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{{short description|American criminal case}} | |||
'''Michael Skakel''', born ], ], is the convicted murderer of ]. He is a relative of the ]: Skakel's father is the brother of Sen. ]'s widow, ]. | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2014}} | |||
{{Infobox person | |||
| name = Martha Moxley | |||
| image = File:MarthaMoxley.jpg | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date|1960|08|16}} | |||
| birth_place = ], ], U.S. | |||
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1975|10|30|1960|08|16|mf=yes}} | |||
| death_place = Belle Haven, ], U.S. | |||
| death_cause = ] by ] | |||
| body_discovered = October 31, 1975 | |||
| occupation = Student | |||
| mother = ] | |||
}} | |||
'''Martha Elizabeth Moxley''' (August 16, 1960 – October 30, 1975) was a 15-year-old American high school student from ], who was murdered in 1975. Moxley was last seen alive spending time at the home of the Skakel family, across the street from her home in Belle Haven.<ref name="Crittel">{{cite news |last=Crittle |first=Simon |title=The Skakel trial: Gruesome details from day two |url=http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,236427,00.html |magazine=] |date=May 9, 2002 |access-date=May 6, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505004747/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,236427,00.html |archive-date=May 5, 2013 }}</ref> Michael Skakel, also aged 15 at the time, was convicted in 2002 of murdering Moxley and was sentenced to 20 years to ]. In 2013, Skakel was granted a new trial by a Connecticut judge who ruled that his counsel had been inadequate, and he was released on $1.2 million ]. On December 30, 2016, the ] ruled 4–3 to reinstate Skakel's conviction. The Connecticut Supreme Court reversed itself on May 4, 2018, and ordered a new trial.<ref name="Casarez">{{cite web |last1=Ellis |first1=Ralph |last2=Casarez |first2=Jean |title=Court vacates Michael Skakel's murder conviction and orders a new trial |website=CNN |date=May 4, 2018 |publisher=Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. |url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/04/us/michael-skakel-conviction-vacated/index.html |access-date=5 May 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505084903/https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/04/us/michael-skakel-conviction-vacated/index.html |archive-date=May 5, 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="WaPO_Rosenberg"/> On October 30, 2020, the 45th anniversary of Moxley's murder, the state of Connecticut announced it would not retry Skakel for Moxley's murder. The case attracted worldwide publicity, as Skakel was a nephew of ], the widow of ] ]. | |||
Martha Moxley was found dead on October 31, 1975 on her family's property in ], after having been beaten with a ], a 6-iron. Initially, the murder remained unsolved. However, when ] was tried in 1991, information surfaced that he knew more about the Moxley case, resulting in further investigations. In 1993, ] published a ''A Season in Purgatory'' that implicated Skakel in the murder. ]'s book ''Murder in Greenwich'' named Skakel as the murderer in 1998. In a widely publicized trial, Skakel was convicted as the murderer on June 7, 2002, and received a sentence of 20 years to life. | |||
==Moxley murder== | |||
Subsequently, there have been attempts to overturn the conviction. In November 2003, Skakel’s lawyers filed an appeal claiming that the trial should have gone to Juvenile Court, that the ] had expired, and that there was misconduct on part of the prosecution. These appeals were rejected by the Connecticut State Supreme Court on January 13, 2006. Also, ] conducts a running feud with Dominick Dunne about the case and maintains that Skakel is a victim of overaggressive prosecution. | |||
On the evening of October 30, 1975, Martha Moxley left with friends to participate in "]", in which neighborhood youths would ring bells and pull pranks such as ] houses.<ref name=JFKJr-2016-Framed/> According to friends, Moxley began flirting with, and eventually kissed, Thomas Skakel, the older brother of Michael Skakel. Moxley was last seen "falling together behind the fence" with Thomas, near the pool in the Skakel backyard, at around 9:30 p.m.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cameron |first1=David R. |series=Opinion |title=Many still ask: Who killed Martha Moxley? |url=http://www.courant.com/opinion/hc-op-cameron-who-killed-martha-moxley-0423-20130422-1-story.html |access-date=19 June 2016 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |date=22 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001200002/http://www.courant.com/opinion/hc-op-cameron-who-killed-martha-moxley-0423-20130422-1-story.html |archive-date=October 1, 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
The next day, Moxley's body was found beneath a tree in her family's backyard. Her pants and underwear were pulled down, but there was no evidence of ]. Pieces of a broken six-iron golf club were found near the body. An ] indicated that she had been both bludgeoned and stabbed with the club, which was traced back to the Skakel residence.<ref name="Crittel"/> | |||
] | |||
==Investigation and trial== | |||
==References == | |||
===Initial investigation=== | |||
Thomas Skakel was the last person seen with Moxley on the night of the murder. He became the ], but his father forbade access to his school and mental health records. Kenneth Littleton, who had started working as a live-in tutor for the Skakel family only hours before the murder, also became a prime suspect. However, no one was charged, and the case languished for decades. In the meantime, several books were published about the murder, including ]'s fictional account of the case, '']'' (1993),<ref>{{cite news |first=Dominick |last=Dunne |date=October 2000 |title=Trail Of guilt |magazine=Vanity Fair |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2000/10/dominick-dunne-martha-moxley-murder-greenwich |url-status=live |access-date=September 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003124957/http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2000/10/dominick-dunne-martha-moxley-murder-greenwich |archive-date=October 3, 2013}}</ref> ]'s nonfiction '']'' (1998), and Timothy Dumas's nonfiction ''A Wealth of Evil'' (1999).<ref> | |||
{{cite book | |||
| last = Dumas | |||
| first = Timothy | |||
| year = 1999 | |||
| title = A Wealth of Evil: The true story of the murder of Martha Moxley in America's richest community | |||
| location = New York | |||
| publisher = Warner Books | |||
| isbn = 978-0-446-60732-2 | |||
}}</ref> | |||
Over the years, both Thomas and Michael Skakel significantly changed their ]s for the night of Moxley's murder. Michael claimed that he had been ] and ] in a tree beside the Moxley property from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Two former students from ], a treatment center for ], testified they heard Michael confess to killing Moxley with a golf club. One of the former students, Gregory Coleman, testified that Michael was given special privileges and had bragged, "I'm going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.marthamoxley.com/transcripts/skakel1.pdf |title=Probable Cause hearing transcript |page=83 |website=Marthamoxley.com |access-date=2013-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120912005541/http://www.marthamoxley.com/transcripts/skakel1.pdf |archive-date=September 12, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Geringer |first=Joseph |url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/moxley/trial_9.html |title=The Martha Moxley Murder — The Trial: Superior Court Weighs Trial Agenda — Crime Library on |website=Trutv.com |access-date=2013-10-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831080903/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/notorious_murders/famous/moxley/trial_9.html |archive-date=August 31, 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Investigation reopened=== | |||
When ] was tried (and acquitted) for ] in 1991, a rumor surfaced that he had been present at the Skakel house on the night of Moxley's death, with the clear insinuation that he might have been involved. Although this proved to be unfounded, it resulted in a new investigation of the then-].<ref name="rogers"/> The Sutton Associates, a ] agency hired by Rushton Skakel in 1991, conducted its own investigation of the killing. The Sutton report, later leaked to the media, revealed that both Thomas and Michael altered their stories about their activities the night of the murder.<ref>{{cite news |title=Skakel Family Friend Softens Her Story |newspaper=] |date=May 16, 2002 |url=http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-skakel0516.artmay16,0,140541.story |url-status=live |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029203222/http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-skakel0516.artmay16,0,140541.story |archive-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref> | |||
In 1993, author ], father of murdered actress ], published ''A Season in Purgatory'', a fictional story closely resembling the Moxley case.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/features/n_8816/index1.html|title=Dominick Dunne vs. Robert Kennedy|last=Smith|first=Chris|magazine=]|page=2|access-date=August 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810113600/http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/crimelaw/features/n_8816/index1.html|archive-date=August 10, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> ]'s 1998 book ''Murder in Greenwich'' named Michael Skakel as the murderer and pointed out numerous mistakes made during the original police investigation.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=19980508&id=mnkhAAAAIBAJ&pg=1621,1151107 |title=Fuhrman accuses Kennedy nephew |date=May 8, 1998 |agency=] |newspaper=The Hour |page=A4 |access-date=August 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511042515/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1916&dat=19980508&id=mnkhAAAAIBAJ&sjid=2YkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1621,1151107 |archive-date=May 11, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Catlin |first=Roger |date=November 14, 2002 |title=Who solved the Moxley Case? Fuhrman takes credit, but top prosecutor says that's baloney |newspaper=] |url=https://www.courant.com/2002/11/14/who-solved-the-moxley-case-fuhrman-takes-credit-but-top-prosecutor-says-thats-baloney/ |url-status=live |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808141633/http://articles.courant.com/2002-11-14/features/0211141419_1_skakel-case-attorney-jonathan-benedict-mark-fuhrman |archive-date=August 8, 2014}}</ref> Even in the years before the Dunne and Fuhrman books, Greenwich police detectives Steve Carroll and Frank Garr, as well as police reporter ], had become convinced that Skakel was the killer.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=20041011&id=Oi40AAAAIBAJ&pg=4008,2937157 |title=Book: Skakel bloody on night of slaying |last=Christoffersen |first=John |date=October 11, 2004 |newspaper=] |page=B5 |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170511014600/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2457&dat=20041011&id=Oi40AAAAIBAJ&sjid=RuEIAAAAIBAJ&pg=4008,2937157 |archive-date=May 11, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
===Trial=== | |||
In June 1998, a rarely invoked one-man ] was convened to review the evidence of the case. After an eighteen-month investigation, it was decided there was enough evidence to charge Michael Skakel with murder.<ref>{{cite news |last=Moore |first=Claire |title=Michael Skakel arraigned |date=February 21, 2001 |work=abcnews.go.com |publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures |url=https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=94027 |access-date=August 4, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810161240/https://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=94027 |archive-date=August 10, 2014}}</ref> On January 9, 2000, an arrest warrant was issued for an unnamed juvenile for Moxley's murder. Michael Skakel surrendered to authorities later that day. He was released shortly thereafter on $500,000 ].<ref name="cnnlibrary">{{cite web |title=Michael Skakel fast facts |date=November 22, 2013 |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/27/us/michael-skakel-fast-facts/ |access-date=August 4, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810171559/http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/27/us/michael-skakel-fast-facts/|archive-date=August 10, 2014}}</ref> On March 14, Skakel was arraigned for murder in a ], since he was 15 years old at the time of Moxley's murder. On January 31, 2001, a judge ruled for Skakel to be ].<ref name="timeline">{{cite web |title=Michael Skakel case timeline |newspaper=] |date=June 14, 2012 |url=http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Michael-Skakel-case-timeline-3621920.php |url-status=live |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140811163958/http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Michael-Skakel-case-timeline-3621920.php |archive-date=August 11, 2014}}</ref> | |||
Skakel's trial began on May 7, 2002, in ], ]. He was represented by attorney ].<ref name="timeline"/> Skakel's alibi was that at the time of the murder he was at his cousin's house. During the trial, the jury heard part of a taped book proposal, which included Skakel speaking about masturbating in a tree on the night of the murder – possibly the same tree under which Moxley's body was found the next morning.<ref>{{cite web |first=Robert F. Jr. |last=Kennedy |author-link=Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. |title=A miscarriage of justice |magazine=] |date=January–February 2003 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200301/kennedy-skakel |url-status=live |access-date=March 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104010917/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200301/kennedy-skakel |archive-date=January 4, 2010}}</ref> In the book proposal, Skakel did not admit to committing the murder. Prosecutors took words from the book proposal and overlaid them on graphic images of Moxley's dead body in a computerized, multimedia presentation shown to jurors during ]s. In the audiotape, Skakel said that he was afraid he might have been seen the previous night "jerking off", and had panicked. Though the jury heard the whole tape, during the closing arguments the prosecutor did not play the portion of the audiotape in which Skakel had said "jerking off", giving the impression that he was confessing to the murder.<ref name="cbsnews" >{{cite episode |title=The ghosts of Greenwich |series=] |network=CBS News |publisher=CBS Interactive Inc |date=August 20, 2008 |minutes=34 |language=en |url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-ghosts-of-greenwich/ |url-status=live |access-date=June 19, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160511113511/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-ghosts-of-greenwich/ |archive-date=May 11, 2016}}</ref> | |||
On June 7, 2002, Skakel was found guilty of murdering Moxley and was sentenced to 20 years to ].<ref>{{cite web |last=Christoffersen |first=John |title=Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel slams lawyer during murder conviction appeal |series=U.S. News |publisher=Usnews.nbcnews.com |date=April 26, 2013 |url=http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/26/17925187-kennedy-cousin-michael-skakel-slams-lawyer-during-murder-conviction-appeal |url-status=live |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029204630/http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/04/26/17925187-kennedy-cousin-michael-skakel-slams-lawyer-during-murder-conviction-appeal |archive-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref> He was assigned to the Garner Correctional Institution in ].<ref name="cnnlibrary"/> | |||
The prosecutors' use of the multimedia presentation during closing arguments was included in Skakel's initial ]. In their brief responding to that appeal, the prosecution argued: | |||
{{Blockquote|The state engaged in appropriate and effective advocacy by using trial exhibits to highlight certain evidence and inferences. ... Just as the state should not be deprived of its most valuable evidence unless there is a compelling reason to do so, the state should not be prohibited from making its best arguments. The state's use of audio and photographic exhibits during argument was a matter of effective advocacy. The state did not, as defendant claims, distort the evidence in any respect. By placing certain exhibits next to defendant's words, or by displaying two related exhibits simultaneously, the state was making explicit the inferences it was asking the jury to draw. This is the job of an advocate.<ref>{{cite web |title=CSAO: State of Connecticut v. Michael Skakel |publisher=Ct.gov |url-status=live |url=http://www.ct.gov/csao/cwp/view.asp?q=286828 |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029202400/http://www.ct.gov/csao/cwp/view.asp?q=286828 |archive-date=October 29, 2013}}</ref>}} | |||
==Michael Skakel== | |||
{{Infobox criminal | |||
| name = Michael Skakel | |||
| birth_name = Michael Christopher Skakel | |||
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1960|09|19}} | |||
| birth_place = ], ], U.S. | |||
| relatives = {{plainlist| | |||
* ] (aunt) | |||
* ] (uncle by marriage) | |||
* ] (grandfather) | |||
* ] (first cousin) | |||
}} | |||
| alma_mater = {{plainlist| | |||
* ] (]) | |||
}} | |||
| criminal_charge = Murder (vacated) | |||
| conviction_status = Released | |||
| spouse = {{marriage|Margot Sheridan|1991|2001|reason=divorced}} | |||
| children = 1 | |||
| conviction = 20 years to ] (conviction vacated, prosecutors not seeking re-trial, case dismissed) | |||
| country = United States | |||
| states = ] | |||
| locations = ] | |||
}} | |||
'''Michael Christopher Skakel''' (born September 19, 1960) is the fifth of seven children, born to Rushton Walter Skakel and Anne Reynolds. Rushton's sister ] was the widow of ] ].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.courant.com/2000/01/20/michael-skakel-has-a-troubled-past/ |title=Michael Skakel has a troubled past |last=Lang |first=Joel |date=January 20, 2000 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808141636/http://articles.courant.com/2000-01-20/news/0001200255_1_ethel-skakel-kennedy-elan-school-michael-skakel |archive-date=August 8, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Skakel's grandfather ] was the founder of Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, a coal company that was one of the largest and wealthiest privately held corporations in the United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Levitt |first=Leonard |title=Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder: A reporter and a detective's twenty-year search for justice |year=2004 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=0-060-54430-9 |pages= |url=https://archive.org/details/convictionsolvin00levi/page/25}}</ref><ref name="campbell">{{cite news |url=http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-skakelfamily.artjun09,0,4815691,full.story |title=The House of Skakel |last=Campbell |first=Susan |date=June 9, 2002 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808141631/http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-skakelfamily.artjun09,0,4815691,full.story |archive-date=August 8, 2014 }}</ref> | |||
The Skakel family lived in the affluent neighborhood of Belle Haven in ]. After his mother's death from ] in 1973, Skakel began ].<ref name="web.archive.org">{{cite web |url=http://www.courttv.com/trials/moxley/profiles/michael_skakel_ctv.html |title=Courttv.Com - Trials |date=December 27, 2007 |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071227045325/http://www.courttv.com/trials/moxley/profiles/michael_skakel_ctv.html |archive-date=December 27, 2007 }}</ref> He was a poor student and reportedly flunked out of a dozen schools.<ref name="moxleycase">{{cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/court.archive.skakel10/index.html?_s=PM:US |title=Moxley Case: Who is Michael Skakel? |date=December 31, 2007|publisher=cnn.com |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810171556/http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/court.archive.skakel10/index.html?_s=PM:US |archive-date=August 10, 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> He also struggled for years with ], which went undiagnosed until he was aged 26.<ref name="www.nytimes.com">{{cite news |last=Foderaro |first=Lisa W. |date=August 30, 2002 |title=2 Kennedys sent pleas for Skakel |newspaper=] |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E3DC153FF933A0575BC0A9649C8B63 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080201064858/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E3DC153FF933A0575BC0A9649C8B63 |archive-date=February 1, 2008}}</ref> Skakel's cousin, ], later wrote that he was a "small sensitive child – the runt of the litter with a harsh and occasionally violent alcoholic father who both ignored and ] him." According to neighbors and family friends, the Skakel children were given unlimited amounts of money and were largely unsupervised.<ref name="campbell"/> | |||
In 1978, Skakel was arrested for ] in ].<ref name="moxleycase"/> To avoid criminal charges, his family sent him to the ] in ], where he purportedly received treatment for alcoholism. He ran away from the school twice before leaving after two years. Skakel later attended ] in ], and earned a bachelor's degree in English.<ref>{{cite web|title= MICHAEL SKAKEL |website= ] |url= https://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/skakel/whois_mskakel.html |access-date=2021-08-27}}</ref> During the 1980s, he attended several ] facilities before finally becoming sober in his twenties.<ref name="moxleycase"/> Skakel also pursued a career as a professional athlete; he competed on the international ] circuit and tried out for the speed skiing demonstration team that appeared at the ] in ], France.<ref name="rogers">{{cite magazine |last1=Rogers |first1=Patrick |last2=Longley |first2=Jennifer |date=February 7, 2000 |title=The boy next door |magazine=People |publisher=Time Inc. |volume=53 |issue=5 |issn=0093-7673 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20130428,00.html |url-status=live |access-date=January 9, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090204024127/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20130428,00.html |archive-date=February 4, 2009}}</ref> In 1991, Skakel married professional golfer Margot Sheridan, with whom he has one child. Sheridan filed for divorce shortly after Skakel was arrested for Moxley's murder in January 2000.<ref name="campbell"/> Their divorce was finalized in 2001.<ref name="cnnlibrary"/> | |||
==Post-trial== | |||
In January 2003, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote a controversial article in '']'', entitled "A Miscarriage of Justice," insisting that Skakel's ] "was triggered by an inflamed media and that an innocent man is now in prison." Kennedy argued there was more evidence suggesting that Kenneth Littleton, the Skakel family's live-in tutor, had killed Moxley. He also called Dominick Dunne the "driving force" behind Skakel's prosecution.<ref name="RFKjr">{{cite magazine |first=Robert F. Jr |last=Kennedy |author-link=Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200301/kennedy-skakel |title=A miscarriage of justice |magazine=] |date=January–February 2003 |access-date=March 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100104010917/http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200301/kennedy-skakel |archive-date=January 4, 2010 |url-status=live }}</ref> In July 2016, Kennedy released a book defending Skakel titled ''Framed''.<ref name=JFKJr-2016-Framed>{{cite book |first=Robert F. Jr. |last=Kennedy |date=July 2016 |title=Framed: Why Michael Skakel spent over a decade in prison for a murder he didn't commit }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Michael |last=Melia |date=July 12, 2016 |newspaper=Hartford Courant |title=RFK Jr. book stokes intrigue in Michael Skakel murder case |url=http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-skakel-book-0713-20160712-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=July 12, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160713175621/http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-skakel-book-0713-20160712-story.html |archive-date=July 13, 2016}}</ref> | |||
===Appeals=== | |||
Skakel continued to fight his conviction. In November 2003, he appealed to the ], arguing that the trial court erred because the case should have been heard in juvenile court rather than in Superior Court, that the ] had expired on the charges against him and that there was ]. On January 12, 2006, the Connecticut Supreme Court rejected Skakel's claims and affirmed his conviction. Subsequently, Skakel retained attorney and former ] ], who filed a petition for a writ of '']'' on behalf of Skakel before the ] on July 12, 2006. On November 13, 2006, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.<ref>{{cite news |title=Skakel murder conviction left intact by U.S. Supreme Court |website=Bloomberg |date=November 13, 2006}}</ref> | |||
In 2007, Skakel's new attorneys, Hope Seeley and Hubert Santos, filed petitions for a writ of '']'' and a motion for a new trial in the Connecticut trial court that had originally heard his case, based on a theory involving Gitano "Tony" Bryant, a cousin of ] player ]'s and a former classmate of Skakel's at the private ] in Greenwich. In a videotaped August 2003 interview with Vito Colucci, a private investigator hired by Skakel, Bryant said that, on the night of Moxley's murder, one of his friends had wanted to rape her. Bryant said that he did not previously come forward because his mother had warned him that, as a black man, he would be framed for the unsolved murder. A two-week hearing in April 2007 allowed the presentation of this ], among other matters.<ref>{{cite news |first=Lynne |last=Tuohy |date=April 17, 2007 |title=Skakel heads back to court |newspaper=] |url=https://www.courant.com/2007/04/17/skakel-heads-back-to-court/ |access-date=May 7, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130427115812/http://articles.courant.com/2007-04-17/news/0704170528_1_skakel-s-cousin-ethel-skakel-kennedy-michael-skakel |archive-date=April 27, 2013 }}</ref> In September 2007, Skakel's attorneys filed a petition, based in part on Bryant's claims, asking for a new trial. Prosecutors formally responded that Bryant may have made up the story to sell a play about the case.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Christoffersen |date=September 14, 2007 |title=Attorneys spar over Skakel's trial bid |newspaper=] |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-09-14-3426051165_x.htm}}</ref> | |||
The new Skakel defense team also hired a full-time investigative team to review existing and new information – particularly a book written about Élan School – in preparation for the hearing. They argued that no Élan residents who knew Skakel, other than Gregory Coleman, had ever spoken about Skakel's confession to anyone, including to the author of the book.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} | |||
On October 25, 2007, a Superior Court judge denied the request for a new trial, saying that Bryant's testimony was not credible and that there was no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in the original trial.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Christoffersen |date=October 25, 2007 |title=Attorney: Judge denies Skakel's bid for a new trial |agency=] |newspaper=] |url=http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2007/10/25/attorney_judge_denies_skakels_bid_for_a_new_trial/}}</ref> | |||
Skakel's lawyer appealed this decision to the ]. On March 26, 2009, a five-judge panel of the court heard arguments on this appeal.<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Christoffersen |date=March 26, 2009 |title=Skakel case goes before State Supreme Court |agency=] |website=WTIC |url=http://www.wtic.com/pages/4089628.php?/|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120321191616/http://www.wtic.com/pages/4089628.php?/|archive-date=March 21, 2012}}</ref> On April 12, 2010, the panel ruled 4–1 against Skakel's appeal.<ref>{{cite news |title=Skakel loses appeal for a new trial |date=April 12, 2010 |newspaper=] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/nyregion/13skakel.html |url-status=live |access-date=February 17, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100416161058/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/13/nyregion/13skakel.html |archive-date=April 16, 2010}}</ref> | |||
Skakel then appealed based on charge of incompetence against Michael Sherman, his lead attorney at the trial. In an April 2013 hearing in ], Skakel testified that Sherman, rather than focusing on Skakel's defense, instead had ]. Skakel also claimed that Sherman was more interested in collecting fees to settle Sherman's own financial problems than in defending Skakel.<ref name="appeal2">{{cite news |last=Christoffersen |first=John |date=April 25, 2013 |title=Skakel slams trial attorney in Conn. murder appeal |agency=] |newspaper=] |url=http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/crime/article/Skakel-slams-trial-attorney-in-Conn-murder-appeal-4462915.php |access-date=April 28, 2013 }}{{Dead link |date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Sherman testified in defense of his actions, while continuing to maintain his belief in Skakel's innocence in the Moxley case.<ref name="appeal_sherman">{{cite news |url=http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Skakel-trial-coming-to-a-close-4466662.php |title=Sherman stands by Skakel to the end |last=Vigdor |first=Neil |newspaper=] |publisher=Hearst Media Services Connecticut, LLC |date=April 26, 2013 |access-date=April 28, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220134/http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/article/Skakel-trial-coming-to-a-close-4466662.php |archive-date=March 3, 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
===Parole hearings=== | |||
Skakel had been imprisoned at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Skakel |publisher=State of Connecticut Department of Correction Inmate Information |url=http://www.ctinmateinfo.state.ct.us/detailsupv.asp?id_inmt_num=301382 |access-date=March 6, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131003054244/http://www.ctinmateinfo.state.ct.us/detailsupv.asp?id_inmt_num=301382 |archive-date=October 3, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Skakel gets 20 years to life |date=August 30, 2002 |website=CNN |publisher=Cable News Network |url=http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/08/29/skakel.sentencing/index.html |access-date=June 19, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160813032802/http://www.cnn.com/2002/LAW/08/29/skakel.sentencing/index.html |archive-date=August 13, 2016}}</ref> On January 24, 2012, Skakel and his attorneys argued for a sentence reduction, claiming that he should have been tried in juvenile court.<ref>{{cite news |title=Skakel seeks sentence reduction for Conn. murder |agency=Associated Press |website=Yahoo |date=January 24, 2012 |url=https://news.yahoo.com/skakel-seeks-sentence-reduction-conn-murder-222153447.htm |url-status=live |access-date=January 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305003717/http://news.yahoo.com/skakel-seeks-sentence-reduction-conn-murder-222153447.html |archive-date=March 5, 2016}}</ref> On March 5, 2012, Skakel lost his bid for a sentence reduction.<ref>{{cite news |title=Skakel loses sentence reduction bid |date=March 5, 2012 |agency=Associated Press |publisher=FOX News Network |url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/apnewsbreak-skakel-loses-sentence-reduction-bid/ |url-status=live |access-date=March 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130407155122/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/05/apnewsbreak-skakel-loses-sentence-reduction-bid/ |archive-date=April 7, 2013}}</ref> | |||
Skakel's first ] hearing was held on October 24, 2012.<ref>{{cite news |last=Christoffersen |first=John |title=Kennedy Cousin Skakel Up For Parole in Conn.|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/kennedy-cousin-skakel-parole-conn|agency=Associated Press |access-date=October 21, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028221441/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/kennedy-cousin-skakel-parole-conn |archive-date=October 28, 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Skakel was denied parole. He continued to deny any role in the killing. Skakel's next parole hearing was scheduled for October 2017.<ref>{{cite news |last=Griffin |first=Alaine |date=October 24, 2012 |title=Skakel, denied parole, will continue quest for freedom |newspaper=Hartford Courant |url=http://articles.courant.com/2012-10-24/news/hc-skakel-parole-decision-20121024_1_michael-skakel-martha-moxley-john-moxley |url-status=dead |access-date=August 4, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808141630/http://articles.courant.com/2012-10-24/news/hc-skakel-parole-decision-20121024_1_michael-skakel-martha-moxley-john-moxley |archive-date=August 8, 2014}}</ref> | |||
===2013=== | |||
On October 23, 2013, Skakel was granted a new trial by Connecticut judge Thomas A. Bishop, who ruled that Michael Sherman failed to adequately represent Skakel when he was convicted in 2002. Prosecutors stated they would appeal the decision. John Moxley, the victim's brother, said that the ruling took his family by surprise and that the family hoped the state would win on appeal.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Lestch, Corinne |author2=Stebner, Beth |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/kennedy-cousin-michael-skakel-granted-retrial-1975-murder-article-1.1494472 |title=Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel granted retrial for 1975 murder of Martha Moxley |newspaper=] |date=October 24, 2013 |location=New York |access-date=October 23, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131024192213/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/kennedy-cousin-michael-skakel-granted-retrial-1975-murder-article-1.1494472 |archive-date=October 24, 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> | |||
In his ruling, Bishop wrote that defense in such a case requires attention to detail, an energetic investigation and a coherent plan of defense, stating: | |||
:"Trial counsel's failures in each of these areas of representation were significant and, ultimately, fatal to a constitutionally adequate defense ... As a consequence of trial counsel's failures as stated, the state procured a judgment of conviction that lacks reliability."<ref>{{cite news |title=Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel granted new trial for 1975 Greenwich murder |date=October 23, 2013 |agency=Associated Press |work=CBS News |place=New York |publisher=CBS Radio Inc |url=http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/10/23/kennedy-cousin-michael-skakel-granted-new-trial-for-1975-greenwich-murder/ |access-date=August 4, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808131428/http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/10/23/kennedy-cousin-michael-skakel-granted-new-trial-for-1975-greenwich-murder/ |archive-date=August 8, 2014}}</ref> | |||
On November 21, 2013, Skakel was released on a $1.2 million bond along with other conditions: he was to be monitored with a GPS device; could have no contact with Moxley's family; must periodically check in over the phone; and would not be allowed to leave the state of Connecticut unless granted permission, although he had since relocated to ].<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Skakel a free man, bail set at $1.2 million |last1=Remizowski |first1=Leigh |last2=Sanchez |first2=Ray |date=November 21, 2013 |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/21/justice/connecticut-skakel-bond-hearing/ |access-date=August 4, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810171604/http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/21/justice/connecticut-skakel-bond-hearing/ |archive-date=August 10, 2014}}</ref> | |||
===2016=== | |||
In December 2016, the ] reinstated Skakel's murder conviction with a {{nowrap|4{{hsp}}{{ndash}}3 majority}} decision, writing that his conviction was the result of "overwhelming" evidence presented by prosecutors and that his legal representation had been adequate.<ref>{{cite news |first=Matthew |last=Kauffman |title=Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's murder conviction reinstated |newspaper=Hartford Courant |date=December 30, 2016 |url=http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-michael-skakel-supreme-court-appeal-20161229-story.html |url-status=live |access-date=2016-12-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161230215634/http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-michael-skakel-supreme-court-appeal-20161229-story.html |archive-date=December 30, 2016}}</ref> | |||
===2018=== | |||
In January 2018, prosecutors asked the Connecticut Supreme Court to revoke Skakel's bail and to return him to prison to resume serving his sentence.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://time.com/5125067/michael-skakel-martha-moxley/ |title=Michael Skakel Should Go Back to Prison, Officials Say |magazine= Time |access-date=January 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180217232615/http://time.com/5125067/michael-skakel-martha-moxley/ |archive-date=February 17, 2018 }}</ref> However, on May 4, the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated Skakel's conviction and ordered a new trial. The court ruled that Sherman had "rendered ineffective assistance" when he failed to contact an alibi witness whose name had been provided by Skakel and that as a result, Skakel was deprived of a fair trial. State prosecutors in ] had the power to call for a new trial against Skakel.<ref>{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Marchant |date=May 31, 2018 |title=Prosecutor to appeal Skakel decision to U.S. Supreme Court |newspaper=Greenwich Time}}</ref><ref name="Casarez"/><ref name="WaPO_Rosenberg">{{cite news |last=Rosenberg |first=Eli |date=5 May 2018 |title=Murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel overturned — again |newspaper=] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/05/04/kennedy-cousin-michael-skakels-murder-conviction-overturned-again/ |access-date=May 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180505114100/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2018/05/04/kennedy-cousin-michael-skakels-murder-conviction-overturned-again/ |archive-date=5 May 2018}}</ref> | |||
===2020=== | |||
On October 30, 2020, chief state's attorney Richard Colangelo informed the Superior Court that Skakel would not be retried, because in Colangelo's judgment, the state would not be able to prove the case beyond a ].<ref>{{cite news |first=Edmund H. |last=Mahony |date=October 30, 2020 |title=Prosecutor in infamous Greenwich murder case tells judge state will not retry Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in 1975 Martha Moxley killing |newspaper=Hartford Courant |url=https://www.courant.com/breaking-news/hc-news-micheal-skakel-martha-moxley-case-over-20201030-yi7xvllu7jfwxnla773vuqx5fi-story.html |access-date=October 30, 2020 }}</ref> | |||
==In popular culture== | |||
The case was featured on '']'' on February 16, 1996, season 8 episode 11. | |||
The documentary TV series '']'' covered the Martha Moxley murder in its episode titled ''Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?'', originally aired on October 20, 1999. | |||
In its ], "Look Again", the TV series '']'' depicted a fictional version based on Moxley's murder. | |||
The American Court TV (now ]) television series ''Mugshots'' featured the case in an episode titled "Michael Skakel - A Killing in Greenwich" which aired in 2003.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mugshots: Michael Skakel – A killing in Greenwich |website=FilmRise |url=http://filmrise.com/mugshots-michael-skakel-a-killing-in-greenwich/ |access-date=8 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027231932/http://filmrise.com/mugshots-michael-skakel-a-killing-in-greenwich/ |archive-date=October 27, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Mugshots: Michael Skakel – A killing in Greenwich |website=Amazon.com |url=https://www.amazon.com/Mugshots-Michael-Skakel-Killing-Greenwich/dp/B00D05DKBI |url-status=live |access-date=8 November 2017 |date=2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150326002921/http://www.amazon.com/Mugshots-Michael-Skakel-Killing-Greenwich/dp/B00D05DKBI |archive-date=March 26, 2015}}</ref> | |||
In 2014, Connecticut-born rapper ] released a song titled "Martha Moxley (Rest in Peace)" featuring a sample from ]'s "Careless Whisper". The song repeatedly, but subtly, references the event, referring to Moxley and Skakel by name.<ref>{{cite web |first=George |last=Michael |collaboration=Apathy |title=Martha Moxley (R.I.P.) |type=lyrics |date=2019-07-26 |website=Genius Lyrics |quote=Around the time when Michael Skakel murdered Martha Moxley |url=https://genius.com/Apathy-martha-moxley-rip-lyrics |url-status=live |access-date=2019-07-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726215615/https://genius.com/Apathy-martha-moxley-rip-lyrics |archive-date=July 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=George |last=Michael |collaboration=Apathy |title=Martha Moxley (R.I.P.) |website=Genius Lyrics |quote=The main sample is taken from the song "Careless Whisper" by George Michael, a musician known for being a cheesy 80s singer. Also sampled at the end of the song is a news report detailing how Moxley's body was found. |url=https://genius.com/Apathy-martha-moxley-rip-lyrics |access-date=2019-07-26 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190726215615/https://genius.com/Apathy-martha-moxley-rip-lyrics |archive-date=July 26, 2019}}</ref> | |||
In September 2017, the rights to Kennedy's book ''Framed'' were optioned by ] to develop a multi-part television series.<ref>{{cite web|first=Michael|last=Schneider |title=FX Prods. to develop ''Framed'', Robert F. Kennedy Jr's crusade to clear his cousin's murder conviction |series=Exclusive |url=http://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/robert-f-kennedy-framed-michael-skakel-martha-moxley-fx-1201876985/ |website=] |access-date=13 May 2018 |date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171011072523/http://www.indiewire.com/2017/09/robert-f-kennedy-framed-michael-skakel-martha-moxley-fx-1201876985/ |archive-date=October 11, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/news/ni61529212 |title=FX Prods. to develop ''Framed'', Robert F. Kennedy Jr's crusade to clear his cousin's murder conviction |series=Exclusive |website=IMDb |access-date=May 13, 2018}}</ref> | |||
In June 2019, ] premiered a three-part documentary titled ''Murder and Justice: The Case of Martha Moxley'', hosted by legal analyst and former prosecutor ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thewrap.com/the-case-of-martha-moxley-reexamines-heinous-murder-44-years-later/ |title='The Case of Martha Moxley' reexamines heinous murder 44 years later |date=June 15, 2019 |website=] |language=en-US |access-date=September 12, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018104637/https://www.thewrap.com/the-case-of-martha-moxley-reexamines-heinous-murder-44-years-later/ |archive-date=October 18, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
On August 10, 2020, '']'' released a ] on the murder of Martha Moxley.<ref>{{cite web |date=August 10, 2020 |website=Crime Junkie |title= |type=podcast |url=https://crimejunkiepodcast.com/murdered-martha-moxley/}}</ref> | |||
==See also== | |||
* ] | |||
==References== | |||
{{reflist|25em}} | |||
==Further reading== | |||
* {{cite book | * {{cite book | ||
| last = |
| last = Dumas | ||
| first = T. | |||
| authorlink = Mark Fuhrman | |||
| year = 1998 | | year = 1998 | ||
| title = Murder in Greenwich |
| title = Greentown: Murder and mystery in Greenwich, America's wealthiest community | ||
| |
| isbn = 978-1-61145-708-7 | ||
| url = https://archive.org/details/greentownmurderm00duma | |||
| url-access = registration | |||
}} | |||
*{{cite news | |||
|last=Dunne | |||
|first=Dominick | |||
|date=October 2000 | |||
|title=Trail of Guilt | |||
|magazine=Vanity Fair | |||
|url=http://www.vanityfair.com/society/features/2000/10/dominick-dunne-martha-moxley-murder-greenwich | |||
|access-date=September 27, 2013 | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite book | |||
| last = Fuhrman | |||
| first = Mark | |||
| author-link = Mark Fuhrman | |||
| year = 1998 | |||
| title = Murder in Greenwich: Who killed Martha Moxley? | |||
| isbn = 0-06-019141-4 | |||
| url = https://archive.org/details/murderingreenwic00fuhr | |||
}} | |||
* {{cite book | |||
| last = Levitt | |||
| first = L. | |||
| year = 2004 | |||
| title = Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder | |||
| isbn = 0-06-054430-9 | |||
| url = https://archive.org/details/convictionsolvin00levi | |||
}} | }} | ||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
* | * | ||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
* | |||
{{Greenwich, Connecticut}} | |||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moxley, Martha}} | |||
] | |||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
] | ] | ||
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Latest revision as of 03:54, 29 December 2024
American criminal case
Martha Moxley | |
---|---|
Born | (1960-08-16)August 16, 1960 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
Died | October 30, 1975(1975-10-30) (aged 15) Belle Haven, Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
Cause of death | Homicide by blunt trauma |
Body discovered | October 31, 1975 |
Occupation | Student |
Mother | Dorthy Moxley |
Martha Elizabeth Moxley (August 16, 1960 – October 30, 1975) was a 15-year-old American high school student from Greenwich, Connecticut, who was murdered in 1975. Moxley was last seen alive spending time at the home of the Skakel family, across the street from her home in Belle Haven. Michael Skakel, also aged 15 at the time, was convicted in 2002 of murdering Moxley and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. In 2013, Skakel was granted a new trial by a Connecticut judge who ruled that his counsel had been inadequate, and he was released on $1.2 million bail. On December 30, 2016, the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4–3 to reinstate Skakel's conviction. The Connecticut Supreme Court reversed itself on May 4, 2018, and ordered a new trial. On October 30, 2020, the 45th anniversary of Moxley's murder, the state of Connecticut announced it would not retry Skakel for Moxley's murder. The case attracted worldwide publicity, as Skakel was a nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
Moxley murder
On the evening of October 30, 1975, Martha Moxley left with friends to participate in "mischief night", in which neighborhood youths would ring bells and pull pranks such as toilet papering houses. According to friends, Moxley began flirting with, and eventually kissed, Thomas Skakel, the older brother of Michael Skakel. Moxley was last seen "falling together behind the fence" with Thomas, near the pool in the Skakel backyard, at around 9:30 p.m.
The next day, Moxley's body was found beneath a tree in her family's backyard. Her pants and underwear were pulled down, but there was no evidence of sexual assault. Pieces of a broken six-iron golf club were found near the body. An autopsy indicated that she had been both bludgeoned and stabbed with the club, which was traced back to the Skakel residence.
Investigation and trial
Initial investigation
Thomas Skakel was the last person seen with Moxley on the night of the murder. He became the prime suspect, but his father forbade access to his school and mental health records. Kenneth Littleton, who had started working as a live-in tutor for the Skakel family only hours before the murder, also became a prime suspect. However, no one was charged, and the case languished for decades. In the meantime, several books were published about the murder, including Dominick Dunne's fictional account of the case, A Season in Purgatory (1993), Mark Fuhrman's nonfiction Murder in Greenwich (1998), and Timothy Dumas's nonfiction A Wealth of Evil (1999).
Over the years, both Thomas and Michael Skakel significantly changed their alibis for the night of Moxley's murder. Michael claimed that he had been window-peeping and masturbating in a tree beside the Moxley property from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Two former students from Élan School, a treatment center for troubled youths, testified they heard Michael confess to killing Moxley with a golf club. One of the former students, Gregory Coleman, testified that Michael was given special privileges and had bragged, "I'm going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy."
Investigation reopened
When William Kennedy Smith was tried (and acquitted) for rape in 1991, a rumor surfaced that he had been present at the Skakel house on the night of Moxley's death, with the clear insinuation that he might have been involved. Although this proved to be unfounded, it resulted in a new investigation of the then-cold case. The Sutton Associates, a private detective agency hired by Rushton Skakel in 1991, conducted its own investigation of the killing. The Sutton report, later leaked to the media, revealed that both Thomas and Michael altered their stories about their activities the night of the murder.
In 1993, author Dominick Dunne, father of murdered actress Dominique Dunne, published A Season in Purgatory, a fictional story closely resembling the Moxley case. Mark Fuhrman's 1998 book Murder in Greenwich named Michael Skakel as the murderer and pointed out numerous mistakes made during the original police investigation. Even in the years before the Dunne and Fuhrman books, Greenwich police detectives Steve Carroll and Frank Garr, as well as police reporter Leonard Levitt, had become convinced that Skakel was the killer.
Trial
In June 1998, a rarely invoked one-man grand jury was convened to review the evidence of the case. After an eighteen-month investigation, it was decided there was enough evidence to charge Michael Skakel with murder. On January 9, 2000, an arrest warrant was issued for an unnamed juvenile for Moxley's murder. Michael Skakel surrendered to authorities later that day. He was released shortly thereafter on $500,000 bail. On March 14, Skakel was arraigned for murder in a juvenile court, since he was 15 years old at the time of Moxley's murder. On January 31, 2001, a judge ruled for Skakel to be tried as an adult.
Skakel's trial began on May 7, 2002, in Norwalk, Connecticut. He was represented by attorney Michael Sherman. Skakel's alibi was that at the time of the murder he was at his cousin's house. During the trial, the jury heard part of a taped book proposal, which included Skakel speaking about masturbating in a tree on the night of the murder – possibly the same tree under which Moxley's body was found the next morning. In the book proposal, Skakel did not admit to committing the murder. Prosecutors took words from the book proposal and overlaid them on graphic images of Moxley's dead body in a computerized, multimedia presentation shown to jurors during closing arguments. In the audiotape, Skakel said that he was afraid he might have been seen the previous night "jerking off", and had panicked. Though the jury heard the whole tape, during the closing arguments the prosecutor did not play the portion of the audiotape in which Skakel had said "jerking off", giving the impression that he was confessing to the murder.
On June 7, 2002, Skakel was found guilty of murdering Moxley and was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. He was assigned to the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown, Connecticut.
The prosecutors' use of the multimedia presentation during closing arguments was included in Skakel's initial appeal. In their brief responding to that appeal, the prosecution argued:
The state engaged in appropriate and effective advocacy by using trial exhibits to highlight certain evidence and inferences. ... Just as the state should not be deprived of its most valuable evidence unless there is a compelling reason to do so, the state should not be prohibited from making its best arguments. The state's use of audio and photographic exhibits during argument was a matter of effective advocacy. The state did not, as defendant claims, distort the evidence in any respect. By placing certain exhibits next to defendant's words, or by displaying two related exhibits simultaneously, the state was making explicit the inferences it was asking the jury to draw. This is the job of an advocate.
Michael Skakel
Michael Skakel | |
---|---|
Born | Michael Christopher Skakel (1960-09-19) September 19, 1960 (age 64) Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S. |
Alma mater | |
Criminal status | Released |
Spouse |
Margot Sheridan
(m. 1991; div. 2001) |
Children | 1 |
Relatives |
|
Conviction(s) | 20 years to life (conviction vacated, prosecutors not seeking re-trial, case dismissed) |
Criminal charge | Murder (vacated) |
Details | |
Country | United States |
State(s) | Connecticut |
Location(s) | Greenwich, Connecticut |
Michael Christopher Skakel (born September 19, 1960) is the fifth of seven children, born to Rushton Walter Skakel and Anne Reynolds. Rushton's sister Ethel was the widow of U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy. Skakel's grandfather George was the founder of Great Lakes Carbon Corporation, a coal company that was one of the largest and wealthiest privately held corporations in the United States.
The Skakel family lived in the affluent neighborhood of Belle Haven in Greenwich, Connecticut. After his mother's death from brain cancer in 1973, Skakel began abusing alcohol. He was a poor student and reportedly flunked out of a dozen schools. He also struggled for years with dyslexia, which went undiagnosed until he was aged 26. Skakel's cousin, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., later wrote that he was a "small sensitive child – the runt of the litter with a harsh and occasionally violent alcoholic father who both ignored and abused him." According to neighbors and family friends, the Skakel children were given unlimited amounts of money and were largely unsupervised.
In 1978, Skakel was arrested for drunk driving in New York State. To avoid criminal charges, his family sent him to the Élan School in Poland, Maine, where he purportedly received treatment for alcoholism. He ran away from the school twice before leaving after two years. Skakel later attended Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts, and earned a bachelor's degree in English. During the 1980s, he attended several drug rehabilitation facilities before finally becoming sober in his twenties. Skakel also pursued a career as a professional athlete; he competed on the international speed skiing circuit and tried out for the speed skiing demonstration team that appeared at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. In 1991, Skakel married professional golfer Margot Sheridan, with whom he has one child. Sheridan filed for divorce shortly after Skakel was arrested for Moxley's murder in January 2000. Their divorce was finalized in 2001.
Post-trial
In January 2003, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. wrote a controversial article in The Atlantic Monthly, entitled "A Miscarriage of Justice," insisting that Skakel's indictment "was triggered by an inflamed media and that an innocent man is now in prison." Kennedy argued there was more evidence suggesting that Kenneth Littleton, the Skakel family's live-in tutor, had killed Moxley. He also called Dominick Dunne the "driving force" behind Skakel's prosecution. In July 2016, Kennedy released a book defending Skakel titled Framed.
Appeals
Skakel continued to fight his conviction. In November 2003, he appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court, arguing that the trial court erred because the case should have been heard in juvenile court rather than in Superior Court, that the statute of limitations had expired on the charges against him and that there was prosecutorial misconduct. On January 12, 2006, the Connecticut Supreme Court rejected Skakel's claims and affirmed his conviction. Subsequently, Skakel retained attorney and former U.S. Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who filed a petition for a writ of certiorari on behalf of Skakel before the U.S. Supreme Court on July 12, 2006. On November 13, 2006, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
In 2007, Skakel's new attorneys, Hope Seeley and Hubert Santos, filed petitions for a writ of habeas corpus and a motion for a new trial in the Connecticut trial court that had originally heard his case, based on a theory involving Gitano "Tony" Bryant, a cousin of Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant's and a former classmate of Skakel's at the private Brunswick School in Greenwich. In a videotaped August 2003 interview with Vito Colucci, a private investigator hired by Skakel, Bryant said that, on the night of Moxley's murder, one of his friends had wanted to rape her. Bryant said that he did not previously come forward because his mother had warned him that, as a black man, he would be framed for the unsolved murder. A two-week hearing in April 2007 allowed the presentation of this hearsay evidence, among other matters. In September 2007, Skakel's attorneys filed a petition, based in part on Bryant's claims, asking for a new trial. Prosecutors formally responded that Bryant may have made up the story to sell a play about the case.
The new Skakel defense team also hired a full-time investigative team to review existing and new information – particularly a book written about Élan School – in preparation for the hearing. They argued that no Élan residents who knew Skakel, other than Gregory Coleman, had ever spoken about Skakel's confession to anyone, including to the author of the book.
On October 25, 2007, a Superior Court judge denied the request for a new trial, saying that Bryant's testimony was not credible and that there was no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in the original trial. Skakel's lawyer appealed this decision to the Connecticut Supreme Court. On March 26, 2009, a five-judge panel of the court heard arguments on this appeal. On April 12, 2010, the panel ruled 4–1 against Skakel's appeal.
Skakel then appealed based on charge of incompetence against Michael Sherman, his lead attorney at the trial. In an April 2013 hearing in Vernon, Connecticut, Skakel testified that Sherman, rather than focusing on Skakel's defense, instead had basked in celebrity. Skakel also claimed that Sherman was more interested in collecting fees to settle Sherman's own financial problems than in defending Skakel. Sherman testified in defense of his actions, while continuing to maintain his belief in Skakel's innocence in the Moxley case.
Parole hearings
Skakel had been imprisoned at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, Connecticut. On January 24, 2012, Skakel and his attorneys argued for a sentence reduction, claiming that he should have been tried in juvenile court. On March 5, 2012, Skakel lost his bid for a sentence reduction.
Skakel's first parole hearing was held on October 24, 2012. Skakel was denied parole. He continued to deny any role in the killing. Skakel's next parole hearing was scheduled for October 2017.
2013
On October 23, 2013, Skakel was granted a new trial by Connecticut judge Thomas A. Bishop, who ruled that Michael Sherman failed to adequately represent Skakel when he was convicted in 2002. Prosecutors stated they would appeal the decision. John Moxley, the victim's brother, said that the ruling took his family by surprise and that the family hoped the state would win on appeal.
In his ruling, Bishop wrote that defense in such a case requires attention to detail, an energetic investigation and a coherent plan of defense, stating:
- "Trial counsel's failures in each of these areas of representation were significant and, ultimately, fatal to a constitutionally adequate defense ... As a consequence of trial counsel's failures as stated, the state procured a judgment of conviction that lacks reliability."
On November 21, 2013, Skakel was released on a $1.2 million bond along with other conditions: he was to be monitored with a GPS device; could have no contact with Moxley's family; must periodically check in over the phone; and would not be allowed to leave the state of Connecticut unless granted permission, although he had since relocated to Westchester County, New York.
2016
In December 2016, the Connecticut Supreme Court reinstated Skakel's murder conviction with a 4 –3 majority decision, writing that his conviction was the result of "overwhelming" evidence presented by prosecutors and that his legal representation had been adequate.
2018
In January 2018, prosecutors asked the Connecticut Supreme Court to revoke Skakel's bail and to return him to prison to resume serving his sentence. However, on May 4, the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated Skakel's conviction and ordered a new trial. The court ruled that Sherman had "rendered ineffective assistance" when he failed to contact an alibi witness whose name had been provided by Skakel and that as a result, Skakel was deprived of a fair trial. State prosecutors in Stamford had the power to call for a new trial against Skakel.
2020
On October 30, 2020, chief state's attorney Richard Colangelo informed the Superior Court that Skakel would not be retried, because in Colangelo's judgment, the state would not be able to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.
In popular culture
The case was featured on Unsolved Mysteries on February 16, 1996, season 8 episode 11.
The documentary TV series City Confidential covered the Martha Moxley murder in its episode titled Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?, originally aired on October 20, 1999.
In its 2003 premiere episode, "Look Again", the TV series Cold Case depicted a fictional version based on Moxley's murder.
The American Court TV (now TruTV) television series Mugshots featured the case in an episode titled "Michael Skakel - A Killing in Greenwich" which aired in 2003.
In 2014, Connecticut-born rapper Apathy released a song titled "Martha Moxley (Rest in Peace)" featuring a sample from George Michael's "Careless Whisper". The song repeatedly, but subtly, references the event, referring to Moxley and Skakel by name.
In September 2017, the rights to Kennedy's book Framed were optioned by FX Productions to develop a multi-part television series.
In June 2019, Oxygen premiered a three-part documentary titled Murder and Justice: The Case of Martha Moxley, hosted by legal analyst and former prosecutor Laura Coates.
On August 10, 2020, Crime Junkie released a podcast on the murder of Martha Moxley.
See also
References
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- ^ Rosenberg, Eli (May 5, 2018). "Murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel overturned — again". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 5, 2018. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
- ^ Kennedy, Robert F. Jr. (July 2016). Framed: Why Michael Skakel spent over a decade in prison for a murder he didn't commit.
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- "MICHAEL SKAKEL". CBS News. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
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- "Skakel murder conviction left intact by U.S. Supreme Court". Bloomberg. November 13, 2006.
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- Kauffman, Matthew (December 30, 2016). "Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's murder conviction reinstated". Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on December 30, 2016. Retrieved December 30, 2016.
- "Michael Skakel Should Go Back to Prison, Officials Say". Time. Archived from the original on February 17, 2018. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- Marchant, Robert (May 31, 2018). "Prosecutor to appeal Skakel decision to U.S. Supreme Court". Greenwich Time.
- Mahony, Edmund H. (October 30, 2020). "Prosecutor in infamous Greenwich murder case tells judge state will not retry Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in 1975 Martha Moxley killing". Hartford Courant. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
- "Mugshots: Michael Skakel – A killing in Greenwich". FilmRise. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- "Mugshots: Michael Skakel – A killing in Greenwich". Amazon.com. 2013. Archived from the original on March 26, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
- Michael, George; et al. (Apathy) (July 26, 2019). "Martha Moxley (R.I.P.)". Genius Lyrics (lyrics). Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
Around the time when Michael Skakel murdered Martha Moxley
- Michael, George; et al. (Apathy). "Martha Moxley (R.I.P.)". Genius Lyrics. Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
The main sample is taken from the song "Careless Whisper" by George Michael, a musician known for being a cheesy 80s singer. Also sampled at the end of the song is a news report detailing how Moxley's body was found.
- Schneider, Michael (September 20, 2017). "FX Prods. to develop Framed, Robert F. Kennedy Jr's crusade to clear his cousin's murder conviction". IndieWire. Exclusive. Archived from the original on October 11, 2017. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- "FX Prods. to develop Framed, Robert F. Kennedy Jr's crusade to clear his cousin's murder conviction". IMDb. Exclusive. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- "'The Case of Martha Moxley' reexamines heinous murder 44 years later". The Wrap. June 15, 2019. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
- "[episode on the murder of Martha Moxley]". Crime Junkie (podcast). August 10, 2020.
Further reading
- Dumas, T. (1998). Greentown: Murder and mystery in Greenwich, America's wealthiest community. ISBN 978-1-61145-708-7.
- Dunne, Dominick (October 2000). "Trail of Guilt". Vanity Fair. Retrieved September 27, 2013.
- Fuhrman, Mark (1998). Murder in Greenwich: Who killed Martha Moxley?. ISBN 0-06-019141-4.
- Levitt, L. (2004). Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder. ISBN 0-06-054430-9.
External links
- Complete Skakel trial coverage from Court TV
- Library/TruTV coverage
- Sutton Report
- Early Sketch of Person of Interest in Moxley Murder
- CNN: Michael Skakel Fast Facts