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At 2300 hours (11:00 pm) on the 24th of February 1981, Pinkham took his first statement from Rose Kenney, co-owner of the cottage and David Dupray’s mother, at the Bangor PD. Mrs. Kenney statement says that "she had taken [David] to be arraigned at the Bangor District Court at approximately 0930 hours on February 18, 1981. ... She stated that while at the District Court, a Bangor Police detective [Lt. Roger Bryce] approached her and her son David and asked them about their cottage burning during the early morning hours. Mrs. Kenney stated that, up until this point, she had no knowledge of the cottage being burned, nor did her son David."
I spoke with Rose Kenney and when I told her that Mike lay under the pile of fire rubble for six days, She said "Oh my God! Mrs. Cochran where was he? We dug through that rubble. Rose Kenney and her son, David Dupray, were told about their cottage burning at 9:30 am and the arson occurred only a few minutes before 4:00 am according to Fire Chief Norman Herrin. Herrin also told the authorities that he saw a man running towards the woods away from the fire. I am sure this info was also given to Det. Bryce when he was informed of the arson but he does not mention this to Mrs. Kenney. Mrs. Kenney and her son had 6 days to check through the rubble before Ricker and Jamison returned to investigate the fire. Ricker said animals also visited the pile of fire rubble along with Lionel Cormier and Percy Sargent.
Hartford Fire Insurance interviewed the owner's of the cottage (Rose Kenny and her son David Dupray) and in Dupray's interview he said it was Bangor PD Det. Bryce who visited him and his mother to tell them their cottage burned the morning Mike's body was found.
Det. Pinkham's report has him also contacting Chief Medical Examiner, Dr. Henry Ryan at 2300 hours (11:00 pm). "This officer made arrangements to get medical records from the Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor and also dental records on Micheal Cochran, the suspected deceased, and forward them to the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in an attempt to make positive identification of the deceased. On this date this officer received a call from the Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Henry Ryan, stating that he had positively identified the deceased as Micheal Cochran and arrangements were made to notify the next of kin." Was the Chief Medical Examiner calling Pinkham at 11:00 pm in the evening of the 24th (day Mike was found) to tell him that they had positively identified Mike's body? The Feb. 25, 1981 autopsy report on Mike's body says "Upper and lower jaws removed for further dental identification." Mike's jaw bones were returned to his family 21 years after he was murdered .
February 26, 1981
0015
Det. Ralph Pinkham interviewed Robert Elrick an inmate at the Penobscot County Jail. Pinkham's statement of what Robert Elrick told him says that "Elrick stated that the night that Percy Sargent was arrested on drug charges and brought to the Penobscot County Jail, that he had overheard an inmate by the name of David Harrington, who was doing time for operating under the influence, and Percy Sargent talking Sargent had stated to Harriman that he thought Michael Cochran had set him up for the drug bust and that he (Sargent) had already sent the call out to have Cochran taken care of."