About This Episode
Michael Skakel, a cousin of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has finally broken his silence on one of America's most infamous unsolved murders—the 1975 killing of 15-year-old Martha Moxley in Greenwich, Connecticut.
Moxley was found dead in the backyard of her family's home in the Bellehaven section of Greenwich on October 31, 1975, after being beaten and stabbed with a golf club on Mischief Night—the evening before Halloween. The teenager had last been seen hanging out with friends, but would never return home alive.
Skakel, who was 15 years old at the time of the murder and lived nearby as Moxley's classmate and neighbor, maintained his innocence throughout decades of legal proceedings. When confronted about the crime, he told Moxley's mother directly: "You've got the wrong guy."
Despite initial suspicions falling on his older brother Thomas Skakel and the family's live-in tutor Kenneth Littleton, Michael Skakel became the primary focus of the investigation. He was not arrested until January 19, 2000—more than two decades after the murder—when he turned himself in after a warrant was issued. By the time of his arraignment, Skakel was 39 years old.
Skakel pleaded not guilty to the murder charge, but he was eventually convicted. He served 11 years in prison before his conviction was overturned in 2013, leaving the case in legal limbo and the murder technically unsolved despite the prosecution's case.
Now, for the first time in public, Skakel is telling his story. His account appears in the NBC News podcast "Dead Certain: The Martha Moxley Murder," which debuted on November 4 and revisits the 50-year-old case with new details and fresh perspectives.
The case has long fascinated true crime observers, partly because of its connection to one of America's most prominent families and partly because of its unresolved status. The golf club used as a murder weapon was traced to the Skakel family home, and an autopsy confirmed the cause of death. Yet questions about what really happened on that October night in 1975 have persisted through multiple legal proceedings.
In the years following the murder, additional evidence emerged—including a stain discovered in the Moxley family's television room by maid Theresa Tirado the day after the killing. However, John Moxley, the victim's brother, later suggested the stain could have been food-related, adding another layer of uncertainty to the investigation.
With Skakel's conviction vacated and no one currently imprisoned for the crime, Martha Moxley's death remains officially unsolved. The case has been the subject of multiple documentaries and investigations, each attempting to answer the questions that have lingered for half a century: Who killed Martha Moxley, and why?
Skakel's decision to break his silence comes at a significant moment—50 years after his neighbor's death and years after his release from prison. Whether his account in the NBC podcast provides closure or merely deepens the mystery remains to be seen.
**Sources**
https://www.foxnews.com/us/kennedy-cousin-tied-martha-moxley-case-breaks-silence-50-years-later-murder-remains-unsolved
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQN9s3GlYsA
https://www.foxnews.com/us/martha-moxley-case-kennedy-cousin-breaks-silence-troubled-upbringing-arrest-warrant-murder-mystery
https://www.oxygen.com/crime-news/kennedy-cousin-michael-skakel-on-martha-moxley-murder
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-united-states-of-kennedy-281493472/episode/the-murder-of-martha-moxley-306046564/
