Podcast Summary:

Dead Certain: The Martha Moxley Murder
Episode: Michael Speaks
Host: Andrew Goldman (NBC News Studios)
Air Date: December 2, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode marks a pivotal point in the series, as it features Michael Skakel himself speaking about his past for the first time. The narrative weaves through the labyrinthine developments of the Martha Moxley case—how investigative focus fell on Michael in the late 1990s, the legal machinations that brought him to trial decades after the 1975 crime, and, crucially, the complex, troubled upbringing that shaped him. The episode also explores the infamous Elan School and the impact of its abusive practices, Michael’s struggle with family trauma, and the moments leading up to his arrest, all in his own words.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Media, Mark Fuhrman, and the Sutton Report

(00:59 - 22:48)

• The O.J. Simpson trial's ripple effect brought detective Mark Fuhrman, notorious for testimony and perjury, into the orbit of the Moxley case.
• Dominick Dunne, via his agent and through access to the Sutton Associates' report, connected Fuhrman with the Martha Moxley files.
• Importance of Sutton Report: Fuhrman considered the document the “Rosetta stone” (08:41) for moving the case forward, believing it contained actionable evidence against Michael Skakel.
• Fuhrman's theory placed Michael, not his brother Tommy or tutor Ken Littleton, at the center of the crime, seeing Michael’s "masturbating in a tree" confession during the Sutton interviews as an "orchestrated" story to preempt DNA evidence:

  “Not only does he put himself in a tree... right above the driveway where Martha was first attacked... but it's not that he's saying this off the cuff... He is talking to ex-FBI agents... And you have Michael making statements that puts himself at the scene.” (12:14 - 13:26)

• Fuhrman’s book, Murder in Greenwich, pressured Connecticut’s new state’s attorney toward reopening the case.

  “[The book] was the pebble that pushed the train over the mountain... I think that’s what actually pushed everything over the edge.” – Mark Fuhrman (22:26)

2. Legal Shifts and the Grand Jury

(19:38 - 27:11)

• Long-inactive State's Attorney Donald Brown retired, replaced by Jonathan Benedict, who soon initialized a rare one-man grand jury.
• The grand jury did not call Michael or Tommy Skakel but focused investigative attention intensely on Michael for the first time.
• On January 19, 2000, it recommended Michael be charged. This moment marks Michael’s transition from near-invisibility in the case to the public figure at the center of a national sensation.

3. Michael Skakel Speaks—Family, Trauma, and Upbringing

(28:34 - 46:40)

• First-Person Introduction:

  "My name is Michael Skakel. And why am I being interviewed? I mean, that's kind of a big question, isn't it?" (28:34)

• The Skakel Family Environment:
  • Michael and brother Stephen reminisce about their father’s harsh, devoutly Catholic, and sometimes violent parenting:

    “He was about as orthodox Catholic as he got... He believed what they said verbatim; was like hardcore porn.” – Michael (35:14)

  • The parents were distant; household help raised the children, and their mother, distant and later terminally ill, was largely absent.
• Physical and Emotional Abuse:
  • Michael details arbitrary, severe punishments, culminating in a memory:

    “He literally kicked me from one room, through the bathroom, through Nanny’s room, and into the back hallway against the wall.” (42:20)

  • Sister Julie corroborates the atmosphere of fear:

    "He had three loaded handguns under his mattress, and I knew he’d be drunk. I never knew if going through the doors of his bedroom I’d be blown away." (42:48)

• Guilt and Grief After His Mother’s Death:

  “I remember kneeling on the floors one morning saying, God, I wish you would just take her... And then when she died, I was like, holy fuck, I killed my... I killed my mom.” (45:06)

• Alcohol and Substance Use:
  • Drinking began at age 12, catalyzed by trauma and lack of guidance.

    “We tasted [the leftover drinks], and they always had cigarettes out for people. So we tried those…” (45:29)

4. The Elan School: “A World of Utter Insanity”

(53:32 - 68:26)

• Sent to Elan after a reckless DUI incident at 17, Michael describes being forcibly taken:

  "I was dragged out of there like an animal… they did a pretty good job working me over in the car… handcuffed and flown to Poland Springs, Maine and introduced to a world of utter insanity." (53:32)

• The Elan School used unorthodox, brutal methods inspired by tough-love and even cult-like psychotherapy. Alumni, including Michael and others, recall ‘general meetings,’ ‘boxing ring’ punishments, and daily emotional and physical abuse.
• Michael’s most traumatic Elan memory:

  “They literally picked me up over their head and carried me down the stairs like I was a crash test dummy…people just kept spitting in my face and punching me and kicking me…” (63:28) "Guys are gonna try to defend themselves if they can fight. If they can't fight, they're not gonna defend themselves. Michael didn't." – Chuck Segan (65:23)

• Fellow students Kim Freehill and Chuck Segan recount similar or corroborating stories of systemic abuse.
• Long-Term Impact: Diagnosed with severe PTSD, Michael eventually gets sober, marries, and succeeds in both college and elite speed skiing.

5. From Grand Jury to Arrest—Michael’s Perspective

(70:28 - 76:36)

• Michael’s arrest in 2000 is orchestrated as media spectacle; he flies back to Connecticut to avoid a dramatic police scenario.

  “My uncle Tommy rented me a private jet the next morning…I’m looking on the news the next morning and it’s all over every station, they’re storming Loblolly thinking that I’m in the house there.” (71:53)

• Michael’s sartorial choices for the surrender are scrutinized by the press:

  “I had a button down shirt and a tie. And the only thing I had to keep me warm was a cashmere sweater…yet the news said how dare I wear an ascot. I’ve never worn an ascot in my life.” (72:49)

• The “Kennedy cousin” narrative permeates mainstream coverage, heightening the spectacle and pressure.
• Legal wrangling over statute of limitations and potential for juvenile trial (max four-year sentence if convicted) was unsuccessful; the case is transferred to adult court, heightening stakes for Michael.

Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Fuhrman on The Sutton Report:

  “If we didn't have the Sutton Report, we wouldn't be talking.” (08:41)

• Michael’s candid intro:

  "My name is Michael Skakel. And why am I being interviewed? I mean, that's kind of a big question, isn't it?" (28:34)

• On Parental Absence & Abuse:

  “He said, you make me sick. If you only did better in school, your mother wouldn't have to be in the hospital. And I remember just going, oh, my God, I wanted to die.” (40:09)

• On Elan's brutality:

  “They literally picked me up over their head and carried me down the stairs…people just kept spitting in my face and punching me and kicking me…” (63:28)

• Kim Freehill on Elan:

  "I was beaten basically into psychosis…" (68:12)

• Michael on his arrest/press:

  “Yet the news said that how dare I wear an ascot. I’ve never worn an ascot in my life.” (72:49)

Important Segment Timestamps

| Segment | Time | |-----------------------------------------------------|--------------| | O.J. Trial, Fuhrman’s Reputation and Role | 00:59 – 11:41| | Sutton Report and Skakel Investigation Developments | 11:41 – 23:09| | Grand Jury Formation and Indictment | 19:38 – 27:11| | Michael's Childhood & Family Trauma | 28:34 – 46:40| | The Elan School – Interviews and Testimonies | 53:32 – 68:26| | Michael's Life After Elan & The Arrest | 70:28 – 76:36|

Episode Tone and Style

• The host, Andrew Goldman, balances investigative rigor with empathy, using dark humor and personal asides, and allows the participants—especially Michael and his family—to speak candidly.
• Michael’s own tone fluctuates between self-deprecating, vulnerable, and at times wry; he is forthcoming about his flaws, trauma, and the dramatic changes in his life’s trajectory.

Summary Takeaway

This episode marks a turning point in the series, as it shifts from outside narratives to Michael Skakel’s direct perspective—illustrating how trauma, privilege, family dysfunction, and questionable rehabilitative practices all intersected long before his name became synonymous with the infamous Greenwich murder. By giving Michael space to narrate his story, the podcast complicates the public's understanding of him as simply a “Kennedy cousin” or privileged perpetrator, instead painting a portrait of a deeply damaged but self-aware man who, for the first time, publicly revisits the events and abuses that shaped his life before and after the death of Martha Moxley.