Quicknation, comprehensive information and links about Michael Skakel

Michael Skakel , born September 9, 1960, is the convicted murderer of Martha Moxley. He is a relative of the Kennedy family: Skakel's father is the brother of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel.

Martha Moxley was found dead on October 31, 1975, after having been beaten with a golf club, a 6-iron. Initially, the murder remained unsolved. However, when William Kennedy Smith was tried in 1991, information surfaced that he knew more about the Moxley case, resulting in further investigations. In 1993, Dominick Dunne published a named Skakel as the murderer in 1998. In a widely publicized trial, Skakel was convicted as the murderer on June 7, 2002, and received a sentence of 20 years to life.

Subsequently, there have been attempts to overturn the conviction. In November 2003, Skakel’s lawyers filed an appeal claiming that the trial should have gone to Juvenile Court, that the statute of limitations had expired, and that there was misconduct on part of the prosecution. These appeals were rejected by the Connecticut State Supreme Court on January 13, 2006. Also, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. conducts a running feud with Dominick Dunne about the case and maintains that Skakel is a victim of overaggressive persecution.