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American Scandal uses dramatizations that are based on true events. Some elements, including dialogue, might be invented, but everything is based on historical research. It's around 9:30am on July 19, 1969, on Chappaquiddick island in Massachusetts. Local police Chief Dominic arena and fire department scuba diver John Farrar stumble up the sandy shore carrying a stretcher. On it lies the body of a young woman. Just over an hour ago, a pair of fishermen reported that they found a car upside down in the water near the beach. When Chief arena ran the Oldsmobile's license plate, he was shocked to learn it was registered to Senator Ted Kennedy. But an even more disturbing discovery awaited inside the car. The dead woman on the stretcher was in her 20s, dressed in a sodden white blouse and navy blue slacks. Her body shows almost no signs of visible injury, which is unusual for someone who's just been in a car accident. But Chief arena is still in the dark about the woman's identity, and he doesn't know if Senator Kennedy is even aware of the crash. Irina nods toward his deputy's police cruiser. So let's put her in the backseat for now. We don't need people standing around gawking. Marina signals another officer to open the cruiser's rear door. Then he and Farrar slide the stretcher onto the back seat. All right, now we just need to figure out who this poor girl is. Well, I'll see if there's anything left in the car. Maybe there's an ID floating around somewhere. That'd be good. Thanks, John. Farrar walks back toward the water and wades in. Arina turns to his fellow officer with some orders. Would you call the medical examiner and the undertaker too? Then we need to get a tow truck out here to pull the car from the water. The officer nods and hops in the front seat to use the radio. And while he's making these calls, Irina turns to a local man who's wandered over to watch. Hey, sir, could you do me a favor? I'm a little shorthanded here and I need someone to head down to the ferry landing to meet with medical examiner. His name's Dr. Mills. He's an older guy with horn rimmed glasses. You really can't miss him, the helpful local quickly agrees, and with wheels in motion, Irina returns his attention to the body in the backseat. She looks like a lovely young woman who's just laying down for a nap. What a waste. What were you doing in that car, kid? Got something, Chief? Marina turns to see Farrar standing in the shallows he's holding a floral patterned hard shell bag. Marina hurries down the slope to take it. Water gushes out as Irina opens the bag. Rooting around inside, he pulls out a driver's license. Rosemary Keough. All right. And this is what looks to be a pass for the U.S. senate, also for Ms. Keogh. Okay, well, must be heard, right? Maybe she worked for Senator Kennedy. You think he let her borrow the car for the weekend or something? That's possible, but we won't know for sure until we talk to him. There are two keys for a hotel over in Edgartown here too. So for now, why don't you head back in the water, make absolutely sure Keo was the only person in the car. There could be another body in the water we haven't found yet, so focus your search downstream. That current's pretty strong. As Chief arena watches the scuba diver once again disappear into the water, he hears a tow truck driver pull up and park just beside him. Arina walks over to the truck and begins chatting with the driver about how to pull the car safely from the water. In passing, Irina mentions that the Oldsmobile belongs to Senator Ted Kennedy. And to the Chief's surprise, the driver explains that he just saw Kennedy over by the ferry landing at once. Arena hurries over to his cruiser and gets on the radio. He needs an officer at that ferry landing right away because he has some bad news for Senator Kennedy. You know that moment when you order food and suddenly everyone around you gets very interested in your dinner? Yeah. That's what GrubHub does. Gives you deals so good you'll have to guard them. Gold Days of grubhub plus is here. Four weeks of grubhub's best offers all month long in May, only for grubhub plus members. And if you're not a member, you can sign up now for just 99 cents a month for six months. That's 90% off Grubhub membership. Auto renews and terms apply. Sign up now on the app or@grubhub.com plus gold. Don't miss it. From audible originals I'm lindsey graham and this is american skin. In July 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy attended a party at a small cottage on Chappaquiddick island in Massachusetts. Sometime after 11pm he left the cottage in his car with 28 year old Mary Jo Kopechne. Later, he drove the car off a nearby bridge and landed upside down in a stretch of water close to the beach. Kennedy apparently escaped the wreck with minimal injuries. But Kopechne was killed. Ted Kennedy should have reported the crash immediately, but instead he tried to rope in his cousin Joe Gargan and their associate Paul Marcum into coordinating a false story that would absolve the senator of any responsibility. Gargan and Markham refused to go along, though, and the following morning, they finally convinced Kennedy to go to the police. But the crash was discovered before Kennedy could report it. And now his political and legal problems are threatening to go from bad to worse. This is episode three, Circling the Wagons, when Police Chief Dominic arena calls the station to report that Ted Kennedy was just seen in the area. He's shocked to learn that he's already in the office. Arena asks to speak with him, and in a brief phone conversation, Kennedy explains that he's aware his car was involved in an accident, but volunteers little other information. Rena tells Kennedy to stay put and speeds off to speak with him in person, not wanting to lose any time. Rena doesn't even change out of his bathing suit. He's still dripping wet when he arrives at the Edgartown police station. Outside, he spots two local reporters hovering near. That's unusual for a Saturday morning, so word about the crash must be spreading. Chief arena hurries inside, and when he reaches his office, he finds Kennedy and another man taking the liberty of using his office phone. Good morning, Senator Kennedy. I'm Chief of Police Dominic Arena. Kennedy quickly ends his conversation. Oops, sorry. Gotta go. I'll call you back. Kennedy hangs up the phone and rises from the chair. Chief, it's a pleasure. This is my friend Paul Marcum. He nods to the man beside him. Irina recognizes Markham instantly. Paul and I, we've crossed paths before. He was the U.S. attorney in Boston, and I was just a state trooper. Oh, good. Then we're all friends here then, right? So, Senator, I understand you're aware there was an accident involving your vehicle. Yeah, I am. I was driving the car when it crashed. Reno wasn't expecting this. Oh, I see. I didn't know that. Well, first things first, I'm afraid. We've recovered a body from the wreckage. A young woman we believed to be Rosemary Keough will need to inform her family. Oh, no, that's not Rosemary. The woman is Mary Jo Kopechne, and I've already spoken with her mother. Kapeckney. How do you spell that? I'm not actually sure. I'll have someone check on it for you. But do you have a strategy for dealing with the press? The press? Arena is frazzled. Here's Kennedy, well dressed and in control. While Irina is stuttering through his words in a wet bathing suit, Kennedy puts a calming hand on his shoulder. Yeah, I mean, look, once reporters hear about this accident, they're going to descend on this place like locusts. I imagine I'm a little more used to that kind of thing than you are, so it helps to think things through beforehand. Well, I saw two reporters outside already. Did you talk to them? No. Well, good man. Best not to say anything just yet. You'll need a statement from me, I guess. Yeah, of course. That's. Can we do that now? Well, if it's okay with you, I'd like to write it out, avoid missing any details. That'll work. Sure. Absolutely. I'll just need somewhere to write it. I assume you want your office back. Well, yeah, thanks, but there's an empty accounting office down the hall. No one's going to bother you there, so just take your time, all right? Splendid. And don't feel obligated to wait around. I'm sure you have plenty to do. For Police Chief Dominic arena, what started out as a routine traffic investigation has suddenly become something else entirely. The type of case it's impossible to prepare for. His mind reeling, he heads back to Chappaquiddick. And while arena is en route, Medical Examiner Donald Mills arrives at the crash site. Mills looks over Kopechne's body, which is still laid out on a stretcher in the back of a police cruiser. At first blush, all the evidence is consistent with death by drowning. With his initial examination complete, he has to decide whether or not to request an autopsy. But this is a tricky question. Usually in the case of a car accident, there would be no need. But as this crash involves a US Senator, there's sure to be more scrutiny. He can imagine being criticized no matter what choice he makes, so he decides not to make the call himself. He'll leave it to the District Attorney's office to make the decision. And while Mills is with the body, Chief arena arrives back on the scene. By now, volunteer Deputy Huck look has shown up. He's turning any traffic away from the bridge and keeping the public at a safe distance. And when he sees arena, he tells him what he saw the night before. Look explains that around 12:45am he saw an Oldsmobile just down the road from the crash site. It was a man driving with a woman in the passenger seat. They seemed to be lost, but when Louk approached, the driver suddenly sped off. In the darkness, though, look was able to catch a glimpse of the license plate. It began with L.7, which are the first two digits of the car in the water behind them. Chief arena nods his thanks. That'll be useful for establishing a timeline. Then he walks onto the bridge. Scuba diver John Farrar is still in the water looking for other bodies. When he surfaces, arena calls out that he can stop. He already knows who was in the car and no one else is missing. Farrar wades back to the shore when the tide is at its lowest. The Oldsmobile is then hauled out of the water. Its windshield is shattered and panels on the top and passenger side are crumpled from the impact with the water. Marina and Farrar look inside and they soon come to a disturbing conclusion. When Farrar found Kopechne's body, her head had been pressed against the floorboard of the upside down vehicle. That would have been precisely the area that filled with water last. This suggests that Kopechne survived the initial crash and was conscious long enough to find an air pocket. As an experienced rescue diver, Farrar knows that these air pockets can sometimes last for hours before the oxygen in them runs out. So it's possible that Kopechne suffocated rather than drowned. And if emergency services had been called to the scene immediately after the accident, there's a good chance she could have been saved. To Chief arena, it looks like Ted Kennedy has some explaining to do. He should be finished with his statement by now, so arena decides to head back to Edgartown to see what he has to say. Arena arrives at the police station just after 11am on the way into the building, he passes a crowd of locals, tourists and journalists, but again he ignores them and heads straight inside, poking his head into the unused accounting office. Irina sees Kennedy pacing the room as Markham sits at the desk writing out the statement by hand. A moment later, Markham tears off the page from the yellow legal pad and hands it over to Chief Arena. Arena looks it over. The writing is a bit sloppy, with some words crossed out and replaced. It's still mostly legible, but arena suggests he type it out for the official record. Markham agrees, so the three men head down the hall to Irina's office. Irina takes a seat at his desk and Marcum watches over his shoulder as he types. It doesn't take long to copy. The entire statement is only three paragraphs long, but arena is mostly focused on getting the words right rather than scrutinizing the statement's actual content. But he can already see there's no real explanation of why Kennedy took so long to contact the police. When he's done typing, he gives a carbon copy to Kennedy and Markham to look over. Kennedy nods his approval. It's been transcribed correctly. But he does have one request before he signs the statement and makes it all official. He'd like his family lawyer, Burke Marshall, to look it over. Chief arena doesn't object. As long as the statement is still delivered to him promptly, it won't be a problem. With that, Kennedy gets up to go, but before arena can let him leave, he has a request of his own. He needs to see Kennedy's driver's license. Kennedy glances at Marcum and then explains he doesn't have his wallet with him and isn't even sure where it is. Chief arena frowns. Technically, it's a crime not to present a driver's license when reporting an accident. Combined with the fact that Kennedy left the scene and took so long to come forward, arena could arrest Kennedy on the spot. But he quickly pushes this idea from his it's already been a long morning. So instead Chief arena tells Kennedy he can drop off the license later. Then he leads Kennedy and Markham toward the rear of the building, helping them avoid the growing crowd out front. And as he says goodbye, Marina has no idea that the unsigned statement in his hand will be the only information he gets from Kennedy for days to come, or that the brief document is riddled with omissions and errors. In the statement, Kennedy puts the time of the crash at 11:15pm but Deputy Sheriff Huck look saw the Oldsmobile on the road nearby around 12:45. That's an unexplained 90 minute discrepancy. The statement also doesn't mention anything about the boozy cottage party leading up to the accident. And Joe Gargan and Paul Marcum's rescue attempts are omitted as well. Arena just thought Markham was a friend helping Kennedy out, not that he was also involved in the case. But now it's too late to question either man any further. Soon after leaving the police station, Marcum and Kennedy fly to Hyannis Port and the safety of the Kennedy family compound there. They aren't the only witnesses taking the opportunity to slip away. Joe Gargan has arranged for the five remaining Boiler Room girls to leave Chappaquiddick altogether. He then quickly settles up their bills with the hotels in Eggertown before departing the area himself. And when the growing throng of media at the police station learn that Kennedy has slipped out of town, they're furious. And Chief arena only fuels their outrage when he refuses to share Kennedy's statement without the Senator's permission to the press, it begins to look like this small town police chief is being played. It's an assessment that county prosecutor Walter Steele agrees with. He lives nearby, and when he shows up to the police station later in the morning, he quickly determines that Chief arena could use some help inside the station. Steele tracks down arena and asks to see Kennedy's statement. Looking it over, the prosecutor immediately sees red flags. Kennedy claims that he was attempting to drive himself and Kopechny to the car ferry on the west side of the island, but took a wrong turn east toward the beach where the accident occurred. But Steele points out that Kennedy was familiar enough with the island to know which way the landing was. It's just not credible that he'd drive in entirely the opposite direction along a bumpy dirt track and not realize he'd gone wrong. And Kennedy's story about what happened after the crash is just as suspicious. In his statement, he claims he was in a state of shock and exhaustion and that's why he didn't report the accident sooner. Steele quizzes Irina about Kennedy's physical and emotional state when they spoke earlier, and Irina has to admit that Kennedy seemed fine. He showed no obvious emotional distress, and Irina could see no physical sign he'd been in a car crash at all. Something doesn't add up. In Steele's eyes, Kennedy should be looking at a charge of leaving the scene of an accident at the very least. But Chief arena just lets out a sigh. He clearly isn't thrilled at the idea, but there's no getting away from the facts, so he walks away to call the district Attorney's office. Steele doesn't envy Chief Arena's predicament, but he's confident he's just saved arena an even bigger headache down the line. Because if Senator Kennedy is lying to them about what happened, the last thing they want to do is look like they're joining the COVID up.