The Ghosts of Greenwich

Summary

48 Hours – "The Ghosts of Greenwich"

Host: CBS News
Episode Date: October 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

This gripping episode of “48 Hours” revisits the notorious 1975 murder of Martha Moxley in Greenwich, Connecticut, and charts the decades-long quest for justice that followed. Through meticulous reporting, interviews with key family members and legal figures, and a review of controversial evidence, the episode explores the conviction and ultimate release of Michael Skakel, a Kennedy cousin, once found guilty of the crime. Listeners are immersed in the tangled web of privilege, suspicion, and the enduring pain of two families forever changed by a single night.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Crime and Initial Investigation

• [01:44–12:37] The show describes Martha Moxley as a popular and well-liked teenager whose violent death shocked the affluent Greenwich community. She was found brutally beaten under a tree near her home, killed with a golf club later traced to the Skakel family. The crime’s brutality led police to initially suspect an outsider.
  • Quote: “Martha was an extremely popular, attractive girl… typical teenager in probably the best sense of the term.” – Steven Skakel [01:39]
  • Quote: “The instrument used in the striking of the Moxley girl was a golf club.” – Steven Skakel [02:05]

The Skakel Family: Wealth, Tragedy, and Suspicion

• [09:31–13:11] The Skakels are portrayed as once-wealthy, powerful, and related to the Kennedy family. The family lost their mother to cancer a year before the murder, and later, their live-in tutor, Ken Littleton, became a person of interest.
• [15:08–16:07] Tommy Skakel, Michael’s older brother, was an early suspect. Suspicion grew when his alibi was challenged, but ultimately he wasn't charged.

Michael Skakel Moves from Witness to Suspect

• [17:02–19:11] Years after the murder, Michael became a focus due to inconsistencies in his statements revealed by the family’s own “Sutton Report.” Michael’s revised account included explicit details, placing himself near the crime scene and leading to new suspicion.
  • Quote: “He's feeling horny around midnight… he goes out and he climbs a tree outside Martha's window… I ran home and I remember thinking, oh, my God, I hope God nobody saw me jerking off.” – Steven Skakel summarizing Michael’s story [17:14]

The Prosecution and Conviction

• [18:24–20:21] Evidence mounted from Michael’s former schoolmates, who testified he’d confessed at the Elan School to "getting away with murder" because of his Kennedy connection.
  • Quote: “The first words he ever said to me was, ‘I'm going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy.’” – Greg Coleman [18:40]

Family and Public Reaction

• [04:15–05:12, 20:54–21:36] The conviction devastated the Skakel family but gave some closure to the Moxleys. The episode features both families' perspectives, illustrating enduring pain and the persistence of doubt.
  • Quote: “For our family, grieving has coincided with accusation. Michael is innocent. There is no way on earth he could have done this. And I will fight till the last breath in me to get him free.” – Steven Skakel [05:12]

Bobby Kennedy Jr.'s Advocacy and the Quest for Exoneration

• [05:45–06:24, 22:04–24:38] Bobby Kennedy Jr., a lawyer and Michael’s cousin, launched his own investigation, publishing findings in The Atlantic Monthly. He believed other suspects—especially friends of Tony Bryant, a classmate—were ignored.

  • Quote: “The evidence is much stronger in suggesting that other people may have committed the crime.” – Bobby Kennedy Jr. [02:26]
  • Quote: “I treat all of these things with a lot of skepticism.” – Bobby Kennedy Jr. [06:30]

• [23:16–25:49] Tony Bryant alleged that two friends, not Michael, may have killed Martha, recounting their “caveman style” threats. Bryant’s credibility and the racial dynamics of the case are explored.

  • Quote: “They picked up these clubs and they said that they were going to go out and get a girl, caveman style.” – Bobby Kennedy Jr. [24:01]

Legal Battles, New Evidence, and Appeal

• [33:15–36:43] The prosecution worked to discredit Michael’s alibi and leveraged suggestive out-of-context statements in closing arguments, which many felt swayed the jury.

  • Quote: “A skillful prosecutor can often put people in jail who are not guilty of a crime.” – Bobby Kennedy Jr. [38:07]
  • Context on closing arguments: Michael’s masturbation account was edited to sound like a murder confession, a tactic debated by both sides.

• [39:32–41:59] Michael’s legal team would eventually argue that his attorney, Mickey Sherman, provided ineffective counsel by failing to challenge evidence, examine alternate suspects, or highlight reasonable doubt.

  • Quote: “It’s dumbfounded us as to the amount of information that Mickey did not follow up on.” – Steven Skakel [39:55]

Dramatic Turn: New Trial and Release

• [42:13–43:13] In a dramatic legal reversal, a judge granted Michael Skakel a new trial, citing poor representation.
  • Quote: “Judge Thomas Bishop granted Skakel a new trial and in the 136-page decision, skewered Sherman for failing to adequately represent his client…” – Troy Roberts [42:13]
• Michael was released after more than a decade in prison; by 2020, prosecutors announced there would be no retrial.

Enduring Impact on Both Families

• [43:37–44:03] The Moxley family’s pain endures, with Martha’s mother expressing the lifelong impact of being a victim. The Skakels, having suffered years of stigma and loss, still seek closure and public vindication.
  • Quote: “Once you're a victim, being a victim is just part of you forever.” – Dorothy Moxley [43:01]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Quote | Speaker | |-------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------| | 01:48 | “She liked everybody and everyone liked her.” | Narrator/Reporter | | 05:12 | “For our family, grieving has coincided with accusation. Michael is innocent…” | Steven Skakel | | 06:11 | “I am utterly convinced that he did not do the crime.” | Bobby Kennedy Jr. | | 18:40 | “I’m going to get away with murder. I’m a Kennedy.” | Greg Coleman (via Skakel) | | 24:01 | “They picked up these clubs and they said they were going to go out and get a girl…” | Bobby Kennedy Jr. | | 38:07 | “A skillful prosecutor can often put people in jail who are not guilty of a crime.” | Bobby Kennedy Jr. | | 43:01 | “Being a victim is just part of you forever.” | Dorothy Moxley |

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Important Timestamps & Segments

• [01:14–02:34] Crime introduction, the conviction, and family voices
• [09:31–13:05] Skakel family background and the crime's immediate aftermath
• [15:08–17:02] Early suspects and shifting suspicion within the family
• [18:24–19:11] Elan School testimony and Michael’s indictment
• [19:11–20:21] The trial, verdict, and aftermath
• [23:16–25:49] Tony Bryant revelations and the alternative suspect theory
• [33:15–36:43] Prosecutorial strategy and closing arguments
• [39:32–41:59] Attorney Mickey Sherman cross-examined for ineffective defense
• [42:13–43:13] Judge’s decision for a new trial and Michael’s release
• [43:37–44:03] Closing reflections from both families; announcement of no retrial

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Tone and Style

The episode maintains a measured, investigative tone, carefully balancing empathy for the Moxleys’ loss with scrutiny of the prosecution’s case and defense failings. Direct quotes from family and key figures, as well as frank comments from Bobby Kennedy Jr., add urgency and passion to the narration—often pained, sometimes outraged, but always deeply personal.

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Conclusion

“The Ghosts of Greenwich” offers a comprehensive, emotionally charged examination of a case that has haunted two families and riveted the nation for over four decades. The episode explores the collision of privilege, suspicion, and the relentless search for the truth—leaving listeners with as many questions as answers about what truly happened to Martha Moxley.

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For listeners wanting a deep dive into the complexities of criminal investigations, wrongful convictions, and enduring family trauma, this is an essential episode.

Transcript

[Steven Skakel]

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[Troy Roberts]

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[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

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[Troy Roberts]

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[Narrator/Reporter]

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[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Are you, are you playing me off?

[Narrator/Reporter]

That's what's happening, right?

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

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[Narrator/Reporter]

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[Steven Skakel]

After.

[Troy Roberts]

Four days of deliberation and 27 years after the crime.

[Steven Skakel]

Mr. Skakel, do you have anything to say? Mr. Skakel, do YOU have anything to say? Anything to say, Mr. Skakel?

[Troy Roberts]

Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel convicted in the murder of Martha Moxley.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Michael, I know Michael Skakel and I know he didn't commit the crime.

[Steven Skakel]

Martha was an extremely popular, attractive girl.

[Narrator/Reporter]

She liked everybody and everyone liked her.

[Steven Skakel]

Typical teenager in probably the best sense of the term. Martha was found dead under a pine tree adjacent to their home.

[Narrator/Reporter]

You know, we knew Michael had done this. Absolutely no doubt.

[Steven Skakel]

The instrument used in the striking of the Moxley girl was a golf club. We know that. My name is Steven Skakel and I am the brother of Michael Skakel.

[Troy Roberts]

Michael Skakel puts himself at the crime scene. Michael Skakel makes admissions that only a murderer would make.

[Steven Skakel]

At the time this murder was committed, my brother was on the other side of town.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

The evidence is much stronger in suggesting that other people may have committed the crime.

[Steven Skakel]

One of the key pieces of information was that of Tony Bryant. One weekend we decided to go up to Greenwich and hang out. And who says in no uncertain terms that his two friends committed this crime.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

They picked up these clubs and they said that they were going to go out and get a girl, caveman style.

[Troy Roberts]

Why should you believe me? I was there.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

And it was astounding to me that nobody looked and said, well, wait a second, there's some other suspects here.

[Steven Skakel]

Our brother Michael's been stolen from us. It's an overzealous, unethical prosecution in my estimation, who's politically motivated.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Somebody decided that a Skakel was going to go to jail.

[Steven Skakel]

We appealed to the Connecticut Supreme Court, the US Supreme Court, Stanford Superior Court. You've got our brother sitting in jail, and we're not going to quit until he's out. This case has never been connected to any other individual, at least credibly, except for Michael Skagel.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I just think he has to pay for what he did.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Excuse me.

[Steven Skakel]

You're guilty, Michael.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

He doesn't deserve to be spending 20 years of his life in jail for a crime that he didn't commit.

[Troy Roberts]

I'm Troy Roberts. There were dramatic developments in this case that could free Michael Skakel. I'm joined by 60 Minutes correspondent Leslie Stahl as we unravel this incredible story that spans nearly four decades.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Mr. Skakel, do you have anything to say?

[Steven Skakel]

Mr. Skakel, do YOU have anything to say? Anything to say, Mr. Skakel?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Spring of 2002. Excuses.

[Steven Skakel]

You're guilty, Michael.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And a trial that Dorothy Moxley had been waiting and praying for for nearly 30 years. Dear Lord, again today, like I've been doing for 27 years, I'm praying that I can find justice for Martha. And those prayers were finally answered. Justice in the murder of her daughter Martha.

[Troy Roberts]

After four days of deliberation and 27 years after the crime, Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel convicted in the murder of Martha Moxley.

[Narrator/Reporter]

For the Moxleys, it was the end of a long ordeal. We knew Michael had done this. You don't think there's any doubt? No. Absolutely no doubt. But for the Skakels, it was the lowest moment yet in their long ordeal.

[Steven Skakel]

For our family, grieving has coincided with accusation. Michael is innocent. There is no way on earth he could have done this. And I will fight till the last breath in me to get him free. My heart almost stopped.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Stephen Skakel will never forget the moment the jury returned its verdict against his older brother, Michael.

[Steven Skakel]

I looked down at the floor, and my whole world had been shattered.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I know Michael Skakel, and I know he didn't commit the crime.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Michael's Cousin, Bobby Kennedy Jr. Has long been speaking out in defense of Michael.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

You know, people are going to dismiss that and say, well, of course he's defending his cousin. But the facts themselves speak for themselves.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Kennedy, a former prosecutor and now a professor of law at Pace University, closely examined the details of his cousin's conviction. His findings were first published in the.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Atlantic Monthly that's why I took the time to put together this piece is that I am utterly convinced that he did not do the crime. I know he didn't do the crime.

[Narrator/Reporter]

After the article was published, Kennedy said he received hundreds of letters about the case.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I treated all of these things with a lot of skepticism.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But when he got a letter from a former classmate of Michael Skakel named Crawford Mills, Kennedy was intrigued.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Crawford Mills told me that Tony had information about the murder of Martha Moxley.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Tony is Tony Bryant, cousin of basketball star KOBE BRYANT. In 1974. In 1984, Tony was a classmate of Michael Skakel. He claims two of his childhood friends boasted about committing the murder.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

They went up to Greenwich on several occasions with Tony. That one of them became obsessed with Martha Moxley.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Armed with this new information, Michael's defense attorneys were sure they had found the evidence they needed for a new trial. Members of the Skakel family, Stephen, John and David, say their brother Michael could never have committed murder.

[Steven Skakel]

This is Michael in an earlier, happier time.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The father of a young son, a talented athlete.

[Steven Skakel]

This is Mount Hood, Oregon. This is in Norway.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Who was a one time member of the US national speed Skiing squad, getting.

[Steven Skakel]

Medals at both races.

[Narrator/Reporter]

And a man they say is dedicated to helping others.

[Steven Skakel]

I wouldn't be sitting here if it weren't for Michael. Our brother Michael's been stolen from us. He's innocent. I know that. We are going to fight until he is freed and reunited with his son.

[Narrator/Reporter]

For the Skakels, it's almost ironic that a Kennedy has come to their brother's defense. They believe it was the Kennedy connection that put them in the spotlight to begin with. They were our neighbors, they were rich.

[Steven Skakel]

And they were Kennedys.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This TV miniseries was one in a long line of books, articles and TV dramatizations about Martha Moxley's murder.

[Steven Skakel]

This thing has happened. We can't undo it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

A parade led by the late writer Dominic Dunn and disgraced policeman turned writer Mark Furman.

[Steven Skakel]

I think you have a lot of.

[Troy Roberts]

Problem with a lot of power and money and politics.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The Skakel brothers are the nephews of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, who married Robert Kennedy in 1950.

[Steven Skakel]

The Skakel family were as powerful and.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

As rich as the Kennedys.

[Steven Skakel]

Dominic Dunn calls us all a bunch of rich snobs. He was the only one that I saw coming to court every day in a limousine.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Are you all independently wealthy?

[Steven Skakel]

Well, we're having trouble paying our lawyers now, so I guess the answer is no.

[Narrator/Reporter]

They live modest lives, they say Stephen has focused on charity work.

[Steven Skakel]

I work for a humanitarian aid group for 11 years.

[Narrator/Reporter]

His brother David works as a county recycling manager and his brother John sells insurance.

[Steven Skakel]

I mean, these are not highfalutin jobs.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But once upon a time, the Skakels were millionaires living a life of wealth and privilege.

[Steven Skakel]

That was a different time, a whole different life back then.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Their father, Rushton Skakel, had inherited a fortune from the family family mining company. Forty years ago, the family was growing up in this house in the exclusive Belhaven section of Greenwich, Connecticut. Was everybody rich?

[Steven Skakel]

I mean, it was a fairly well to do area. It was a very friendly, open neighborhood. There were lots of children. It was a wonderful place to grow up. Michael's the one that's on my mother's knee.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In 1973, a cloud cast a shadow over those happy times for this family of six boys and one girl when they lost their mother to cancer.

[Steven Skakel]

I remember my father said, you mother has died. If you want to go to your room and cry, that's fine. And it was never discussed again.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Unable to cope with raising seven children by himself, Rushton Skakel hired a nanny. And then in October 1975, a live in tutor named Ken Littleton.

[Steven Skakel]

He was the football coach, but he was pretty much a loner.

[Narrator/Reporter]

On the day after Ken Littleton took up residence in the Skakel home, Martha Moxley, the Skakel's pretty next door neighbor, would be found murdered.

[Steven Skakel]

Martha was an extremely popular, attractive girl, typical teenager in probably the best sense of the term.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Martha Moxley was murdered at the age of 15.

[Steven Skakel]

Moxley murder is still unsolved.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Len Levitt, a writer for the Huffington Post, has spent nearly twice as many years investigating her murder.

[Steven Skakel]

I became an old man doing this case.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Levitt's reporting of the case began following Martha's death on October 30, 1975. It was the night before Halloween.

[Steven Skakel]

Martha does not return home and her mother obviously is concerned. She starts making calls about 1 o' clock at night. The police start searching in the neighborhood early the next morning. And at one o', clock, a passing school girl finds Martha under a tree at the edge of her property, beaten to death with a golf club so severely that the golf club shatters into four parts. The instrument used in the striking of the Moxley girl was a golf club.

[Narrator/Reporter]

We know that it was the first clue Greenwich police had to go on.

[Steven Skakel]

The day the body was found. The police found a golf club that matched the murder weapon inside the Skakel home.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But at the time, it wasn't enough to arouse their suspicions.

[Steven Skakel]

First hypothesis Nobody from Greenwich could have done this. This is too brutal a crime.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Today, Belhaven became even more private, sealed off to everyone but residents and police.

[Steven Skakel]

Some hitchhiker, perhaps, off the thruway.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The investigation began by establishing the likely time of Martha's death. Greenwich police consulted forensic expert Dr. Michael Baden.

[Steven Skakel]

It was our opinion that the time of death, based only on the stomach contest, was about 9:30, 10 o'. Clock.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The police then established who had been with Martha that night.

[Steven Skakel]

Martha turns up at the Skakel house, perhaps around 9 o' clock that night with some friends.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Martha got into the Skakel's Lincoln, similar to this one, which was parked in the driveway. She sat between Michael and his older brother Tommy. A short time later, the Skakel say Martha got out of the car with Tommy while Michael and a few others drove off.

[Steven Skakel]

Somewhere about 9:15, Michael goes with his older brothers Rush Jr. And John, and his cousin Jimmy Tarrian back to Jimmy Tarrian's house.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Around the time of Martha's murder. John Skakel says they were at the Tarrian's house watching the US premiere of Monty Python's Flying Circus.

[Troy Roberts]

At 10 o'.

[Steven Skakel]

Clock. Michael was eight miles away with myself and my brother Rush and my cousin Jim Terry.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Meanwhile, back at the Skakel home, Martha is with Tommy.

[Steven Skakel]

What goes on between Martha and Tommy then is sort of playful pushing back and forth with sexual overtones. Friends are so embarrassed that they leave. Tommy tells the police he last sees Martha at 9:30 that night when she leaves and goes home. Martha never gets home. Tommy is seen again shortly after 10:00 clock with Ken Littleton.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Littleton was the family's new tutor who had just moved into the house that day.

[Steven Skakel]

Littleton is unpacking. He's watching the French Connection on tv.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Everyone Greenwich police interviewed who saw Martha that night had an alibi. Michael Skakel's alibi was so strong, he was not considered a suspect. Several weeks would pass before investigators turned their attention to the person they believed was the last to see Martha Moxley alive, Tommy Skakel.

[Steven Skakel]

Tommy's story is that he last sees her at 9:30 when she leaves him and he goes inside to write a paper on Abraham Lincoln. The police later find out no teacher at Tommy's school ever assigned this paper. By the late fall, they are focusing on Tommy and they're focusing on him with a vengeance.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What was it like when you all realized that your older brother was a suspect?

[Steven Skakel]

It was just shock and disbelief.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What did Tommy say?

[Steven Skakel]

He said he didn't do it, and I know that he didn't do it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Tommy Skakel lived under a cloud of suspicion for years. Now married with children, he was the only Skakel family member who refused to talk with 48 hours. In the end, police never charged him, partly because of his alibi that night.

[Steven Skakel]

The problem with Tommy as a murder suspect is that if this happened at 10 o', clock, Tommy's alibi is Ken Littleton.

[Narrator/Reporter]

With no new leads, the investigation went cold. But Dorothy Moxley never gave up hope. We knew it had to be one of the boys, either Tommy or Michael, right from the beginning. Well, you know, the murder weapon came from that house, and that was the last place she was seen. In 1991, 16 years after Martha Moxley's murder, the case was revived when a new investigator started taking another look at the Skakels. With the focus back on his family, Rushton Skakel did something extraordinary. Trying to clear the family name, he hired his own team of investigators to look into Martha's death. Their results became known as the Sutton Report. The key findings focused on Ken Littleton and Tommy and Michael Skakel. But the effort backfired because the report for the first time, pointed a finger at Michael.

[Steven Skakel]

Michael lied to the police. Michael's story was he'd gone to the Terry Inns. Then he comes home at 11:30 and he goes right to bed.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But he told the Sutton investigators that's not all he did that night.

[Steven Skakel]

He's feeling horny around midnight. He's drunk, he wants to see Martha, and he goes out and he climbs a tree outside Martha's window. He throws stones at the window and he masturbates in the tree. He climbs down right around where the crime scene is. He hears voices and he runs home and he goes to bed. I ran home and I remember thinking, oh, my God, I hope God nobody saw me jerking off.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In fact, Michael even made a tape recording of that story. In a 1997 book proposal for a tell all biography, I remember thinking, oh.

[Steven Skakel]

My God, if I tell anybody that I was out that night, they're gonna say I did it.

[Troy Roberts]

Michael Skako puts himself in.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

At the crime scene, Michael Skakel makes admissions that only a murderer would make.

[Narrator/Reporter]

When former LA detective Mark Fuhrman, who gained notoriety during the O.J. simpson case, was leaked a copy of the Sutton report he wrote the bestseller Murder in Greenwich, naming Michael as Martha's killer. Just one month later, in June of 1998, prosecutor Jonathan Benedict called for a special grand jury to hear evidence about the case. The grand jury heard some explosive testimony.

[Steven Skakel]

All right, break it out.

[Troy Roberts]

Break it out. Come on.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Much of it from Michael's former classmates at the Elan Reform School where Skakel had been sent after a drunk driving incident. Several of them dropped a bombshell that he had confessed to killing Martha.

[Steven Skakel]

The first words he ever said to me was, I'm going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This is former Elan student Greg Coleman telling a reporter what Michael told him about the night Martha died.

[Steven Skakel]

He had made advances towards her, and she rejected his advances and quote, unquote, that he drove her skull in with a golf club.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In January of 2000, after hearing testimony from several Elan students and others, Michael.

[Steven Skakel]

Did you kill her?

[Narrator/Reporter]

The grand jury indicted Michael Skakel for the murder of Martha Moxley. When Michael Scott. When Skakel went to trial, the rest of his family was convinced he would be found not guilty. After all, Michael had an airtight alibi and there wasn't a single shred of physical or forensic evidence that linked him to the crime. His brother, David Skakel thought that finally the family name would be cleared once and for all.

[Steven Skakel]

Mr. Skakel, do you have anything to say? We were worried that without a trial, he could never fully get closure in clearing of his reputation.

[Narrator/Reporter]

So you saw this as a way to absolve him?

[Steven Skakel]

We all did.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Please come to the mics. Please come to the mics. So when the jury returned their guilty verdict.

[Troy Roberts]

Michael.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Michael. The Skakel family was left shocked and devastated.

[Steven Skakel]

It's disheartening. I love my brother and I believe in him 100%.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Following Michael's conviction, Bobby Kennedy Jr. Began his own investigation and made a stunning discovery.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

On the night of the murder, they picked up a golf club or some golf clubs from the Skakel yard, and they said that they were going to go out and get a girl, Caveman style.

[Steven Skakel]

It's 8:30 on Saturday morning. Going up to visit Michael.

[Narrator/Reporter]

For the first few years of Michael Skakel's incarceration, this is the last thing.

[Steven Skakel]

I ever thought I would be doing.

[Narrator/Reporter]

This is how his brother Steven spent every Saturday morning.

[Steven Skakel]

There are some mornings where I would like to sleep in.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Making the long drive from his home in Connecticut to visit his older brother in prison.

[Steven Skakel]

Just let him know we're still here and still fighting for him.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Now 46, Stephen is the youngest of the Skakel children. He was just nine when Martha Moxley was murdered.

[Steven Skakel]

There's only so much people can take, and we've taken it for 30 years.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Since the conviction, I've gone through all.

[Steven Skakel]

Of the transcripts, all the police Reports.

[Narrator/Reporter]

He has taken the lead in the fight to clear Michael and the Skakel family name. Did you ever look Michael in the eye and ask him directly if he killed Martha?

[Steven Skakel]

No. I know Michael, and I know in my heart that he did not.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

He doesn't deserve to be spending 20 years of his life in jail for a crime that he didn't commit.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Even more outspoken is Skakel's cousin, Bobby.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Kennedy Jr. For me to come out publicly to defend somebody that basically everybody in the country feels is guilty of murder is from a personal strategy. Not a good choice for me. But I know he's innocent.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Although they were not close as kids, as adults, Bobby Kennedy and Michael Skakel shared a similar history. Problems with addiction.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I became close to Michael Skakel in 1983 when I first got sober, and Michael had been sober for a year or two years at that time.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Kennedy spent six months investigating the case for the Atlantic Monthly article. What do you hope this article you wrote is going to accomplish?

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I really wrote that article for Michael's son, for Georgie Doodle, because he's going to grow up with most people in this country thinking that his father murdered a girl and he didn't do it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Kennedy knew he had hit pay dirt when the letter from Skakel's classmate Crawford Mills arrived, revealing that another classmate, Tony Bryant, said he knew who had killed Martha Moxley.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Tony Bryant is one of the first African American students at Brunswick. I don't know.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I see. To try. Bobby Kennedy located Bryant in Florida.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Tony's story has a lot of credibility.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bryant told Kennedy that on the night Martha died, he was in Greenwich with two friends from the Bronx.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

One of them was black and one of them was white and that they were. These two people were best friends. They went up to Greenwich on several occasions with Tony, that one of them became obsessed with Martha Moxley.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Tony told Kennedy his friends had a plan. They picked up golf clubs from the Skakels yard.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

They picked up these clubs and they said that they were going to go out and get a girl caveman style. And that Tony understood the girl to mean Martha Moxley.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Now, what is caveman style? What is that?

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

What he says is that it meant that they were going to hit her over the head and drag her into the bushes.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Bryant wanted no part of their plan and claims he left when he read what happened to Martha Moxley. He feared the worst. He's saying that they confessed to him a couple of days later that they had killed Martha Moxley.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Well, they never actually said that they had killed Martha Moxley. But that they were in some ways boastful about it and were kind of egging him on to inquire to them about the details. They would say things to him that were suggestive, like, we accomplished our mission and we did it.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Why would he wait 28 years?

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

His mother urged him not to talk about it publicly because that was prompted by her fear that as a young black man in Greenwich, that he would be a target for prosecution.

[Narrator/Reporter]

When Bobby Kennedy spoke with the two men, he says, neither of them acted as though they had anything to hide.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I asked them to confirm some of the basic information that I'd heard, that they were friends of Tony's, that they. They did confirm that, yes, that they had been to Greenwich with him on several occasions.

[Narrator/Reporter]

They confirmed that, yeah. Bobby Kennedy, however, did not ask them if they had anything to do with Martha Moxley's murder.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I didn't tell them that Tony had accused them of committing the crime at that point.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Both men have denied any involvement in the death of Martha Moxley. And despite attempts to challenge Tony Bryant's credibility, the man who went to prep school with Michael Skakel stands by his story.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Somebody decided that a Skakel was going to go to jail and that all of the other evidence, the abundant evidence against other people were going to be ignored.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Kennedy says these new developments support his arguments that the prosecution simply had the wrong man.

[Troy Roberts]

Michael.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Michael.

[Troy Roberts]

Michael.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

The strongest piece of evidence is that Michael has an alibi.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Monty Python's Flying Circus Michael's alibi that he was across town watching Monty Python when the murder occurred has always been supported by several relatives.

[Steven Skakel]

Hey, Smiley.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Including his brother John.

[Steven Skakel]

I took a lie detector test in which I was asked who was in the car that went to my cousins and the about eight miles away and Michael was in fact in the car. And that was my response.

[Narrator/Reporter]

John's 1975 polygraph results, however, were inadmissible in court. What did make it into to the trial though, was the testimony of two former Elan students.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

The two most damaging witnesses against Michael were Greg Coleman and John Higgins.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The prosecution contended that when 17 year old Michael was at the Elan School, he talked openly about the murder.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Greg Coleman testified that he had heard Michael confess to having murdered Martha Moxley five or six times. When he came up in front of the preliminary hearing, Greg Coleman testified that Michael had only confessed to him actually once or twice.

[Narrator/Reporter]

When Michael's defense attorney, Mickey Sherman, asked Greg Coleman why he had changed his story, Coleman admitted that prior to facing the grand jury, he had taken 25 bags of heroin. Greg Coleman died of a drug overdose just before the trial. But at the of his previous testimony was played for the jury.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Higgins was an elan bully who tortured Michael when he was at Atlan.

[Narrator/Reporter]

John Higgins did testify at the trial and said Michael had also confessed to him. Higgins refused our requests for an interview. Why couldn't Michael's attorneys have destroyed their credibility?

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I think Michael could have gotten better representation.

[Steven Skakel]

I would ask Mickey, why aren't you bringing this or that up? Everything's fine. We're going to have a good day.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Michael, how you feeling?

[Narrator/Reporter]

But the worst day of all for the Skakels and Mickey Sherman was June 3rd, the day of closing arguments.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Prosecutors in the case used a very, very sophisticated multimedia technique.

[Steven Skakel]

We needed to connect the dots, and that's what I did.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Prosecutor Jonathan Benedict transcribed and played Michael's own words from that book proposal over gory photographs from the crime scene that we have blocked out.

[Steven Skakel]

Then I Woke up to Mrs. Moxley saying, Michael, have you seen Martha? I was like, oh, my God, did they see me last night?

[Narrator/Reporter]

John Skakel, who was in the courtroom, feels it distorted Michael's own words into a confession.

[Steven Skakel]

We all felt sick, and I remember just having a feeling of panic, like, oh, like my worry of what I went to bed with.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The problem, says Bobby Kennedy, was that Michael was talking about being seen masturbating, not committing murder.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

His tape recorded words were used out of context by the prosecutor to imply that he was confessing to the crime. That multimedia display really convicted Michael in the end.

[Narrator/Reporter]

But is the end about to be rewritten? What the Skakels now have is is hope. Tony Bryant was eventually persuaded to do a 90 minute interview on videotape confirming what he had told Bobby Kennedy. Would this be Michael Skakel's ticket out of jail? I'm investigator Slater, host of the Cyclopedia True Crime podcast.

[Steven Skakel]

Spooky season is officially here and for.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The entire month of October, we are transforming into Spookopedia.

[Steven Skakel]

All episodes, including bonus content, will delve.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Into true crime with a dark twist, blending the spooky, creepy, gory and the haunted. No matter the story we cover, by.

[Steven Skakel]

The end of each episode, you are.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Going to feel it. Make sure to follow and listen to Cyclopedia everywhere. You get your podcasts.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Talking about a crime that was 27 years old, everybody's memories are hazy.

[Narrator/Reporter]

To Bobby Kennedy Jr. The conviction of Michael Skakel was a miscarriage.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

This was the easiest case in the world to win. Reasonable doubt was all over the place.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Turns out that Tony Bryant's story was known even before the trial began.

[Troy Roberts]

Michael.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Michael. Remember Crawford Mills? He says he first took the information to the prosecutor's office and Michael Skakel's attorney just before the trial.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

Prosecutor told him to get lost. They weren't interested in pursuing this evidence, this lead.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In fact, the defense didn't pursue it either. While prosecutor Jonathan Benedict declined to talk to us about Tony Bryant's story, he was clear that he thought the trial was fair and a. Is there any part of your brain that has any doubt that Michael did it?

[Steven Skakel]

Absolutely not.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What in the article, Bobby Kennedy's article, did you feel was simply not true?

[Steven Skakel]

Almost all of it. Literally, paragraph by paragraph.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Can you give us one or two highlights that you think are the most egregious?

[Steven Skakel]

Probably his attack on Ken Littleton.

[Narrator/Reporter]

The Skakel family originally thought that Ken Littleton, the family tutor, should have been looked at more closely. At the time of the murder, Littleton said he was watching a movie with Tommy Skakel, but there were some inconsistencies in his story.

[Troy Roberts]

He's been diagnosed having a bipolar disorder and severe.

[Narrator/Reporter]

He's been in and out of hospitals.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

It's not a problem.

[Steven Skakel]

He's had a number of hospitalizations.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Jean Riccio was Ken Littleton's attorney. Is it possible that the illness can be attributed to the murder of Martha Moxley?

[Steven Skakel]

I don't think so at all. I think arguments made that Mr. Littleton is responsible for this homicide are ridiculous.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In fact, the Skakels agree and now no longer consider Ken Littleton their primary suspect. Prosecutor Benedict says there was no miscarriage of justice. His case was built point by point, beginning with discrediting Michael's airtight alibi of taking a ride to his cousin's house at the time of the murder. He put Skakel family friend Andrea Shakespeare on the stand.

[Steven Skakel]

Andrea Shakespeare is one of the witnesses from the neighborhood on the night of the murder who was certain that Mr. Skakel never took that alibi ride.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In her testimony, when asked if Michael had gone to his cousin's that night, she replied he did not. Benedict continued to attack the alibi using Michael's own brother John, one of the other Skakel brothers. John had taken a polygraph.

[Steven Skakel]

Yeah, he passed. He was therefore, 1975, 1976, considered to be the most credible alibi witness for Michael Skakel. But a funny thing happened over the years. When John came before the grand jury, he changed his story to this. He really didn't have any recall of who went to Taryon's house. And who didn't?

[Narrator/Reporter]

Benedict may have succeeded in discrediting the alibi, but ultimately he says Michael did himself in.

[Steven Skakel]

The truth of the matter is that Michael Skakel couldn't keep his mouth shut for a quarter of a century.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Benedict is referring to those Elan students and others that Michael supposedly confessed to over the years. Bobby Kennedy spends some time in the article really shredding their truthfulness and their motivation for coming forward.

[Steven Skakel]

Mickey Sherman did that at trial, and.

[Narrator/Reporter]

They say he wasn't that successful or effective. He didn't push hard enough.

[Steven Skakel]

Mickey pushed as hard as he possibly could. He didn't miss a single issue.

[Narrator/Reporter]

What the defense failed to anticipate was the impact of Jonathan Benedict's closing argument.

[Steven Skakel]

I don't know that Skakel family realized how many persuasive dots I had to connect.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Up until that point, both sides thought Michael might be acquitted. There were many days I thought, you know, this is just never going to happen. This is just looking very bleak. Were you thinking it was going to go the other way?

[Steven Skakel]

Well, yeah. We had no doubt about it until we saw this multimedia closing.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Benedict played a critical passage from Michael's own book proposal to sum up his case. But the passage he used was edited in such a way that what the jury heard appeared to be a confession to murder.

[Steven Skakel]

Then I Woke up to Mrs. Moxley saying, Michael, have you seen Martha? I was like, oh, my God, did they see me last night? And I remember just having a feeling.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Of panic, like, oh, but here is what Benedict intentionally left out.

[Steven Skakel]

And I remember thinking, oh, my God, I hope God nobody saw me jerking off. Then I Woke up to Mrs. Moxley saying, Michael, have you seen Martha? I was like, oh, my God, had they seen you last night?

[Narrator/Reporter]

In hearing this myself, without the preamble about masturbating, is that Mrs. Moxley wakes him up and he says, oh, my God, did they see me last night? And over in the corner is a picture of the battered body of Martha. Oh, my God, did they see me last night? I had a feeling of panic. And they're looking at the picture of her, and the suggestion to anybody is that he's actually talking about murdering her. And isn't that really taking him out of context?

[Steven Skakel]

No, I don't think so.

[Narrator/Reporter]

If I did this on 48 hours, I'd be fired.

[Steven Skakel]

I think it's a fair suggestion. Based upon the evidence of the case.

[Narrator/Reporter]

It took the jury four days to come back with a guilty verdict. The sentence, 20 years to life. End of story. Not yet. 38 years after the crime. 11 years after the conviction, Troy Roberts reports that the question of who did kill Martha Moxley is heading back to court.

[Steven Skakel]

Michael Skakel versus the state of Connecticut, case CV0.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Martha was one of these children that was just so easy. She just was so easy to raise, to do things with.

[Troy Roberts]

Dorothy Moxley's only daughter, Martha would have turned 53 this year.

[Narrator/Reporter]

She just was really a very, very special little girl.

[Troy Roberts]

And while Bobby Kennedy says he understands her laws, he has been steadfast in his belief.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I know he's innocent. I know he's innocent.

[Steven Skakel]

He walked himself through the crime scene.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

A skillful prosecutor can often put people in jail who are not guilty of a crime.

[Troy Roberts]

For the past 11 years, Steven Skakel has been leading his family's efforts to free his brother.

[Steven Skakel]

You have to remain hopeful. I mean, you can't ever give up hope.

[Troy Roberts]

There have been appeals on the state and federal levels. And in 2007, Michael Skakel stood in front of a judge once again.

[Steven Skakel]

Your Honor, the petition for new trial that we filed on behalf of Michael Skakel claims newly discovered evidence in count one, which involves the allegations concerning Tony Bryant.

[Troy Roberts]

Skakel's team had hoped a video statement from Tony Bryant could help set Michael free.

[Steven Skakel]

We decided to go up to Greenwich and hang out.

[Troy Roberts]

And Bryant described what his friends had told him about the night Martha Moxley was murdered.

[Steven Skakel]

I got my caveman club, right?

[Troy Roberts]

And I'm gonna go grab somebody and.

[Steven Skakel]

Pull them by hair and do what cavemans do. So do you believe that they killed her?

[Troy Roberts]

Either the two of them or possibly?

[Steven Skakel]

I think they were definitely involved. Okay.

[Troy Roberts]

There's no doubt in my mind that they were involved. The Skakels were sure they had made their case.

[Steven Skakel]

Michael Skakel v. The State of Connecticut case has been concluded.

[Troy Roberts]

But in the end, the judge did not agree. Michael Skakel's petition for a new trial was denied.

[Steven Skakel]

It was a subjective determination by the judge that the Tony Bryant information would not be enough to sway a jury.

[Troy Roberts]

But the Skakels were far from done. They filed fresh appeals with a renewed focus on the performance of Michael's first lawyer, Mickey Sherman.

[Steven Skakel]

Mickey.

[Narrator/Reporter]

Mickey, come over here.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

I think Michael could have gotten better representation.

[Steven Skakel]

It's dumbfounded us as to the amount of information that Mickey did not follow up on. And as a result, we're stuck in the situation that we're in, and my brother's sitting in a jail cell.

[Troy Roberts]

This past April, one more court date, one more shot. Michael Skakel was back in court and took the stand, testifying against his former Ally Mickey had me believing he was the real deal. Skakel blasted Sherman for botching the case and being more interested in raising his own profile. He was hanging out with the press. He said he was a media whore.

[Steven Skakel]

Said what? A media whore.

[Troy Roberts]

Mickey Sherman, defense attorney, now had to defend himself. Skakel's new lawyer, Hubert Santos, was on the attack.

[Steven Skakel]

You spent most of your time talking to the media, right? Is that a question? Yeah.

[Narrator/Reporter]

No.

[Steven Skakel]

Matter of fact, your billing row records are replete with conversations with reporters that you build the Skakels for, right?

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

That's one of the reasons they hired.

[Steven Skakel]

Me, is because I was one of.

[Bobby Kennedy Jr.]

The reasons they hired me.

[Troy Roberts]

And it's not the first time he's been in the hot seat. In 2011, he was sent to prison for failing to pay hundreds of thousands in federal taxes. Facing the latest challenge, Sherman was grilled as to why he dismissed the information concerning two other possible suspects.

[Steven Skakel]

You dismissed this as another crackpot case. Nut case. Frankly, yes.

[Troy Roberts]

Skakel's lawyer also questioned Sherman as to why he didn't raise suspicion about Michael's own brother, Tommy, who had exhibited questionable behavior.

[Steven Skakel]

Did you know prior during the trial that he would put his fists through doors?

[Narrator/Reporter]

I don't recall.

[Steven Skakel]

Did you know that prior to the trial or during the trial that he ripped the telephone off the wall? No. Did you know prior to or during the trial that he strangled a fellow classmate right in front of his teacher? I don't recall that.

[Troy Roberts]

As Santos finished with Sherman. One last point.

[Steven Skakel]

Would it surprise you to learn that you not once used the term and you your summation. Proof beyond reasonable doubt? It's possible.

[Troy Roberts]

In a dramatic reversal of fortune, Judge Thomas Bishop granted Skakel a new trial and in the 136 page decision, skewered Sherman for failing to adequately represent his client. Including the failure to point the finger at others, most notably Michael's older brother, Tommy.

[Steven Skakel]

Have a seat, sir.

[Troy Roberts]

As Michael Skakel awaits the next chapter in his odyssey, his one constant has been his son.

[Steven Skakel]

The one thing that keeps him going throughout this whole thing is his son. That's what keeps him steady during the roller coaster of the different decisions that have come down thus far.

[Troy Roberts]

But there's another parent, Martha Moxley's mother, Dorothy, who has to relive what happened to her daughter all over again.

[Narrator/Reporter]

I'm always going to have Michael Skakel with me. Really doesn't end once you're a victim. Being a victim is just part of you forever.

[Troy Roberts]

For the skakels, the past 11 years that Michael has been in prison have been a test of patience and determination, one they say they will continue to face together as a family.

[Steven Skakel]

We all want to get our brother freed and clear his name. And our family's name is a whole, because I know if I was in my brother Michael's position, he would never stop. None of us would.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In 2013, Michael Skakel was released from prison after a judge ruled that his.

[Steven Skakel]

Lawyer had not provided effective representation.

[Narrator/Reporter]

In 2020, 45 years after Martha Moxley.

[Steven Skakel]

Was killed, prosecutors announced that they would not retry Skakel.

[Troy Roberts]

Martha Moxley's killing remains unsolved. This October Fear is free on Pluto TV with horror movie collections from Paranormal.

[Steven Skakel]

Activity, the ring you will die in.

[Troy Roberts]

Seven days scream and from dusk till.

[Steven Skakel]

Dawn listen is my kind of place.

[Troy Roberts]

And don't miss the man made nightmares in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein or the World Ending Chaos in 28 Days later something in the blood all the scares all for free Pluto TV Stream now pay Never Sunday Count on an NFL on CBS Doubleheader in the early window. Daniel Jones and the Colts face Aaron Rodgers Steelers. Then a game that always brings the drama is back for an encore when Mahomes and the Chiefs take on Allen and the Bill. Our coverage begins at noon Eastern with the NFL today live in Buffalo. Count on Sundays with the NFL on CBS and streaming on Paramount. Plus.