The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Why the state likely won’t try Michael Skakel again
Martha Moxley was murdered on Halloween eve, Oct. 30, 1975, as she walked up her driveway after leaving the backyard of the Skakel home on the other side of Walsh Lane in the posh Belle Haven section of Greenwich. Then, 27 years later, Michael Skakel, like Martha 15 at the time, was convicted of her murder and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. In 2013, a habeas judge ordered a new trial after finding that his trial attorney had rendered ineffective assistance by failing to present testimony from a credible witness who supported his alibi. In 2018, after initially reversing the habeas judge and then reconsidering with a new justice in place of one who had retired, the Connecticut Supreme Court upheld the habeas judge’s decision and vacated the conviction. In early 2019, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the state’s motion to review that decision.
Since then, the question has been whether the state will try Skakel again. The answer is likely to come in a court hearing in the very near future — possibly this week. Indeed, CT Insider recently reported that John Moxley, Martha’s brother, who, with his mother, has been present at all of the court hearings and trials over the years, has said the family has been told by an individual close to the case that Skakel will not be tried again.
At around 9 p.m. on that night 45 years ago, Martha and two friends walked across the street to the Skakel home and sat with Michael in the Skakel’s Lincoln listening to music. Around 9:15, Michael’s brother Tommy, 17, joined them. Around 9:30, two of Michael and Tommy’s older brothers and a cousin took the car to go to the cousin’s home in North Greenwich to watch a Monty Python show on television. Michael went with the two older brothers and cousin and returned home around 11:15 p.m. That was confirmed to the police by the brothers and cousin at the time. Tommy, Martha and her two friends didn’t go to the cousin’s home. Martha’s two friends initially told police they last saw her standing with Tommy in the Skakel’s driveway. Later they said they last saw them pushing and shoving each other and falling to the ground near the swimming pool in the Skakel’s backyard. Years later, Tommy acknowledged he and Martha had engaged in intimate behavior for about 20 minutes before she left to go home.
The Moxley’s house was across the street from the Skakel’s backyard. As Martha walked up the
Most importantly, there is still today, just as there was in 2002 when he was convicted, no forensic evidence of any kind that Michael killed Martha Moxley.
driveway to her home, she was hit in the head from behind several times with a six-iron that had belonged to Mrs. Skakel. She was hit so hard her skull was fractured and the club shaft was broken into several pieces. She veered off the driveway onto the lawn and, after going a short distance, either fell down or was knocked down and then stabbed through the neck with the broken-off handle and shaft of the club. Her body was dragged 80 to 90 feet and hidden under a large pine tree on the Moxley property and wasn’t found until the next day. Because the autopsy was delayed, the time of death could only be estimated within a range of three to four hours, from 9:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. However, a forensic pathologist estimated the likely time of death around 10 p.m., which was consistent with reports of unusual noises in the neighborhood around that time, including two dogs in nearby yards that started barking in a loud and agitated manner — so much so that several neighbors went out to see what was going on.
There was then and is now no forensic evidence pointing to Skakel — no blood stains on his clothing, no fingerprints (the handle and upper shaft of the golf club used in the attack was lost in the initial investigation), no touch DNA, no eyewitnesses. He was convicted largely on the basis of a questionable theory about when the murder occurred and the since-discredited grand jury testimony of a now-deceased heroin addict. In the 2013 habeas trial, a man who had not testified at the original trial said he was at the Skakel cousin’s home in North Greenwich that evening and talked with Michael and his brothers and cousin while they watched the Monty Python show. The habeas judge concluded Michael’s trial attorney could have easily located the man prior to the trial — the cousin’s sister had referred to him as her “beau” in her grand jury testimony — and called him to testify in support of Michael’s alibi that he was miles away when Martha was killed. But the attorney didn’t do that. That was one of the reasons the habeas judge threw out the conviction and the reason the Supreme Court upheld the judge’s decision.
No one should be surprised if the state decides not to try Skakel again; some key witnesses have died and the memories of others about what happened that evening 45 years ago have faded. As John Moxley said, “It would be extremely hard to put forward a case. People have died. People’s memories have faded. … It’s disappointing, but not devastating.” Most importantly, there is still today, just as there was in 2002 when he was convicted, no forensic evidence of any kind that Michael killed Martha.