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JIM KEITHLEY WAS IN COURT TODAY — WHERE BOUCHARD WAS FORMALLY CHARGED WITH THE MURDER OF ALICE HAWKES. <JIM INTRO-19.00.23> “STEPHEN BOUCHARD IS 63 YEARS-OLD NOW. IN 1987, HE WAS 24 LIVING IN AN APARTMENT WITH ALICE HAWKES IN WESTBROOK. SHE WAS 23. THIS IS STEPHEN BOUCHARD – HE WAS LIVING IN WINSLOW- WHEN POLICE CAME KNOCKING LAST FRIDAY. A GRAND JURY HANDED UP AN INDICTMENT AFTER THE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE GAVE THE GO-AHEAD TO MAKE THE ARREST. STEPHEN BOUCHARD TOLD POLICE IN OCTOBER 1987 THAT HE WAS LOCKED OUT OF THE APARTMENT HE SHARED WITH ALICE HAWKES AT 8 SPRING STREET IN WESTBROOK. HE TOLD POLICE HE HAD RETURNED HOME FROM PLAYING GOLF AND CALLED HIS LANDLORD TO LET HIM INTO THE APARTMENT BECAUSE HE DIDN’T HAVE A KEY TO UNLOCK THE DEADBOLT. BOUCHARD TOLD POLICE HE AND ALICE NEVER USED THAT LOCK. BOUCHARD AND THE LANDLORD DISCOVERED ALICE’S BODY ON THE FLOOR. HER DEATH CERTIFICATE SAID HER THROAT HAS BEEN SLASHED. INVESTIGATORS SAY THERE WAS NO SIGN OF FORCED ENTRY, AND BELIEVE THE KILLER “CAME” AND “WENT” THROUGH THE DOOR THAT HAD BEEN LOCKED FROM THE OUTSIDE…THAT DOOR AND DOOR FRAME HAVE BEEN LOCKED AWAY AS EVIDENCE AT THE STATE POLICE CRIME LAB IN AUGUSTA. ALICE HAWKE’S SISTER, AND NIECE…TALKED WITH US IN 2011 AND SAID BOUCHARD WAS ALWAYS SUSPECT NUMBER ONE. <OLD SOT-ROSEMARY DRIGGERS/VICTIM’S SISTER-> “SHE HAD HER WHOLE LIFE AHEAD OF HER AND SHE WAS MURDERED IN HER OWN HOME.” <OLD SOT-JAMIE DRIGGERS/VICTIM’S NIECE-> “I GOT TO TURN 23, AND THEN 24. I GOT TO HAVE CHILDREN. SHE WAS AN INSPIRATIONAL PERSON.” STATE POLICE RECENTLY ANNOUNCED ITS “MAJOR CRIME UNIT-UNSOLVED” CONDUCTED A RE-INVESTIGATION OF THE HAWKES CASE LAST YEAR. OFFICIALS WOULDN’T SAY WHAT EVIDENCE LED THEM TO THIS DECISION TO MAKE AN ARREST NOW. <JIM TAG-18.59.28> I SPOKE WITH ALICE’S SISTER AND NIECE – THEY SAID – “FOR NOW THE FAMILY IS NOT COMMENTING ON THE ARREST.” AS FOR BOUCHARD, IS BEING HELD AT THE CUMBER
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Maine man charged with 1987 cold case murder of his girlfriend, Alice Hawkes, appears in court
A Maine man who was arrested in connection with the death of his girlfriend, which happened nearly four decades ago, was formally charged with murder in court on Monday.Stephen Bouchard, 63, was arrested Friday in Winslow, a day after he was indicted by a grand jury in Cumberland County, Maine, for the 1987 murder of Alice Hawkes.Hawkes, 23, shared an apartment with Bouchard at 8 Spring St. in Westbrook, Maine, where Hawkes was found dead on Oct. 4, 1987. Bouchard, then 24, told police that he had returned home from playing golf and called his landlord to let him into the apartment because he did not have a key to unlock the deadbolt. Police said Bouchard told them that he and Hawkes never used the deadbolt to lock the door to their apartment. When the landlord let Bouchard into the apartment, they found Hawkes’ body on the floor.The death certificate states that Hawkes’ throat had been slashed. Investigators said there was no sign of forced entry and believed the killer “came and went” through the door, which had been locked from the outside. According to authorities, the door and door frame had been locked away as evidence at the Maine State Police Crime Lab in Augusta.Rosemary Driggers, Hawkes’ sister, and Jamie Driggers, Hawkes’ niece, said Bouchard was always considered a suspect during a 2011 interview with sister station WMTW.”She had her whole life ahead of her, and she was murdered in her own home,” Rosemary Driggers said.”I got to turn 23, and then 24. I got to have children. She was an inspirational person,” said Jamie Driggers.The murder case was reviewed by detectives over the years and in 2025, the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit – Unsolved launched a full reinvestigation of Hawkes’ death. This investigation eventually led the Maine Attorney General’s Office to seek a murder charge against Bouchard.Officials did not disclose what evidence led them to the decision to arrest Bouchard now.Bouchard pleaded not guilty to the murder charge during Monday’s arraignment at the Cumberland County Courthouse.He is being held without bail at the Cumberland County Jail.”We, the family of Alice Hawkes, would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Maine Attorney General’s Office and Maine State Police for their dedication and perseverance in the investigation into Alice’s murder. After many years of unanswered questions, the arrest of Stephen Bouchard brings renewed hope that justice for Alice will finally be achieved,” Hawkes’ family said in a statement shared by the Maine Attorney General’s Office. “We also want to thank our family, friends, and members of the media who helped keep Alice’s name and her case in the public spotlight over the years. Your support, prayers and determination have meant more to us than words can express. As the case moves through the legal process, we respectfully ask for privacy while we continue to remember and honor Alice’s memory.”State police asked anyone who has information related to Hawkes’ death to call the Major Crimes Unit at 207-657-5710.
A Maine man who was arrested in connection with the death of his girlfriend, which happened nearly four decades ago, was formally charged with murder in court on Monday.
Stephen Bouchard, 63, was arrested Friday in Winslow, a day after he was indicted by a grand jury in Cumberland County, Maine, for the 1987 murder of Alice Hawkes.
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Hawkes, 23, shared an apartment with Bouchard at 8 Spring St. in Westbrook, Maine, where Hawkes was found dead on Oct. 4, 1987. Bouchard, then 24, told police that he had returned home from playing golf and called his landlord to let him into the apartment because he did not have a key to unlock the deadbolt. Police said Bouchard told them that he and Hawkes never used the deadbolt to lock the door to their apartment. When the landlord let Bouchard into the apartment, they found Hawkes’ body on the floor.
The death certificate states that Hawkes’ throat had been slashed. Investigators said there was no sign of forced entry and believed the killer “came and went” through the door, which had been locked from the outside. According to authorities, the door and door frame had been locked away as evidence at the Maine State Police Crime Lab in Augusta.
Rosemary Driggers, Hawkes’ sister, and Jamie Driggers, Hawkes’ niece, said Bouchard was always considered a suspect during a 2011 interview with sister station WMTW.
“She had her whole life ahead of her, and she was murdered in her own home,” Rosemary Driggers said.
“I got to turn 23, and then 24. I got to have children. She was an inspirational person,” said Jamie Driggers.
The murder case was reviewed by detectives over the years and in 2025, the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit – Unsolved launched a full reinvestigation of Hawkes’ death. This investigation eventually led the Maine Attorney General’s Office to seek a murder charge against Bouchard.
Officials did not disclose what evidence led them to the decision to arrest Bouchard now.
Bouchard pleaded not guilty to the murder charge during Monday’s arraignment at the Cumberland County Courthouse.
He is being held without bail at the Cumberland County Jail.
“We, the family of Alice Hawkes, would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Maine Attorney General’s Office and Maine State Police for their dedication and perseverance in the investigation into Alice’s murder. After many years of unanswered questions, the arrest of Stephen Bouchard brings renewed hope that justice for Alice will finally be achieved,” Hawkes’ family said in a statement shared by the Maine Attorney General’s Office. “We also want to thank our family, friends, and members of the media who helped keep Alice’s name and her case in the public spotlight over the years. Your support, prayers and determination have meant more to us than words can express. As the case moves through the legal process, we respectfully ask for privacy while we continue to remember and honor Alice’s memory.”
State police asked anyone who has information related to Hawkes’ death to call the Major Crimes Unit at 207-657-5710.
