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If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence and would like to talk with an advocate, call 866-834-4357, TTY 1-800-437-1220. This free, confidential service is available 24/7 and is accessible from anywhere in Maine.
Virginia Cookson should still be alive. Her daughter and the rest of her family should not be mourning the loss of this outgoing and generous woman. Her life should not have been taken so horrifically here in Bangor, allegedly by a man who should have cared for her, not killed her.
Richard Keith Thorpe, Cookson’s ex-boyfriend, has been charged with her murder. He was released from prison this year after an early release from a 2021 conviction for d omestic violence aggravated assault against a different woman, which should have seen him in prison for nearly five years. That early release deserves continued scrutiny. And the horrific realities of domestic violence in Maine, as well as the critical services available to help people experiencing it, deserve our continued awareness and emphasis.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The tragic and outrageous killing of Virginia Cookson must be yet another wakeup call to anyone in Maine, especially policymakers, that Mainers and Maine women in particular are facing the horrors of domestic violence every day. That requires continued attention and resources.
“Unfortunately, these tragedies are all too familiar to us in Maine. Roughly 50 percent of Maine’s homicides are domestic violence related,” Partners for Peace, an organization that provides support in Penonscot and Piscaquis counties to people impacted by domestic violence, said in a statement on social media late last week. “Even one is too many. Our community is hurting and we are with you all as we process this loss.”
Partners for Peace and other members of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence provide critical support and resources to people impacted by this terrible abuse. These services, like the statewide domestic violence hotline, are critical for people across the state. According to the recently released 2024 impact report from the coalition, domestic violence resource center advocates helped nearly 13,000 people directly impacted by domestic violence last year. Importantly, this hotline is a resource for people who witness or suspect domestic violence in addition to those who are experiencing it themselves.
“I think of the helpline as a place someone can call to talk to someone knowledgeable, to think about their circumstances and have the opportunity for someone to offer some reframing and active listening,” Francine Garland Stark, the coalition to end domestic violence’s executive director, said in a recent statement. “The caller can reach out without having a plan or a course of action in mind, and without necessarily feeling ready to make moves. The helpline can help concerned others as well, building a bridge between resources and the survivor. We help build a stronger bridge to show it’s going to be safe to work with us. People don’t necessarily trust confidentiality anymore. We are deeply committed to confidentiality.”
Maine, in turn, must be deeply committed to supporting these critical services. State government narrowly avoided what would have been drastic cuts to these services last year, stepping up to fill a hole left by insufficient federal funds. While still waiting for a more sustainable and durable fix to replenish a federal fund supporting crime victims, Maine lawmakers and Gov. Janet Mills must be ready to once again stand up to adequately fund these services in the next state budget.
We owe it to victims like Virginia Cookson to do everything we can to prevent tragedy from devastating other Maine families, during Domestic Violence Awareness Month and every month. That work includes individual action, like speaking out when we witness others experiencing abuse. It includes holding the perpetrators of domestic violence, who usually are men, accountable for their actions and demanding that they not harm the people around them. And it surely includes continued and substantial investment from state government — an investment that can literally save lives.
