Thursday, September 24, 2026 · 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM
Children's Programming Room — 14 Union St., Hamilton, MA
Join local author Rob Fitzgibbon to discuss his new book Murder in Salem, Massachusetts: The Death of Frances Cochran . 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 lover’s lane. Her murder made national headlines on the eve of WWII. 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. As Fitzgibbon reveals, it is also a story shrouded in “the Salem Factor,” the odd and inexplicable coincidences that occur in an area notorious for witchcraft and hauntings. True crime fans will be engaged by this riveting discussion on a local case that continues to astound. Copies of the book will be available for purchase and signing. This program is for adults. Registration requested to gauge attendance; drop-in participants also welcome.