Ted had promised to tell Joe and Gwen Kopechne what happened that night, when he was ready. Her parents were dissuaded from exhuming Mary Jo’s body and from suing Ted Kennedy, afraid of what it would do to all of their reputations. As the years passed with no explanation or answers, and no justice for their daughter, Gwen began self-medicating with Valium. Her father, who kept all his anguish bottled up, eventually developed stomach cancer. They spent their lives tending to Mary Jo’s grave and her memory while fielding calls from Ted Kennedy every few years, asking them to quietly support his
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