Bobby Kennedy's Presidential campaign had been ably assisted by the "Boiler room girls". A team of young women who were completely dedicated to the Kennedy cause. They were: Mary Jo Kopechne, Rosemary Keough, Nance Lyons, Mary Ellen Lyons, Susan Tannenbaum and Ester Newburgh. More than just secretaries, the girls' commitment made their role vital to the campaign. In June of 1968 Bobby was assassinated and grief overwhelmed the Kennedy family and the Boiler room girls. It had not even been five years since the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

Almost every summer, members of the Kennedy family had traveled to Martha's Vineyard to participate in the Edgartown regatta. 1968 would to be an exception. Bobby's murder was a massive blow to the family and those close

Adams, Cindy, and Susan Crimp. Iron Rose. Beverly Hills: Dove, 1995

ther 7. (YTedK) This was Senator Edward M. Kennedy's car. The same car he saw in Poucha Pond the next morning. What of Look's strange testimony that there could have been another person in the back seat of the car? Either there was another person in there or there wasn't. The vagueness of Look's testimony was difficult to understand.

In his police statement Kennedy also stated that "There was a car parked in front of the cottage and I climbed into the back seat. I then asked for someone to bring me back to Edgartown. I remember walking around for a period of time and then going back to my hotel room. When I fully realized what happened this morning, I immediately contacted the police". (McGinniss 545)

As a thank-you for all their hard work on Bobby's Presidential campaign, a party had been planned to which the Boiler room girls were invited. (Oppenheimer 375) The party was to be at a cottage, also known as the Lawrence cottage, a short distance from both the ferry landing and the bridge which would later prove to be important. The cottage had been rented from the Lawrence family by Ted's cousin, Joe Gargan. (YTedK)

At about 8:00 p.m., Paul Markham arrived at the Cottage, followed roughly half an hour later by Mary Jo Kopechne and the rest of the partygoers in a rented white Valiant. (YTedK) Moderate, but not excessive drinking took place at the party. The Boiler room girls testified at the Inquest in 1970 that Mary Jo had not been drinking that night, and indeed was not a drinker. Ester Newburgh testified that Kopechne had been completely sober at the party and that: " ... Mary Jo was not a drinker. Five or six drinks would have been completely out of order with the way she lived. And if a girl who didn't drink had that much to drink you would certainly be able tell if she was more jovial than normal, and she was not." (YTedK) (Blood tests on Mary Jo's body showed .09% of alcohol, equivalent to 5 or 6 80-90 proof drinks). (McGinniss 583)

Look's testimony, however, does undermine Ted Kennedy's chronology, for at the time he saw Kennedy's car it was supposed to have been on the bottom of Poucha Pond for over an hour. (YTedK) Ted Kennedy's inquest testimony yet again throws doubt on the fact that he was driving the car:

It should be noted at this point that Chappaquid*censored* Road/Main Street was a asphalt road, and Dike Road a dirt road. Either Kennedy or Kopechne, given the number of times they had been driven over the roads and Bridge that day, would have recognized they were going the wrong way when they realized they were on a dirt road. At the inquest Kennedy testified that by the time he realized he was on a dirt road he had driven off the Bridge. At the speed Kennedy stated he was driving, 20 mph, this seemed unlikely.

So just who was driving the car? And was there another person in the back seat? We may never know the answer.

On reaching his hotel, where no one saw him arrive, Kennedy testified that he went to his room, changed clothes and collapsed on his bed, exhausted. At 2:25 am, according to the office clock of Russell Peachey, (YTedK) the hotel manager, Kennedy had complained to him about noise from a party next to his room. Kennedy also asked the clerk what time it was because he was unable to locate his watch. (McGinniss 536)

Furthermore, there was no hill near the Bridge for Kennedy to have descended. Inconsistencies also arose in Kennedy's account of Gargan and Markham's rescue attempt. When Gargan and Markham returned to the cottage, at about 2:15-2:30am according to inquest testimony, no one appears to have noticed if their hair was wet or anything else unusual about them. They mentioned to no-one what had just happened, their understanding being that Kennedy would report the accident, and that they were

Some common words found in the essay are:
Gargan Markham, Mary Jo's, Dike Road, Chappaquid*censored* Kennedy, Mary Jo, Cemetery Road, Markham Kennedy, Kenneth Kappel, YTedK Damage, Peachey YTedK, gargan markham, mary jo, dike road, lawrence cottage, ted kennedy, boiler girls, kennedy stated, rescue attempt, mary jo's, martha's vineyard, mary jo kopechne, dike bridge twice, drive cemetery road, joe gargan paul, driven chappaquid*censored* road,
Approximate Word count = 3691
Approximate Pages = 15 (250 words per page double spaced)