Who Killed Alice Hawkes? Part Two
This is the first in a two-part series on Alice Hawkes. Click here for Part One.
“Call the police!”
Stephen Bouchard shouted, “Call the police!”
His landlord, Bob was nervous about touching anything in the apartment for fear of contaminating the crime scene, so he first knocked on some of the neighbor’s doors, hoping that one of them would allow him to use their phone. When there was no answer, Bob returned to Alice’s apartment and used their phone to call the Westbrook Police. While he was on the phone with the police, it looked as though Stephen was bent over Alice – perhaps checking for a pulse? Stephen told him, “don’t touch anything!”
After he got off the phone, Stephen said, “Come here, Bob. There is something I want to show you.” He asked Bob to follow him to the bedroom, which he did, and then Stephen pointed to a table and said “That’s why I couldn’t get into the apartment.” In the center of the otherwise bare table was a single key.
They returned to the living room where Bob saw Stephen going through Alice’s purse. He also saw Stephen touch what looked to be the murder weapon.
Westbrook Rescue Unit responds
Bob left the apartment, leaving Stephen alone inside, and walked to the corner of Spring Street and Main Street to help direct the first responders to the building and the upstairs apartment. While he was waiting, he noticed that Stephen, too, had left the apartment and went into the Big Apple (a gas station store) that was on the same corner he was standing.
Stephen opened the door of the Big Apple and started yelling right away, “Call the police! - Call the police!” – which was odd – since he had just seen and heard Bob call the police.
First responders, called the “Westbrook Rescue Unit”, arrived and Bob directed them right away to the apartment. The door was locked again. Evidently Stephen had locked it by accident. Wasting no time, they broke down the door. Once inside, they realized that they would be no help to Alice – she had long been dead.
Police arrive
Detective Peter Murray was on duty that Sunday morning working as a patrol officer, and he was at a home on Saco St. speaking with someone about a sheep that had been on the loose for several weeks when he was interrupted by his dispatcher and instructed to meet the rescue unit at Alice’s apartment. He hurried over. After seeing the blood and the body, he established a crime scene perimeter.
Other law enforcement soon arrived and they instructed all non-law enforcement personnel to leave the apartment but stay on the grounds. The state medical examiner had been notified, too, and he was on his way.
When the examiner arrived, there appeared to be a vote amongst the officers present as to the cause of death: 2 for homicide, 1 for suicide, and 1 undecided.
Investigation and forensics
Crime scene photographs were taken from every angle. State crime lab technicians arrived and took a large section of the living room rug as evidence.
There was a bloody palm print on the front door leading into the apartment, and the whole door itself was taken as evidence.
Once Alice’s body had been repositioned under the direction of Dr. Ronald Roy, the medical examiner, it became clear what the cause of death was. She had several large cuts to her neck. Roy completed his preliminary examination of Alice and officially pronounced her dead.
Police believed that whoever would have done this would have gotten blood all over themselves and perhaps tried to wash up in the apartment, so the Maine State Police pulled the sink traps in the apartment looking for signs of blood. They also conducted blood tests on the fire escape and stairway leading downstairs.
No apparent motive
Later that afternoon, Bob Blais, owner of the local funeral home, came to retrieve Alice’s body. He came alone and was assisted by Westbrook officer Mike Sanphy. He was responsible for transporting her body to the medical examiner’s office in Augusta. When they moved her out of the bathroom, he exclaimed, “Jesus, he did a number on her!” It was around 3:00PM when he left with her body.
There were no signs of struggle, except for one table, slightly askew, no evidence of forced entry, no property missing, and no evidence of sexual assault. It seemed that the crime must be personal.
It appeared that Alice had been attacked in the living room and she managed to make it to the bathroom on her own before she succumbed.
Autopsy
Alice’s body had made it to Augusta, and on Monday morning, the day after her body was discovered, Medical Examiner Dr. Ronald Roy conducted an autopsy.
Her clothing was removed and turned over to the police as evidence. Her fingernails were clipped and bagged. A watch and a necklace she was wearing when she died were offered to the family. They accepted the watch, but declined the necklace. It had been a gift to Alice from Stephen a month before and they did not want it.
Dr. Roy finished his work by early afternoon, and awaited results from some “chemical analysis tests” before releasing his report.
A couple days later, the results were in. She had several “severe slash wounds” to her throat – one of which was called “the big one.” The medical examiner estimated that she had bled to death Saturday afternoon, about 18-22 hours before she was discovered Sunday morning. But more importantly, they pronounced her death a homicide.
Day of the murder, a detailed timeline
Saturday, October 3, 1987, was a normal weekend day in Alice and Stephen’s lives. It was a cool and breezy autumn day in the 50’s and 60’s, slightly overcast, and the leaves were turning – the perfect weather for an outdoor festival.
Stephen had plans to go golfing with his buddy, Patrick Maristany, that afternoon, at Twin Falls Golf Club, and Alice was planning to go to the Cumberland Fair with some of her girlfriends from work.
They had some chores to do that morning, though.
Sometime during that Saturday, Stephen had dropped by Maine Saving Bank, and withdrew $25 from their joint bank account.
Since they didn’t have a washer/dryer in their unit, Alice went to a local laundromat, a short drive down Main St., to knock it out that morning. Though not confirmed, it’s believed that was it was Pratt Abbott.
A resident of the building saw Alice get out of her car with a large navy duffle bag full of clean laundry at around 11:00AM. He helped her carry it to the front porch where she took it the rest of the way up the stairs herself and into the apartment. Some of her laundry was to be hung up, which she did right away. Some of her other laundry, which she had already folded, she put into neat piles to be put away later. But there were some things that were still damp that needed to be hung to dry and although she put some of those clothes on a drying rack, she left some in the bag. She wasn’t quite finished dealing with her laundry when she picked up the telephone and called her mother, Frances, in Bangor and spoke to her for about 45 minutes.
Frances said that the call felt pretty ordinary, and recalled that Alice was in a good mood. They made plans do some holiday shopping the next weekend - Alice loved Christmas.
Meanwhile, Stephen was out running some errands and had inadvertently locked his keys in his car. This was a time before cell phones, so Stephen called Alice from a pay phone on Congress Street in Portland, and fortunately there was a spare car key in the apartment. She ran it out to him and got the car unlocked.
It’s not clear whether Stephen returned to the apartment after that point. He is quoted as saying that the last time he saw Alice alive was in his rear-view mirror after she brought him his spare key, but it is otherwise reported that Patrick picked him up from his apartment for his golf game, suggesting he returned home. Police later verified that he had gone golfing – he even presented his score card. Some residents also reported him cleaning his car on Saturday to landlord Bob Margiloff.
Final moments of Alice’s life, her last phone call
It was around this time that Alice got a surprise call from an old college friend who had just moved into the neighborhood. I’ll refer to her as Erica. It had been about 2.5 years since Alice had left college, and Erica and Alice had been close friends at school. Erica had been focused on her relationship with her boyfriend, and they had gotten engaged. She had just moved to Westbrook a few weeks prior and was now neighbors with her college friend and wanted to reconnect.
She had gotten Alice’s number from a mutual friend and dialed her apartment’s landline: 854-5792.
Erica’s wedding was only 20 days away, and things were in good order. She took a break from thinking about the wedding and looked forward to having a nice chat with her old buddy, but from the moment that Alice answered the phone, Erica could tell that something was off. Alice was distracted and clearly not in the mood to talk. She could hear something happening in the background. She remembered that Alice muffled the phone and made some sort of comment to someone in the room in a tone that was out of character for her. This was not the light-hearted, upbeat, good listener that Erica had come to know.
Detective Holt from the Maine State Police said this: “Someone was in the room with Alice then. Erica said she called sometime between 11 and noon, but she wasn’t for sure. She described Alice as talking to that person in a very authoritarian manner - like she was talking to a dog. A very uncharacteristic and demanding tone. She thought maybe it was a child. Alice wasn’t the angry type. It was rare for her to exhibit that behavior.”
Erica figured it was not a good time to talk, so she gave Alice her phone number to ring her back later. Alice’s response was abrupt “Okay. Yup. Got it.” Erica was worried that her friend wasn’t paying attention and so she said, “Alice, put down the phone, and go get a pencil and paper.” Alice got something to write with and Erica repeated her phone number. Alice said “Got it,” and after saying goodbye, hung up. Erica thought to herself, “Wow. That was strange.”
The police believed that Alice was killed shortly after her call with Erica with a sharp utensil retrieved from the kitchen of the apartment - either a pair of scissors or a kitchen knife.
Detective Holt, in an article for the Bangor Daily News, said, “that task was interrupted. She was not the type of person who would have left wet clothes in that bag. She would have finished that task.”
Stephen can’t get into the apartment, spends the night with a friend
When Stephen returned from his golf game with Patrick, he found the door to their unit was locked by the deadbolt which was odd because they rarely used the deadbolt. They typically used the bottom lock to secure the apartment. He had his key to the bottom lock with him, but not the deadbolt key. Also strange was that Alice’s car – her Thunderbird – was in her parking spot – suggesting that perhaps Alice was home but just not answering the door.
Instead of trying to gain access to the apartment, Stephen decided to go Patrick’s place in Portland where he lived with his girlfriend. He phoned the apartment repeatedly that afternoon and evening without answer.
After not being able to connect with Alice all evening Stephen decided to spend the night with Patrick and try his luck in the morning.
Alice’s funeral
On Wednesday evening, three days after her body was found, the family held a wake at a local Bangor funeral home, called Brookings-Smith. Before the public arrived, they wanted to see Alice’s body – injuries and all – before closing her casket forever. Rosemary and Alice’s Aunt Gerry picked out her final outfit – a blue sweater and a skirt. Stephen and his stepfather went to the viewing as well.
Stephen said that he wasn’t happy about the amount of makeup that had been used on her. He also inquired about the necklace he had given her – the one she was wearing when she was murdered. The police had it, though, in their evidence locker. He also asked the funeral director if he could place a photograph of Alice and him in her casket for her to be buried with. He checked with Alice’s mother, Frances, and she said no.
On Thursday morning, there was a mass held at the family’s church in Bangor: St. Mary’s Catholic Church. They then processed to Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, where a brief graveside service was held, and her body was buried.
Police name no suspects
Police so far had named no suspects or persons of interest, and the only indication of their investigation that could be gleaned was who they had talked to. Among those questioned were Steven, Bob, Patrick Maristany, an upstairs neighbor, a cable service technician, and a “transient” seen in the area the day of the murder.
Bob Margiloff had a strong alibi and was very cooperative with the police. They dismissed him as a potential suspect.
On Tue, October 6th, two days after Alice’s body was found, Deputy Attorney General Fernand LaRochelle, head of the criminal division, said that “Stephen Bouchard is not a suspect.”
Stephen offers some theories
Steve had offered to the police a few different theories to explain her death.
The first was suicide.
Before Alice’s body had even been removed by the funeral director, Steve posited to the detectives that Alice had died by suicide, something at that point they couldn’t rule out.
But aside from all of the family and friends who found it impossible to believe that Alice had taken her own life, a spokesman for the Attorney General said it would have taken ‘real guts’ for somebody to have stabbed their own throat multiple times in the manner of Alice’s wounds.
The second theory was that perhaps her male colleague at the bank (that had a romantic interest in her) was involved. This was quickly ruled out because he was in Minnesota at the time.
The third theory was that perhaps someone was after Stephen, but got Alice instead. Stephen didn’t offer any information to the press on any enemies that he might have had that could have wanted him dead.
The Hawkes family felt that the police had been misled by Stephen and had made some fatal missteps in the earliest stages of the investigation.
Stephen cuts off contact
Stephen cut off contact with the family merely weeks after Alice’s death, even though lingering questions remained.
Despite repeated attempts to try and reason with Steve, he maintained his silence, asking the Hawkes family to refrain from contacting him again and referring the family to his lawyer instead.
The pain of losing Alice and not having any answers to point to was compounded by the frustration of Steve’s ongoing silence.
Frances Hawkes last attempt at getting Stephen to talk with her was in September of 1992. She felt he was the only person who might be able to connect the dots and help her understand what happened to Alice. With the blessing of the state detectives, Frances sent Steve a letter by certified mail. He never replied.
Private investigator hired, state police veteran
After four years of praying and hoping for that long-anticipated phone call from police that they had caught her killer, the family began to explore other options. Frances hired private investigator Ralph Pinkham. He was a Lieutenant with the state police, and the commander of the criminal division for Northern Maine. He was obviously a respected member of the Maine State Police, now retired, and his involvement seemed like it could make a real difference in the investigation.
His first meeting with the Hawkes family was promising. He told them, “I believe this case can be solved,” and with that, he was hired.
Right around this time, the family offered a reward of $5,000 for any information leading to an arrest, perhaps on his recommendation.
After a few months of work, the PI had changed his mind, and he stopped working on the case.
In 2009, he was interviewed by Mark Swett, and Ralph told Mark that he did not have access to the state police case files and that he wouldn’t comment on his work on the case.
The Hawkes family later increased the reward to $10,000 and finally rescinded the offer, after 10 years, in 2002.
State Police ‘reactivate’ case
In July of 2008, Westbrook resident and avid researcher Mark Swett contacted the Hawkes family. He wanted to make a difference on the case. He had done some of his own research by this point and he wanted the family’s blessing and support to create a website that would be Alice’s voice. He wanted to keep the case alive, continue his research on it, and to let the world know about this tragedy.
They gave him their blessing and in March of 2009, the website, alicehawkes.com, was launched.
Prior to the publication of the website, they coincidentally were contacted by the Maine State police. They met with detective William Ross in September of 2008 and he said that the case evidence was well-preserved and looked promising. A formal case presentation is required before a cold case can take on new life. In January 2009 officials of the Maine State Police, The Maine Medical Examiner’s Office as well as the Maine Attorney General’s Office heard the presentation. They decided to allocate more resources to its active investigation.
Two months later, attorney general Bill Stokes said that the case was “very solvable.”
But after that, not much has been said by the Maine State Police. Not much contact has been made to the family.
The key situation may lead us to a killer
So where does that leave us?
One of the biggest questions about this case is about the locked deadbolt. The only person that verified that the deadbolt was locked was Steve Bouchard. He said it was locked when he returned from his golf game, and that it was still locked on Sunday morning. He said that he finally unlocked it on Sunday morning once his landlord had provided him a spare key.
Supposing that the door’s deadbolt was in fact locked during that period of time, how could it have been locked? Only 4 known copies of the deadbolt key existed. 2 were in Bob’s custody, one was Alice’s, and the other was Steve’s. If Alice’s killer took her key when he left in order to lock the deadbolt, then there should be a key missing: Alice’s key. It has not been confirmed by the state police whether or not Alice’s deadbolt key was missing.
If Alice’s keys were in fact in the apartment along with Stephen’s spare key, then how could the door have been locked from the outside? It suggests that either Bouchard or Margiloff locked that door or that there was a mystery fifth key controlled by someone else that locked it.
Bouchard family feels victimized too
Almost immediately, Stephen moved out of the apartment and stayed with Pat and his girlfriend for about a month or two. He became paranoid living at their place, and eventually they asked him to leave. He then moved back to Hudson (near Bangor) with his mother and stepfather.
Steven Bouchard’s mother and stepfather spoke about him since he refused to speak for himself. She said that the murder happened just months before Stephen planned to ask Alice to marry him. She said, “I’m sure there are those who don’t know Steve and would think he did it. As his mother, that’s hard to swallow,” she says. “Steve would never hurt a flea.”
She continued, “This has ruined his life. I don’t know if he’ll ever be the same. Steve feels like he’s become the victim, too. I just pray all the time that they find out who did it, for the sake of their family as well as ours.”
Hope remains in 2021
In 2019, some peculiar graffiti popped up 300 miles away in Manhattan, New York City, on the outside of a building at E 36th and 3rd avenue in Murray Hill. The graffiti said “1987: Who Killed Alice Hawkes?” Somebody who saw it googled Alice’s name and the date, found the website, and reached out to Mark Swett. The graffiti has since been removed, and nobody knows who wrote it or why it was written.
October 3rd, about a week ago, marked the 34th anniversary of Alice’s death, and though 34 years feels like a lifetime, this would not be the first Maine murder case that was solved decades after the fact. Just last year Dorothea Burke’s suspected killer was charged and arrested, and Joyce McLain’s killer was convicted in 2018, 38 years after her murder. The Hawkes family is ‘not going away’, and the attention that this case is getting is picking up steam.
Rosemary said, “There is a killer out there, and he brutally murdered Alice. As long as there’s a Hawkes on the face of the earth, we’re going to search for her killer.”
Take action
If you know anything about the murder of Alice Hawkes, I urge you to leave a tip to the Maine State Police Unsolved Homicide Unit or call (207) 624-7076.
Links
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Diagram of Alice’s apartment (drawn by Bob Margiloff)
Front porch of Alice’s apartment (Spring St, Westbrook, ME)
Internal stairs, Alice’s door at top on the left
Alice’s apartment house, view from porch side (main entrance)
Alice’s apartment house, view from Big Apple side (back side)
Laundromat Alice may have gone to (Pratt & Abbot)
Laundromat Alice may have gone to…
Alice at Disneyworld
Alice Hawkes with Debbie Dunn
Alice Hawkes, 1984
Alice at USM with friends
Camp Sasone (Lake Pushaw), Alice on right
Alice (left) with cousin Krista, 1978
Alice Hawkes with Stephen Bouchard
Sources For This Episode
Newspaper Articles
Various articles, from the American Journal, Bangor Daily News, Portland Evening Express, Portland Press Herald.
Articles written by Chance Viles, Frank Sleeper, Gail Geraghty, Leslie Bridgers, Marianne Shafer, Martha Englert, Raymond Foote, Renee Ordway, Steve Campbell, and Tom Berg.
Full listing here.
Online written sources
All writing at AliceHawkes.com (primarily written by Mark Swett)
All writing at Facebook page, “Who Killed Alice Hawkes” (primarily written by Mark Swett)
Interviews
Debbie Dunn, Rosemary Driggers, and Mark Swett
Photo Sources
Photos primarily from Mark Swett, Rosemary Driggers, and alicehawkes.com.
Credits
Created, researched, written, told, and edited by Kristen Seavey
Research, writing, photo editing support by Byron Willis