[sissyjane]

Suffocated? I think you mean drowned. How did she suffocate? In water?

[raccoonradio]

thought her air ran out...the water level kept rising up eventually I think but I thought I heard the cause of death was actually suffocation. Who knows, maybe was drowning but the D.A. (acc. to Wikipedia) left some doubt:

>>citing blood found on Kopechne’s skirt and in her mouth and nose “which may or may not be consistent with death by drowning”.

[Canedawg]

She moved herself to an area of the car where there was an air pocket and remained alive until there was no more air to breath. There is a diagram of it on that fatboy site.

[Jet Jaguar]

She suffocated. She swam or moved to the back of the car. There was an air pocket there. She used up that oxygen and died.

[calex59]

She had an air pocket in the car. She kept her head in the pocket, which kept getting smaller, until the oxygen content ran out. If they had not bullied Mary Joe's parents into not having an autopsy there may have been some other interesting items found. I, personally, believe she was drugged, other wise she could have gotten out of the car.

Ask yourself this:

The car goes off the bridge, the Whale gets out, but he doesn't pull Mary Joe out nor does she swim out on her own. Why? Why did she stay in a car that was in only 7 feet of water with the air running out if she was wide awake and able to function?

I believed then, and I believe now, she was deliberately murdered by Kennedy. No proof, but plenty of circumstantial evidence and the cover up alone should have had many people serving jail sentences over her death.

Her Parents are probably roasting in he** right along with Ted for allowing him to buy them off.

[bleach]

There was an air pocket with enough oxygen for about an hour. After she exhausted the supply she suffocated. There was also evidence she clawed the upholstery during this period. The terror must have been unbearable.

[Kansas58]

Air.
She might have run out of oxygen, quit breating with no water in her lungs.

[goat granny]

She was breathing an air bubble in the back of the sunken car. If you drown, there is water in your lungs...If you suffocate, your dead before you can draw a breath...