Court reinstates Kennedy cousin Skakel’s murder conviction
The Connecticut Supreme Court on Friday reinstated the 2002 murder conviction of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel in the 1975 death of teen Martha Moxley.
The move is a rejection of a lower court ruling that Skakel's trial lawyer did not adequately represent him. The court was divided 4-3 in Friday's decision. Skakel's lawyer told the Associated Press he was reviewing the decision and that he had no immediate comment.
Skakel, now 56, was released from prison in 2013 after serving 11 years of a 20-year sentence. He was granted a new trial after the court ruled Skakel's lawyer at the time failed to argue that his brother could have been responsible for the death and also failed to present a key alibi witness.
Moxley, 15, was found bludgeoned to death in a wooded area near her family's home in Greenwich, Conn., on Halloween in 1975. She spent time the night before with Skakel and his brother and some other friends in a Skakel vehicle parked outside the Skakel home. Someone walking through the woods the next day found her body, partially undressed and lying face-down under a pine tree.
Michael Skakel, a 15-year-old neighbor, and his siblings were among people questioned early on in the investigation.
In the trial, a forensic pathologist testified Moxley's injuries were consistent with having been inflicted by a golf club. The golf club likely broke apart during the attack and the broken off shaft was probably used to stab Moxley, the pathologist testified.
A detective testified that he'd seen golf clubs near the door of the Skakel home and a former employee of the Skakel family said that in 1977, Skakel told him he'd done something very bad.
Prosecutors offered that Skakel had a crush on Moxley and grew jealous of a flirtation that existed between her and Michael Skakel's brother, Thomas Skakel.
In February, prosecutors argued Skakel's conviction should be reinstated.
Skakel is the nephew of Ethel Skakel, who was married to the late Robert F. Kennedy.
It was not immediately clear whether Skakel would return to prison or remain free in the interim.