Real Crime/Paranormal/Conspiracy Theories Book III

Murder of Martha Moxley

Martha Elizabeth Moxley (August16, 1960 – October 30, 1975) was a 15 year-old American high schoolstudent from Greenwich, Connecticut who was murdered in 1975. She waslast seen alive spending time at the home of the Skakel family,across the street from her home in Belle Haven. Michael Skakel, also15 at the time, was convicted in 2002 of murdering Moxley and wassentenced to 20 years to life. In 2013, he was granted a new trial bya Connecticut judge who ruled that he had had ineffective counsel;Skakel was then released on $1.2 million bail. On December 30, 2016,the Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4–3 to reinstate Skakel'sconviction. The Connecticut Supreme Court reversed itself on May 4,2018 and ordered a new trial. On October 30, 2020, the state ofConnecticut announced it would not retry Skakel for Moxley's murder.

The case attracted worldwide publicity,as Skakel is a nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the widow of SenatorRobert F. Kennedy.

Moxley murder

On the evening of October 30, 1975,Martha Moxley left with friends to participate in "mischiefnight", in which neighborhood youths would ring bells andpull pranks such as toilet-papering houses. According to friends,Moxley began flirting with, and eventually kissed, Thomas Skakel,Michael's brother. Moxley was last seen "falling togetherbehind the fence" with Thomas Skakel, near the pool in theSkakel backyard, at around 9:30 p.m.

The next day, Moxley's body was foundbeneath a tree in her family's backyard. Her pants and underwear werepulled down, but she had not been sexually assaulted. Pieces of abroken six-iron golf club were found near the body. An autopsyindicated that she had been both bludgeoned and stabbed with theclub, which was traced back to the Skakel home.

Investigation and trial

Initial investigation

Thomas Skakel was the last person seenwith Moxley on the night of the murder. He became the prime suspect,but his father forbade access to his school and mental healthrecords. Kenneth Littleton, who had started working as a live-intutor for the Skakel family only hours before the murder, also becamea prime suspect. However, no one was charged, and the case languishedfor decades. In the meantime, several books were published about themurder, including Timothy Dumas' nonfiction A Wealth of Evil (1999),Dominick Dunne's fictional account of the case, A Season in Purgatory(1993) and Mark Fuhrman's nonfiction Murder in Greenwich.

Over the years, both Thomas and MichaelSkakel significantly changed their alibis for the night of Moxley'smurder. Michael claimed that he had been window-peeping andmasturbating in a tree beside the Moxley property from 11:30 p.m. to12:30 a.m. Two former students from Élan School, a treatment centerfor troubled youths, testified they heard Michael confess to killingMoxley with a golf club. Gregory Coleman testified that Michael wasgiven special privileges, saying Michael bragged, "I'm goingto 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 beenpresent at the Skakel house on the night of the Moxley murder, withthe clear insinuation that he might have been involved. Although thisproved to be unfounded, it resulted in a new investigation of thethen-cold case. The Sutton Associates, a private detective agencyhired by Rushton Skakel in 1991, conducted its own investigation ofthe killing. The Sutton Report, later leaked to the media, revealedthat both Thomas and Michael Skakel altered their stories about theiractivities the night Martha was killed.