to support my roommate. It was Salem State University verses Nichols College. Volleyball games are played with six players on the court and they must win three out of five games with at least a two point difference. The games only go to 25 points unless the other team is right behind them, then they need the two point difference. This was also the night that the Salem High School volleyball team came to watch the game.
As they introduced the starters on the Salem State volleyball team, they ran over to the head coach of Nichols College’s volleyball team and shook hands with her. We then stood for the National Anthem. Right after that, they went into a huddle and sent out the starts to start the game.
The first game Salem won, 25 to 16. We watched intensely and every time Salem scored, my friends dabbed. Two timeouts were called during this game, one by Salem and one by Nichols. They got into a huge huddle and once they were done, Salem yelled “Roll Vikes!” which actually comes from the ice hockey team.
The second game, they switched sides of the court. Salem still won with a score of 25 to 13. Salem basically wiped the floor with them. Then game three started.
When game three started, we thought we had it in the bag, but we definitely had to knock on wood. Nichols really brought it in this game. We were nail biting, hoping for Salem to win and we did! Salem won, 26 to 24. This was one of the incidents where they went over 25 points because the other team was not trailing behind. This game was the most intense because Nichols were running ahead from the very beginning. Nichols got up to 21 points while Salem was still at 16 points, but we turned it around.
It was a fun experience and I would definitely want to go again because it was fun supporting my roommate and her team. It was cool to learn more about a sport that I knew almost nothing about and it was just a fun time all around.
The game was at 7pm in the Twohig Gym at the O’Keefe Complex we have on campus. There were about five or six of us going to this game to support my roommate. It was Salem State University verses Nichols College. Volleyball games are played with six players on the court and they must win three out of five games with at least a two point difference. The games only go to 25 points unless the other team is right behind them, then they need the two point difference. This was also the night that the Salem High School volleyball team came to watch the game.
As they introduced the starters on the Salem State volleyball team, they ran over to the head coach of Nichols College’s volleyball team and shook hands with her. We then stood for the National Anthem. Right after that, they went into a huddle and sent out the starts to start the game.
The first game Salem won, 25 to 16. We watched intensely and every time Salem scored, my friends dabbed. Two timeouts were called during this game, one by Salem and one by Nichols. They got into a huge huddle and once they were done, Salem yelled “Roll Vikes!” which actually comes from the ice hockey team.
The second game, they switched sides of the court. Salem still won with a score of 25 to 13. Salem basically wiped the floor with them. Then game three started.
When game three started, we thought we had it in the bag, but we definitely had to knock on wood. Nichols really brought it in this game. We were nail biting, hoping for Salem to win and we did! Salem won, 26 to 24. This was one of the incidents where they went over 25 points because the other team was not trailing behind. This game was the most intense because Nichols were running ahead from the very beginning. Nichols got up to 21 points while Salem was still at 16 points, but we turned it around.
It was a fun experience and I would definitely want to go again because it was fun supporting my roommate and her team. It was cool to learn more about a sport that I knew almost nothing about and it was just a fun time all around.