Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder

October 30th , "Mishchief Eve" the night before Halloween, often proved fruitful for teenagers looking for the usual neighborhood vandalism and drug induced activities. However,for the Moxley family in Greenwich, Conneticut, 1975 would prove to be an evening that was sorrowfully, life changing.

Martha Moxley had been neighbor's and friends with the Skakel family, and was in their company on that fateful evening. Martha never returned from their company, and was found the following day beaten to death on her own property with a golf club. The beating was so violent that the gold club had broken in 3 pieces, one of which was used to stab Martha in the neck.

For 25 years case evidence has been either lost or mis handled, largely to gross negligence rather than the often used cover up theory. The police and residents of Greenwich just couldn't fathom the Skakel's being involved in such a violent and horrendous murder, even though the murder weapon was traced back to the skakel's and both Tommy and Michael Skakel had ever changing stories for their wear abouts. How could a Kennedy cousin commit such an act?



Reporter Leonard Levitt set out to prove just that. In 1982 The Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time newspaper had asked Levitt to look into what was turning out to be, a cold case. Through his research and interviews with neighbors, family members and various police authorities Levitt discovered how the police had mishandeld the entire investigation, and how the Skakels were getting away with murder.

In 2002 Michael Skakel was convicted of Moxley's murder, after 20 years of hard work by Levitt and Police Detective Frank Garr. Both had faced political and peer pressure during their work on this case, often being shut out soley because of the Kennedy connection. This book was a great read , letting the reader look into the disturbed life and mind of Michael Skakel, and how much money and affluence can attempt to buy. Everything except true personal freedom.