Wife of GOP Sen. Cochran of Mississippi dies

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Rose Cochran, the wife of Mississippi Republican Sen. Thad Cochran, has died. She was 73.

The senator's spokesman Chris Gallegos said she died Friday at a hospice facility.

Rose Cochran became a focal point in her husband's campaign for re-election this year when a man was arrested and accused of sneaking in to the nursing home, taking pictures of her bedridden, and posting her image on the Internet for a brief time.

Investigators have said conspirators intended to use images to advance allegations that her husband was having an inappropriate relationship. Thad Cochran has denied any inappropriate acts.

Rose Cochran had been living in a nursing home for 13 years, suffering from dementia. The Cochrans had been married since 1964. They have two children.

Cochran has been in the Senate since 1978. He was re-elected in November.

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