445: The Murder of Frances Cochran w/ Robert Fitzgibbon

445: The Murder of Frances Cochran w/ Robert Fitzgibbon

July 7, 2026 · 1h 3m

About this episode

The episode discusses the unsolved murder of Frances Cochran and features guest Robert Fitzgibbon, who has written a book on the case.

On July 17, 1941, in Lynn, Massachusetts, attractive nineteen-year-old Frances Cochran stepped off a commuter bus and into a mysterious black automobile. Three days later, police discovered her mutilated body in a Salem lovers' lane. Her murder made national headlines on the eve of World War II. Investigators checked twelve thousand cars and interviewed almost two thousand witnesses. Despite leads that spanned the continent, decades passed and the killer was never caught. Like a poisonous vine, the death of Frances Cochran is tangled with other unsolved murders, including the 1947 Los Angeles Black Dahlia case. My guest is Robert Fitzgibbon, author of the new book "Murder in Salem, Massachusetts: The Death of Frances Cochran". The author's blog: https://medium.com/@chebacco.parish The author's publisher page: https://www.arcadiapublishing.com/products/murder-in-salem-massachusetts-9781467171298 Free shipping and 365-day returns with Quince! Refresh your wardrobe here: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.quince.com/notorious⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

People in this episode

Guest: Robert Fitzgibbon

Topics covered

Sponsors

Quince

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Blue Ewe Media

Books & works: Murder in Salem, Massachusetts: The Death of Frances Cochran

Places: Lynn, Massachusetts, Salem

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