ME ME - Pauline Rourke, 32, Fairfield, 15 Dec 1976

[h=1]3687DFME - Pauline Rourke[/h]

Name: Pauline Rourke
Case Classification: Endangered Missing
Missing Since: December 15, 1976
Location Last Seen: Fairfield, Somerset County, Maine
[h=2]Physical Description[/h]Date of Birth: circa 1944
Age: 32 years old
Race: White
Gender: Female
Height: Unknown
Weight: Unknown
Hair Color: Unknown
Eye Color: Unknown
Distinguishing Marks/Features: Unknown
[h=2]Identifiers[/h]Dentals: Unavailable
Fingerprints: Unavailable
DNA: Unavailable
[h=2]Clothing & Personal Items[/h]Clothing: Unknown
Jewelry: Unknown
Additional Personal Items: Unknown
[h=2]Circumstances of Disappearance[/h]Rourke was reported missing on 12-15-76. She lived in a mobile home with Albert P. Cochran. Rourke was last seen by her daughter. Her daughter reported overhearing her mother and Cochran arguing the night before she disappeared.
Rourke was scheduled to be interviewed by State Police investigators, in reference to the Janet Baxter homicide, as a possible witness against Cochran. Cochran was convicted of the murder of Janet Baxter in 1998 and denies any knowledge of Rourke's disappearance. Rourke's body has not been recovered.
[h=2]Investigating Agency(s)[/h]Agency Name: Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit
Agency Contact Person: N/A
Agency Phone Number: (207) 624-7143
Agency E-Mail: N/A

NCIC Case Number: Unknown
NamUs Case Number: Unknown
[h=2]Information Source(s)[/h]Maine State Police
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Doe Network link case http://www.doenetwork.org/cases/3687dfme.html

March 20, 1998 A Suspect In 1976 Slaying

Albert Patrick ``Pat'' Cochran was just an average neighbor.
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The 60-year-old former cabinetmaker is being named in at least six killings, and on Thursday he waived extradition to be returned to Maine on charges he raped and murdered a woman named Janet Baxter 22 years ago.
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Maine state police used new DNA technology to match Cochran's hair to sperm left in the raped woman, using a test that assures 1-in-36 million odds, Mitchell said.

Authorities from Maine and Florida also are trying to get Cochran to confess to the murder of his live-in girlfriend about the same time. She turned up missing three weeks after Baxter's bullet-ridden body was found stuffed in the trunk of her car.
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In 1964, Cochran was convicted in Illinois of strangling his first wife, Patricia Cochran, to death.

He moved to Maine after serving about 10 years for the crime.
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Cochran raped Baxter, the 30-year-old mother of one and shot her with a .22-caliber handgun twice, once in the side of the head and again in the chest, Mitchell said.
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Three weeks later, Cochran's live-in girlfriend, Pauline Rourke, disappeared.
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Honey Rourke, Pauline's daughter, was 12 when her mother disappeared.
Now 33 and living in Bath, Maine, she said Cochran took her and her mother to the scene of Baxter's murder two weeks after Baxter was killed. She said he ``exploded'' when Pauline Rourke asked if he killed the woman

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/19..._1_patricia-cochran-baxter-live-in-girlfriend

March 19, 1998

Her daughter, Honey Rourke, then 12, came home from school that day and found that her 32-year-old mother was gone. In an interview Wednesday, Honey Rourke said Maine State Police told her they tried to question Cochran this week about Pauline Rourke 's disappearance.

Honey Rourke said Cochran told police he never knew Pauline Rourke , then he refused to discuss the matter further.
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Honey Rourke says she clearly remembers the day of her mother's disappearance - and the days that led up to it.

After Baxter's murder, Cochran was obsessed with the killing, Honey Rourke said Wednesday. The case received widespread publicity in central Maine after Baxter's body was found riddled by bullets in the trunk of a car on the banks of the Kennebec River.

Shortly after the killing, Cochran even drove Honey and Pauline Rourke 10 miles from their Fairfield trailer home to visit the Baxter crime scene in the hamlet of Norridgewock.

``He wanted us to see where this happened,'' said Rourke, who now lives in Bath. ``My mother thought this was real odd. From there on, the fighting got real bad between them. . . . Then all of a sudden, my mother disappeared.''

Pauline Rourke knew Cochran because she was a foster child who lived with Cochran and Cochran's mother in their Oakland home in the 1950s, said Joy Card of Wiscasset, Pauline Rourke 's sister.

After attending local schools, Card said, Cochran moved away and joined the Air Force.

He was living in Joliet, Ill., and working as a discount store manager when his wife, Patricia Ann Cochran, was murdered on Feb. 10, 1964.

Cochran claimed he choked his wife to death after she stabbed their three young children to death in a bathtub. Cochran denied killing the children, but police and prosecutors were skeptical because there was no blood on his wife's body.
Still, Cochran was charged and convicted only of killing his wife, not the children. He served nine years in prison in Illinois, was paroled in 1973 and moved back to Maine in 1976. Cochran got a job as a carpenter, working for his brother, Alfred, who was a building contractor.

Honey Rourke said Cochran became romantically involved with her mother soon after Cochran's return to Maine. Cochran moved into Rourke's house trailer in June 1976.

Pauline Rourke knew of Cochran's criminal conviction, but believed his version of what had happened.

``My mother thought he was someone who just went crazy after seeing that his kids had died,'' Honey Rourke said.
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March 22, 1998

In October 1962, the young couple moved to Joliet, Ill., where Cochran had a job as a manager at a Topp's discount store.
A little more than a year later, the Cochrans had three children - Christine, 3, Christopher, 2, and Craig, 10 months - and a marriage on the rocks.

Albert Cochran had been involved with other women and he told friends he wanted to divorce his wife to marry someone else, according to Illinois court documents.

The Cochrans had been separated for several weeks when, on Feb. 10, 1964, police discovered that Patricia and all three children had been killed inside their home.
Patricia Cochran's body was found wrapped neatly in a blanket with a towel on her face. Her three children, dressed in pajamas, were found stabbed to death in a bathtub.

At first Cochran denied he killed his family. Then he changed his story, saying he killed his wife in a fit of rage after he discovered that she had killed their children.
``I choked her and choked her and choked her until she dropped,'' Cochran told investigators at the time.
Investigators didn't believe that Patricia Cochran killed her children because she had no blood on her, except some mingled with skin under her fingernails.
Albert Cochran had a scratched face when police interviewed him and tests of clothing he sent to the cleaners the morning after the killings turned up human blood, according to police and court documents.
Although Cochran later confessed to killing his children, the confession - as it pertained to the children - was thrown out on a legal technicality, court records show.
Cochran pleaded guilty to strangling his wife and was sentenced in September 1964 to 50 to 75 years in prison, with eligibility for parole in 11 1/2 years.
In June 1976 he was granted parole to Oakland, Maine, where his brother agreed to provide him with a job in his construction business.
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In Florida, where Cochran has lived for nearly 20 years, detectives are taking a closer look at unsolved homicides and missing persons cases in the cities and towns where Cochran has lived. Detectives said they are checking to see if Cochran crossed paths with any known victims.
In Maine, they're re-interviewing people involved in the Baxter case, tying up loose ends, making sure everything is in order for the legal fight ahead.
Mitchell, who also was assigned the Pauline Rourke case, will continue to tackle that as well.

http://z13.invisionfree.com/PorchlightUSA/ar/t16773.htm
(lots of news articles and information on this case)

Pauline Rourke is NOT in NamUs

[h=1]Daughter of Fairfield woman missing for 41 years searches for justice after killer’s death[/h] 'I want people to realize he did do this to her,' says Honey Rourke, who believes Albert P. Cochran killed her mother, Pauline Rourke, in 1976.

Honey Rourke remembers the last time she saw her mother, Pauline. Her mother was lying on her side in bed, not moving. Honey, who was 12, thought her mother was sleeping, so she kissed her on the back of the head and left for school.
When she got home from school that afternoon, her mother was nowhere to be found. She called out for her, but there was no answer.

Honey has not heard her mother’s sweet voice since that day 41 years ago when she disappeared forever from their mobile home in Fairfield Center.
Pauline Rourke probably was already dead when Honey gave her that last kiss.
Police now think that the Rourkes’ live-in distant relative, Albert P. Cochran, murdered Pauline Rourke, who was 32. Before he died at a Rockport hospital last month, Cochran, 79, told state police he knew Rourke’s remains were in a water well in the Smithfield area, though he never admitted directly that he had killed her, according to police.

But Honey Rourke, now 53 and living in Lewiston, is certain that Cochran, whom the family referred to as “Pat,” killed her mother. He already had killed two other women, although Honey would not have known that at the time.

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Read more: http://www.centralmaine.com/2017/07...ars-searches-for-justice-after-killers-death/

Pauline sounds like an amazing mom. Such a sad story. I'm so angry Cochran got parole after only 9 years for strangling his wife, and he was never charged with the children's murders! WTH? Janet Baxter and Pauline could still be alive today if Cochran was kept in prison where he belonged the first time.

State police search wells in Smithfield, Mercer for woman’s remains

http://www.pressherald.com/2017/09/13/state-police-search-wells-in-smithfield-mercer-for-womans-remains/

“We’ve examined more wells throughout northern Kennebec County and southern Somerset County, following up on leads the public has provided us, and haven’t found any evidence that has furthered the investigation,” said Lt. Jeffrey Love, who oversees the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit. “But certainly, we have eliminated a lot of wells and areas people have concerns about.”

Love, who supervises both the Unsolved Homicide and Major Crimes units for state police, said Tuesday that police have looked at about a dozen wells, have excavated some wells and used tools and technology to examine the inside of the wells. In some cases, they have removed contents from the bottom of the wells to examine them.

Police appreciate the calls they have received from the public about possible places Rourke’s remains are and have followed up on leads and will continue to, according to Love. Though police have not yet found her remains, they remain optimistic.

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It's obvious he killed her, the question is: what did he buried her body? She could still be buried nearby

It's so frustrating that he was paroled after 9 years. Even though he claims his wife murdered their children, because of the fact that she was found with no blood on her, I find that a bit difficult to believe. Even if he was truly only responsible for strangling his wife, 9 years isn't enough. Obviously he had homicidal tendencies, whether those had always been present or they were triggered after finding his children dead is unclear. I agree with Archangel85, he obviously killed Pauline, but he must have learned from Janet Baxter's murder and hid Pauline's body better. He could have buried her anywhere - he was familiar with places in both Florida and Maine, and probably a few places in between, making finding her body a difficult task.

Bumping..
Daughter of Fairfield woman missing for 41 years searches for justice after killer’s death

"Not knowing where her remains are has been hard, Rourke said.

“I just never got to say my goodbyes. I have a horrible time, knowing her remains are out there. I just want people to realize it’s very important for me to find her. I really need to have the closure.”

Should police meet with success, she will have a proper funeral for her mother, she said."

DOE..
Missing Since: December 15, 1976
Location Last Seen: Fairfield, Somerset County, Maine
Physical Description
Date of Birth: circa 1944
Age: 32 years old
Race: White

I noticed that Pauline was not on Namus so I enetered her. Apparently the man believed to have killed her said he dumped her in a water well. It’s in a 2017 article

Pauline Rourke

• 
• 
• 

Pauline, circa 1976; Albert Cochran

• Missing Since12/15/1976
• Missing FromFairfield, Maine
• ClassificationEndangered Missing
• Age32 years old
• Height and Weight4'11, 100 - 120 pounds
• Distinguishing CharacteristicsCaucasian female. Brown hair, blue eyes.

Details of Disappearance
Pauline was last seen in Fairfield, Maine on December 15, 1976. She lived in a mobile home off Route 139 with a distant relative, Albert P. Cochran. Pauline's twelve-year-old daughter, Honey, who was the last person to see her, reported hearing her mother and Albert arguing the night before she disappeared. Honey said they often fought, because Albert wanted Pauline to be his girlfriend.

When Honey got up on the morning of her mother's disappearance, she saw her mother lying on her side in bed, not moving. Honey assumed she was asleep, kissed her on the head and left for school. When she returned home that afternoon, Pauline was gone. She has never been heard from again. A couple of days later, Honey's aunt came to pick her up and took her to live in Vermont.

Honey believes her mother was probably already dead when she saw her this morning. She asked Albert about it on multiple occasions over the years, and he told her several different stories about what had happened.

Pauline was scheduled to be questioned by the Maine State Police in connection with the murder of Janet Baxter, who had been killed in November. Albert did not know her, but but he seemed "obsessed" with her murder after it happened, even taking Pauline and Honey to see the crime scene. Pauline told a relative she was afraid Albert was involved in the murder. She disappeared before the interview.

When questioned after Pauline's disappearance, Albert never admitted to killing her, but said he knew her body was in a well. Police checked several different wells as per Albert's instructions, without result.

In 1964, twelve years before Pauline's disappearance, Albert's family was murdered in Joliet, Illinois. He was separated from his wife, Patricia Cochran, at the time, and she lived alone in an apartment with their three children, who ranged in age from ten months to three years old. Patricia was found strangled at her apartment. The children were all stabbed to death and their bodies were left in the bathtub.

Albert initially admitted to strangling his wife, but denied involvement in the deaths of the children. He said Patricia had killed them and he had killed her in a rage when he saw their bodies. Later he made a second confession where he said he'd killed all of them, but never signed that confession. He was charged in all four deaths, but in the middle of his trial he agreed to plead guilty only in Patricia's case and the other charges were dropped.

He was sentenced to fifty to seventy-five years in prison for the killing, but served only eleven years before being paroled. It's unclear whether Pauline knew about his conviction when she agreed to be his roommate.

In 1999, Albert was convicted of Janet Baxter's murder and sentenced to life in prison. He died there in 2017, at the age of 79. A photo of him is posted with this case summary. He was never charged in Pauline's disappearance and her body has never been found, but foul play is suspected in her case due to the circumstances involved.
Investigating Agency

• Maine State Police 207-624-7143

Source Information

• The Bangor Daily News
• The Doe Network
• The Chicago Tribune
• The Morning Sentinel

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated March 8, 2019; casefile added.

Link: Pauline Rourke – The Charley Project

Pauline was added to Namus on 13 January 2020 according to their dashboard, though the case brings up a blank screen for me.
www.namus.gov/MissingPersons/Case#/36863

Hmmm...it’s come up okay for me. But says her profile was created January 21, 2017? Maybe a glitch?

MadMcGoo said:

Hmmm...it’s come up okay for me. But says her profile was created January 21, 2017? Maybe a glitch?

Click to expand...

weird! Def on the Namus new case dashboard. Maybe the profile just went public?

Melt71 said:

weird! Def on the Namus new case dashboard. Maybe the profile just went public?

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Yeah! I don’t recall ever seeing a NamUs profile for her. I just checked CP and DN and neither of them link a NamUs profile, so I bet that’s what it is!