Michael Skakel spent over 11 years behind bars. Then, in 2013, the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned his conviction—not because new evidence proved his innocence, but because his trial attorney, Mickey Sherman, had provided ineffective legal representation.
The failures were significant. Sherman had not adequately focused on Tommy Skakel as a possible suspect, despite the brother's potential involvement in Martha's life. More damaging still, Sherman had failed to contact or present crucial alibi witnesses. Skakel, it turned out, had been miles away from the crime scene on the night of Martha's death, watching a Monty Python movie with friends. This alibi evidence never reached the jury.
The Connecticut Supreme Court determined that these omissions were serious enough to warrant overturning the conviction. In May 2018, after additional appeals, Skakel's conviction was officially vacated. He was released from prison after serving more than a decade.
In 2020, the state prosecutor made a significant announcement: there would be no retrial. The murder charge against Michael Skakel was dropped. The Martha Moxley case, which had captured national attention partly because of the Kennedy family connection, officially remained unsolved.
But Skakel's legal battle didn't end there. In November 2023, he filed suit in Stamford state court against the lead police investigator and the town of Greenwich, alleging malicious prosecution, civil rights violations, and other wrongdoing. He is seeking damages exceeding $15,000.
The case had involved some of the era's most respected forensic work. In 1991, police consulted with renowned forensic pathologist Dr. Henry Lee, who examined evidence including discarded clothes from the Skakel household and crime scene photographs. Lee identified male Caucasian hair recovered from items at the scene, but it did not match the suspects under investigation.
Today, nearly 50 years after Martha Moxley's death, the case remains unsolved. Michael Skakel has been exonerated in the courts, though questions linger about who actually killed the teenager. The Moxley family and Greenwich residents are left without closure—and without a conviction.
Sources
- https://unsolved.com/gallery/martha-moxley/
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQN9s3GlYsA
- https://www.cbsnews.com/news/michael-skakel-martha-moxley-murder-conviction-overturned-lawsuit-greenwich-connecticut/
- https://www.politico.com/news/2024/01/02/kennedy-cousin-murder-conviction-connecticut-00133561
