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Murder of Martha Moxley

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Michael C. Skakel (born September 19, 1960) was convicted in 2002 of the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley, his 15-year-old neighbor in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was sentenced to 20 years to life and remains incarcerated. Skakel is the nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

Early life

Michael Skakel was one of six children born to Rushton and Anne Reynolds Skakel. The family lived in the neighborhood of Belle Haven in Greenwich, Connecticut. After his mother's death from brain cancer in 1973, Skakel became an alcoholic[1] and had difficulties at school. His cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. later wrote that Skakel was a "small sensitive child — the runt of the litter with a harsh and occasionally violent alcoholic father who both ignored and abused him."[2] He also struggled for years with dyslexia, which went undiagnosed until he was 26.[2]

In 1978, Skakel was arrested for drunk driving in New York.[3] To avoid criminal charges, Skakel's family sent him to the Elan School in Poland Spring, Maine where he received treatment for alcoholism. He left the school after two years and spent much of the 1980s competing on the national speed skiing circuit.[4] In 1993, he graduated from Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts and worked as a driver for Ted Kennedy's 1994 reelection campaign. Later that year he took a job working for his cousin Michael Kennedy at the Citizens Energy Corporation as director of international programs.

Personal life

In the early 1990s, Skakel married golfer Margot Sheridan. Their son George was born in 1999. The couple has since divorced.

Moxley murder

Trial

For many years, Michael Skakel had been a prominent suspect in the murder of Martha Moxley, his brother Thomas' girlfriend. Mark Fuhrman's high-profile 1998 book about the murder, Murder in Greenwich, named him as the killer, motivated by jealousy of Thomas.[1]

In June 2000, Michael Skakel was indicted for the murder of Martha Moxley. His 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 — the same tree under which Moxley's body was found the next morning. Skakel never admitted to committing the murder. Prosecutors took words from this proposal and overlaid them on graphic images of Moxley's dead body in a computerized, multi-media 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 he panicked. The prosecutor deleted the portion of the audiotape where Skakel said "jerking off", giving the impression that he was confessing to the murder.[5]

Additionally, two former Elan students testified that they heard Skakel confess to killing Moxley with a golf club. According to then-Elan resident Gregory Coleman, Skakel bragged, "I'm going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy."[6]

Skakel was convicted for the murder of Martha Moxley on June 7, 2002, and was given a sentence of 20 years to life in prison.

The prosecutors' use of the multi-media presentation during closing arguments was included in Skakel's initial appeal. The judge ruled that the presentation was appropriate, however.

Post-trial

Defenders

In January 2003, attorney Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Skakel's cousin, wrote an article in The Atlantic Monthly insisting that Skakel's indictment "was triggered by an inflamed media, and that an innocent man is now in prison". Kennedy's article[7] argues that there is more evidence suggesting that Kenneth Littleton, the Skakel family's live-in tutor, killed Moxley. He also calls journalist Dominick Dunne, whose book A Season in Purgatory is a fictionalized account of the murder, the "driving force" behind Skakel's prosecution.[7]

Appeal and post-conviction

In November 2003, Skakel appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court, arguing that the case should have been heard in Juvenile Court rather than Superior Court, that the statute of limitations had expired on the charges against him, and that there was evidence of prosecutorial misconduct. On January 12, 2006, the Connecticut Supreme Court rejected Skakel's claims and affirmed his conviction. Subsequently, Skakel retained attorney and former United States Solicitor General Theodore Olson, who on July 12, 2006 filed a petition for a writ of certiorari on behalf of Skakel before the Supreme Court of the United States. On November 13, 2006, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case.[8]

Since then, Skakel has begun his first round of post-conviction proceedings, beginning with a petition for writ of habeas corpus and motion for new trial in the Connecticut trial court which originally heard his case. Skakel's cousin Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. has brought forth Gitano "Tony" Bryant, Skakel's former classmate at the private Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut. In a videotaped interview with private investigator Vito Colucci in August 2003, Bryant said one of his companions the night of Moxley's murder wanted to "go caveman" on her, meaning to have violent sex with her. A two-week hearing in April 2007 allowed the presentation of this hearsay evidence, among other matters.[9] 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.[10]

Skakel's defense also hired a full-time investigative team to review existing and new information — particularly a book written about Elan School — in preparation for the hearing. They argued that no Elan School residents with Skakel, other than Gregory Coleman, ever spoke about Skakel's confession to anyone, including the author of the book.

On October 25, 2007, a Superior Court judge denied the request for a new trial, saying Bryant's testimony was not credible and there was no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct in the original trial.[11] Skakel's lawyer appealed this decision to the Connecticut Supreme Court. On March 26, 2009, a five judge panel of the state Supreme Court heard arguments on this appeal.[12] On April 12, 2010, the panel ruled 4-1 against Skakel's appeal.[13] Skakel was sentenced on August 29th, 2002.

Skakel is still imprisoned at MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield ,CT and eligible for a parole hearing in April 2013.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Ryan, Harriet. "Profile: Michael Skakel"
  2. ^ a b Foderaro, Lisa W. "2 Kennedys Sent Pleas For Skakel" New York Times. August 30, 2002.
  3. ^ "Moxley Case: Who is Michael Skakel?" www.cnn.com. December 31, 2007.
  4. ^ Rogers, Patrick."The Boy Next Door" People Vol. 53 No. 5. February 7, 2000
  5. ^ The Ghosts of Greenwich, 48 Hours, August 30, 2008, 34 minutes into story
  6. ^ Geringer, Joseph. "The Martha Moxley Murder. The Trial: Superior Court Weighs Trial Agenda." www.trutv.com.
  7. ^ a b Kennedy, Robert F. Jr (January/February 2003). "A Miscarriage of Justice". The Atlantic Monthly. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ "Skakel Murder Conviction Left Intact by U.S. Supreme Court," Bloomberg, November 13, 2006
  9. ^ "Skakel Heads Back To Court," Hartford Courant, April 17, 2007
  10. ^ Christoffersen, John (September 14, 2007). "Attorneys spar over Skakel's trial bid". USA Today. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Christoffersen, John (October 25, 2007). "Attorney: Judge denies Skakel's bid for a new trial". Associated Press.
  12. ^ Christoffersen, John (March 26, 2009). "WTIC.com: Skakel Case Goes Before State Supreme Court". Associated Press.
  13. ^ "Skakel Loses Appeal for a New Trial". The New York Times. April 12, 2010.
  14. ^ "Skakel gets 20 years to life" www.cnn.com. August 30, 2002.

Further reading

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