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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. [1] .
1 day ago · CHICAGO (WLS) -- A man has been charged in a Far South Side triple murder that happened back in April 2022. Investigators on Saturday announced charges against Zavier Griffin, 21, more than two ...
- 1800 min
- ABC7 Chicago Digital Team
- Overview
- Trial made international headlines
- Martha Moxley's journal
Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, whose murder conviction in the 1970s killing of a teenager in Connecticut was overturned, is suing the lead police investigator in the case and the town of Greenwich for alleged malicious prosecution, civil rights violations and other claimed wrongdoing. The case made headlines worldwide and was the subject of the "48 Hours" episode "The Diary of Martha Moxley."
Skakel, 63, a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, was found guilty in 2002 of the 1975 bludgeoning death of Martha Moxley, who lived across the street from the Skakel family in wealthy Greenwich and whose body was found in her family's backyard. Both Skakel and Moxley were 15 at the time of her death.
"It was devastating. You have no peace. You've lost it all," Martha's childhood friend Tori Holland told "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty in 2021.
The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned Skakel's conviction in 2018, after he had served more than 11 years in prison, saying his defense lawyer failed to present evidence of an alibi. A state prosecutor announced in 2020 that Skakel would not be put on trial again and the murder charge was dropped.
The new lawsuit alleges the investigator, Frank Garr, was intent on getting Skakel convicted and withheld key evidence about other potential suspects from Skakel's trial defense.
The defendants in the lawsuit "knew that there were other more likely suspects and that there was no probable cause to arrest and/or maintain a prosecution against the Plaintiff (Skakel), but continued to do so intentionally and maliciously, in order to convict a 'Kennedy Cousin,'" the suit alleges.
The case drew international attention because of the Kennedy name, Skakel's rich family, numerous theories about who killed Moxley and the brutal way in which she died. Several other people, including Skakel's brother Tommy Skakel, were mentioned as possible killers. Tommy Skakel denied involvement in the killing.
The slaying took place in the exclusive Bell Haven section of Greenwich where Martha and Skakel were neighbors. At trial, prosecutors said Skakel was angry with Martha because she had spurned his advances while having a sexual liaison with Tommy. There also was witness testimony about incriminating statements Skakel allegedly made.
Skakel's appellate lawyers later argued that Skakel's trial attorney, Mickey Sherman, made poor decisions, including not focusing on Tommy as a possible suspect and failing to attempt to contact an alibi witness. They said Skakel was several miles away from the crime scene, watching a Monty Python movie with friends when Moxley was killed on Oct. 30, 1975.
Sherman has defended his representation of Skakel.
There was no physical evidence and no eyewitness linking Skakel to the killing, his attorneys said.
Skakel's cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now a presidential candidate, was one of his staunchest defenders and wrote a book saying Skakel was framed.
Moxley kept a diary which became evidence after her murder, "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty reported. In her entries, she described her relationship with the Skakel brothers. The month before she died, she wrote about going for ice cream with Michael and Tommy: "Went driving in Tom's car ... and I was practically sitting on Tom's lap. … He kept putting his hand on my knee."
Moxley's friends told police Tommy wanted to date her, but his advances might not have always been welcomed. On October 4, 1975, a little over three weeks before her murder, she wrote: "I went to a party … Tom S. was being an ass. At the dance, he kept putting his arms around me and making moves."
Although Tommy Skakel became a suspect as the last person known to have seen Martha alive, he had an alibi and Greenwich Police Department didn't have enough evidence to arrest him. So, when Tommy's brother Michael Skakel was arrested for Moxley's murder in 2000 after reports circulated that he had allegedly confessed to the killing, the story grabbed headlines worldwide.
Michael Skakel was 41 years old when his trial began in June 2002. The state's case hinged on the theory that enraged with jealousy over Martha's relationship with Tommy, Michael had killed her in a drunken rage.
- 42 min
Jun 5, 2022 · Since 1975, the tony neighborhood of Belle Haven, in Greenwich, Connecticut has been haunted by the death of Martha Moxley, a 15-year-old girl who was bludgeoned with a golf club.
- 42 min
- Asena Basak,Josh Gelman,Hannah Vair is the associate producer,Morgan Canty is the broadcast associate,Gregory McLaughlin,Phil Tangel,Jud Johnston are the editors,Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer,Nancy Kramer is the executive editor,Judy Tygard is the executive producer
12 hours ago · A 21-year-old Chicago man has been charged in the deaths of a Catholic school worker, her brother, and 81-year-old mother who were found shot inside their Morgan Park home in 2022.
Oct 24, 2013 · On Wednesday, nearly four decades after Martha's murder, a Connecticut judge granted Skakel, now 53, a new trial in the case. His attorney said he planned to ask Thursday for Skakel's release on...
People also ask
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Jan 4, 2024 · Michael Skakel, whose murder conviction in the 1975 death of a teenager in Connecticut was overturned, has filed lawsuits against the lead police investigator in the case and the town of...
