Episode 791: The Murder of Martha Moxley (Part 1) | Forensic Files

Hey, weirdos. I'm Alaina. >> I'm Ash. >> And this is Morbid. >> Morbidobidou. >> It certainly is.
>> Period. I channeled Caleb on that one. >> I felt it. >> Yeah, I miss Caleb. >> I do, too. I need Caleb to come here.
>> Caleb. >> We miss the Caleb. We do. Um and also, this is a case um that peop- I wonder if it's like people of a
certain age are going to see this case and be like, oh, I remember that. >> Mhm.
>> And then people of a lesser age are going to say, what? >> I know I I know I've heard of this case and I
think we've discussed it like together before, but never on the pod. >> Never on the pod.
>> Never on the microphone, on the ones and the twos. >> It's pretty It's a crazy case.
>> Yeah, it's Uh you know what? I'm just I'm just going to let you tell it. I'm not even
going to ask things yet. >> wild one. It's got a lot of scandal involved in it. >> Scandal?
>> A lot of very wealthy people. >> Oh, you know I love a wealthy story. >> of cover-up uh rumors happening here.
Lots of all that kind of stuff and a lot of scandals and the and the murder itself is absolutely horrific. I mean,
it's a horrific story. I mean, Martha's young. She's like She was an amazing gal.
>> Aw. >> And this is a truly horrific story. Um but before we get into the whole
thing, >> Yes. >> uh we just wanted to say something really quick cuz I think some people
were having trouble with um playback of a couple of episodes on Apple Podcasts. They would It was doing like a buffer
thing where it would like start you over >> Yeah. >> randomly. >> Like in the middle of the episode, I
think. >> Yeah, it's not we we can't really fix anything on our end cuz it's not like a
a broken thing in the episode. It's more um you might need to update your app. Cuz sometimes that can happen if you
don't update it, it just it's like the iPhone. If you don't get the update, it just starts [ __ ] itself. So, I think
the app does that as well. >> Yeah. >> Um so, give that a shot if you're having problems with that.
>> And see if it fixes it. >> I thought that I had all of my apps on automatic update. Like I thought I did
that when I set my phone, and you might think that, too. Maybe you might not, cuz I didn't. Uh it
but see if it works. It I think that might help. If it doesn't help, let us know. Yeah. We'll go further.
You think that should be it? Um but yeah, I think it if you want to come to our live show in New York City, June
27th >> City Music Hall. >> some tickets left. Go grab them. >> We're literally so excited. They're like
things are moving and shaking. >> Yeah, we got some some fun things. >> Oh my gosh.
>> have a fun guest. It's just it's all going to be fun. >> just bought some some dressings. Ellen,
we figured oh, I can't even tell you. >> Yeah, we can't even tell you. >> There's one thing in particular, and
it's honestly like a pretty small thing in the grand scheme of things, that I am
so [ __ ] excited for. >> I know exactly what you're talking about, and I, too, am excited for it.
>> Yeah. >> So, yeah, go get your tickets while you can. Uh it's going to be a fun time.
>> Period. >> So, I think that's all we have for business. So, look at that. The minute
the minute mark is low this time. >> Better get going. >> Don't lie about it. >> Listen listen Carl. Listen George.
>> Listen George Paul. >> Yeah. >> Listen Matthew. >> I I what uh >> Hello. Oh, that was an apple pod
That was an apple podcast. That was Ash not updating. So, let's just go for a second.
>> I was looking out the window and trying to talk. >> That's hard. >> No, no, no. I was also itching my chest.
Oh, there was there was three things, and I was trying to remember the name of a book, too. So, There was a lot
happening, and of course, I had to breathe as well. So, there was that. >> Oh, man.
>> Yeah, that always trips up. >> I know, it's crazy. >> Oh, no. What I'm going to say isn't even
going to be funny. For some reason, when I said George, I just thought about mice
and men. Bye. >> I'm tapping out. >> I'm going to do it to George. >> Um >> What just happened?
>> I'm not really sure. >> I got to go. All right, here we are. Let's talk about
So, for I'm going to give you a quick summary of what's going to happen here so you know what you're getting into if
you like >> a two-pod. >> So, um and if you and if you're someone who's like, "Wha- and what is this?
Like, I've I've never heard of this." You This will be your summary. If you're someone who thinks you remember this
name and you're a little confused, here's your confirmation. So, what's interesting about this is Martha
Moxley's murder was the first murder case that the detectives in the Greenwich, Connecticut Police Department
had ever seen. >> Oh, wow. >> I say one of the first, I mean, you could count on a hand in the history of
the department how many murder cases there were. >> That's insane. >> Yeah. But, because of that, I mean, it almost
immediately it drew a lot of criticism, the investigation. The public was kind of perceiving it as
sloppy police work. They said the public was thinking there was a like a real failure to make any progress in this
case. And further complicating the matters was the fact that those that were closest to the case, like the kids
who were with Martha Moxley the night she was murdered, they came from some of the wealthiest and most powerful
families in the nation. >> Wow. >> Yeah. Not just in Connecticut, in the nation.
>> also Greenwich is like a very gorgeous area. >> it is. Uh in fact, for decades, the
power, the influence, all that kind of stuff, like the shadiness that comes along with all that, that we all see
come along with that, even now, >> Yep. >> it kind of stonewalled the investigators
at every turn. And for decades, this prevented Martha Moxley's killer from being held accountable.
>> That's so [ __ ] up. Cuz that's the thing, it's like in these cases where these rich families
don't want to be a part of it and they want to keep things hush-hush and yada yada. It's like, okay, but a woman lost
her life and like a young girl at that. >> you can still love your child and admit that they did something wrong.
>> Yeah, exactly. It's like, you know, there's a there's a there's parents who go too far the other
way and say, well, I'm just not going to cooperate because I'm not going to It's
like, okay, but somebody else's child was killed. So, like, you need to >> You have to look at it like you can
still love your kid. >> Right. >> still think that sunshine glows out of their ass.
>> Probably doesn't, but >> to admit that they did something wrong when they did something wrong and have
them face the consequences. Now, Martha Moxley was born August 16th, 1960 in San Francisco, California.
Uh she was the second of two children born to Dorothy and David Moxley. >> Oh, cute.
>> Dorothy's such a cute name. Uh who was a Dorothy was a teacher, David was an accountant. Um she had a brother John
and in Piedmont, California for most of her life, she was just kind of the quintessential American kid.
>> Yeah. >> Uh she was outgoing, she was athletic, she was a good student. Like, she had it
all going for her. Dorothy said Martha was always a very good child, very easy to handle.
>> Aw. >> Um although she never had any trouble making friends, according to John,
Martha often kind of just liked spending time with her family or sketching in her
notebook. She was like pretty low-key. >> Yeah. >> Uh but everyone liked her. Uh her brother John said Martha was a
person who had everything in the world going for her. She was friendly, she was athletic, she was talented in the arts.
Everything seemed to come very easy to Martha. She was very easy to get along with, upbeat, friendly, the kind of kid
you'd like to be around. >> Aw. >> Like, that's who >> Well, most of us stand for, yeah.
>> Um although the Moxleys had never struggled financially, they did pretty well. They weren't exactly like what
would be considered like a wealthy family at that time, especially by Southern California
>> Yeah, Southern California. >> you know. But that all changed in the summer of
1974 when David Moxley accepted a very high-profile job. Uh, it was a job as a managing partner with a global
accounting firm. But this required them to move 3,000 miles to the other side of the country.
>> Yes. >> So, you know, David needed to be close to the New York headquarters. >> Mhm.
>> Like many who worked in New York's finance industry at the time, they chose not to settle in the city itself, but
instead to move to one of the suburbs that they could like take a train in. >> Yeah, makes sense.
>> They chose Greenwich, Connecticut. Now, in his 1997 profile of the Moxley case
for the Hartford Courant, journalist Joe Lang described Greenwich as, quote, "The
Connecticut suburb of choice for Manhattan executives." >> Mhm. >> Most, if not all of them, lived in the
very exclusive waterfront neighborhood of Belle Haven. >> Mhm. >> Well, all of Greenwich would definitely
be considered a wealthy suburb. >> Even still. >> Yeah. Belle Haven existed basically as its own world. It was like
a a town apart. >> That's crazy. >> It was a gated community. It had its own auxiliary police department, uh, private
roads, its own yacht club on the Long Island Sound. >> It's like the it's like Stepford.
>> It literally is. >> Yeah. >> It feels like Don't Worry, Darling. Like it feels like that it's like it's own
thing. >> Mhm. >> Now, among those who called Belle Haven home was the president of Schweppes USA.
The other ginger ale. >> I was going to say. That literally I'm not going I'm not trying to come for
big ginger ale, but >> I apologize to big ginger ale, but the Schweppes ginger ale dry family has
always been >> superior. >> the ginger ale of choice. >> If I Drew is a ginger ale al-
I was going to say ginger ale alcohol. A ginger ale alcoholic. He's a ginger ale
alcoholic, yeah. >> He actually hides ginger ale in our house. >> Good for him. >> Cuz he doesn't want it all gone.
>> Good for him. >> But if there if Schweppes enters our household >> Oh, [ __ ]
>> growing up my mom. Ma >> Yep. >> is a gingerale girl. And she would and she and we were that family you got
sick, she would stir those bubbles out. >> best. >> you that flat ass gingerale and it would
soothe your worries. >> To this day when I'm sick when I'm sick I ask Drew to please stir the bubbles
out of my gingerale. >> My kids have just recently discovered the joys of a flat gingerale on an upset
stomach. >> Nothing like it. >> And I remember when I gave it to my oldest for the first time I'm like
stirring the bubbles out and she was like, "That's soda." Cuz they don't drink soda.
>> And you're like, "Yeah." >> And I just haven't let them yet. >> Yeah, no. >> This is a this is an emergency, so
>> You we must give her some soda. >> "That's soda." Like I get soda when I'm sick and I was like, "Girl, you don't
even know." She took that first sip and she it was like I don't know if anybody's seen the Bluey
episode when she like takes the first lick of ice cream after she's earned it. >> Is that when she says, "This changes
everything." >> she literally changes everything. >> Yep. >> Like she goes floating through like
clouds and [ __ ] That was what she did. >> Oh. >> So >> So big gingerale. >> We love Canada Dry here. This place for
Schweppes somewhere else. It's just not here. >> It's just It's in Connecticut. It's in
Connecticut. >> Uh so yeah, the president of Schweppes is out there. >> President of big gingerale.
>> Also the president of the National Dairy Corporation >> Oh, which seems pretty big.
>> It does. >> Cuz you know, dairy. >> National Dairy Corporation, I didn't even know that was a thing.
>> Also the CEO of Pepsi Pepsico. >> Are we going to get into this again? >> We're a Coke
>> Are we going to get into this again? [ __ ] >> Not big soda. >> Not big soda.
>> You know what though? >> Not big Not big corporation. >> We have to be honest here. You went
through a [ __ ] phase with your mans where you guys were a strictly Pepsi home.
>> And I remember being like, "Okay." >> We had a moment. >> You did. It was like a couple of years,
I would say. Like your first apartment, Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi. >> in your first apartment. No, you figured
it out, you know? >> I guess so, that's true. >> mistakes and then you move on. Mike,
he's looking at me like he is he's >> Pepsi? >> something absolutely horrifying about
me. >> Yeah. It was you move into your first apartment. >> We weren't even married yet.
We didn't figure it out. We figured it out. >> loved Pepsi. >> Yeah. Yeah. >> But then now well now you're like a Dr.
Pepper girly and and Coke. >> a Coke family. >> A cola. >> Yeah. >> Just to make that clear. We're a
Coca-Cola family. God damn. Get your head out of the gutter. >> family, okay? >> We're not Pablo Escobar.
>> But we are Mr. Charisma, all right? You don't need to say hello to my little friend.
But >> Yeah. We are reckless today. >> We're We're Canada Dry. We're Coca-Cola. >> And we're We're We like dairy.
>> A lot of us are lactose >> I was going to say, here's the thing. We We're big fans of big dairy, in fact,
but we're also into big lactaid. Big enzyme. >> Big enzyme. >> We love big enzyme.
Oh lord. Uh but there was also a lot of actors, musicians, filmmakers that lived there.
It was crazy. And that summer, the Moxleys settled into what they considered a fixer-upper,
>> but I'm surprised they even existed there. >> Well, a fixer-upper by Greenwich
standards was a large, just stunning old skin colonial house in Beverly. >> a colonial.
>> Yeah. Now for any teenager, having to give up their friends and their lives, move completely, like just ask Max
Dennison >> Yes. >> Pocus. >> It sucks. >> That's a tough move. >> It is. >> be kind of like a a quasi traumatic
experience, I would say. That's a a of change. But Martha, she took it all in stride.
>> in it. >> She Nothing bothered her. Like she was just an easygoing gal. >> I love that.
>> awesome. That first year at Western Junior High, she adjusted very quickly. She wasted no
time building a brand new social circle. She was like, "Got it. I'll just make new friends."
Um one teacher wrote on her report card that year, "When Martha came in the room, it was like the sun coming up in
the morning." >> That's actually crazy because I was just thinking to myself, you said her
birthday was August 16th. >> Yes. >> That makes her a Leo. So she's ruled by the sun.
>> Oh. >> Isn't that fancy? >> That's interesting. >> Yeah. I'm just making chairs.
>> imagine we've all seen the "a pleasure to have in class" on the report card. >> said No teacher ever said to me, "You
are the sun." >> to say that when she comes in the room, it's like the sun coming up in the
morning, I would be like I've done it. >> Absolutely. >> Like Dorothy should feel like I did it.
Like that. And Dorothy and David should feel like we've done it. >> Absolutely. >> a high compliment for a for a teacher to
feel that way about your child. >> get better than that? >> Yeah, that's that's big.
After just 9 months, Martha had surrounded herself with a huge group of friends. She was voted the most popular
girl in school. >> Wow. Imagine that still being a thing. >> Brand new. I know. Can you imagine?
>> Yeah. That's wild. >> And uh one of her closest friends, Christie Callan said Martha was just
incredibly fun. >> Aw. >> Now the summer >> Right? >> In the summer of 1974, she actually
started dating a boy named Peter Zaluca. >> Ooh. >> Um they had like a pretty teenager-y relationship. In her
diary entries that were later discovered, uh she kind of describes their relationship as like a little
stormy. >> Okay. >> Nothing crazy Like there's nothing damning or like wild in there.
>> 15. >> She would just frequently talk about his dark moods and that she was frustrated
with him. like, pretty typical stuff. He was never looked at as a prime suspect for what came later.
>> Mhm. >> But, he obviously was spoken to. He had an alibi, and he was cleared.
>> checked out. Okay. >> Unfortunately, I believe he passed away in 2011. >> Oh, wow. Okay.
>> Yeah. The summer after completing the eighth grade, Martha spent much of her time at
the Belle Haven Club, swimming, playing tennis, laying by the pool. >> Ugh. >> It sounds like
>> you can picture like a movie. >> it. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. Um it was there that she met a new
set of friends, the people who lived in Belle Haven and attended elite private schools.
>> Ooh. >> The ones that she wasn't going to school with. >> Among that group was Tommy and Michael
Skakel. Um if you know this case, might sound familiar. Uh they were two children of
Rushton Skakel, the wealthiest man in Greenwich. >> Imagine being known as the wealthiest
man in Greenwich. >> Rushton, you have to be. >> His name His first name is Rushton or
the >> Rushton Skakel. >> Rushton. I've never heard that name. >> That's the father. So,
>> Who has such a Rushton? >> Right? Rushton Skakel's fortune came from Great Lakes Coal, a company founded
by his father that recycled waste products from mining operations, but it wasn't just the money that made Skakel
so influential influential. That's hard to say. In addition to his wealth, Skakel's sister, Ethel,
was married to Robert F. Kennedy. >> Oh, [ __ ] >> Ethel. >> Oh. >> So, he yeah. So, he had direct access
>> I know who we are. >> Yeah. He had direct access to one of the most famous families and infamous
families in America. >> To this day. >> If not the world, honestly. >> Honestly, yeah.
>> Um and uh so, Dorothy Moxley later recalled, "As soon as you moved into Greenwich, they'd tell you that's where
the Skakels live, and that they were related to the Kennedys." >> Mhm. >> Which obviously that's a big deal.
>> Yeah, of course. >> Now, despite his economic success, the Skakel family, like the Kennedys, had
more than their fair share of experience with tragedy. In 1955, Rushton and Ethel's parents were killed in a private
plane crash. >> A few years later, their brother George Jr. was also killed in a plane crash.
>> Jesus. >> Not long after, his wife choked to death during a dinner party. >> Oh my god.
>> Isn't that horrific? >> Yes. >> In 1962, when he was 4 years old, Tommy Skakel was thrown from a car during a
crash and suffered severe head injuries. >> Wow. >> And finally, in 1973, Rushton's wife Ann
died after a particularly agonizing battle with cancer. >> Oh. >> Ann's death not only left Rushton a
widower a lot earlier than anyone would expect, but it also made him the sole provider for his seven children.
>> Holy [ __ ] >> Six boys and one girl. Now, the Skakel boys, yeah, the Skakel boys had always had a bit of a
reputation for being an entitled and often unruly bunch of kids, but for at least a few of them, their behavior got
significantly worse when their mother died. >> I mean, that makes sense. >> Yeah, trauma.
Michael, in particular, seemed to take his mother's death harder than the others and started acting out in very
obvious ways, while also apparently developing a pretty significant drinking problem.
>> Oh. >> In the summer of 1974, before starting high school, Martha began socializing
with a group of friends at the country club that occasionally did include Tommy and Michael Skakel.
>> Okay. >> Although they weren't very close as friends go, Martha wrote in a letter to
her friend that summer that Tommy, quote, had hit on her and she wasn't interested.
>> Oh, good for her. >> Good for her. >> And a year after Martha's death, her mother Ann Skakel discovered her diary,
which is where they got a lot of information about what was going on in her life, and it included a few mentions
of the Skakel brothers. >> Oh. >> Now, in a passage from September 12th, 1975, which is
only about a month before she was killed. Yeah. Martha talked about a random evening that she
had spent with Tommy and Michael Skakel. Uh this is what she wrote. She wrote, "Dear diary, today was nothing extra
special at school. Peter was being his usual self. Me, Jackie, Michael, Tom, Hope, Maureen, and Andre were driving in
Tom's car. I drove a little and then I was practically sitting on Tom's lap because
I was only steering and he kept putting his hand on my knee. I drove some more and Margie and I kept yelling out the
sunroof and then we went to Friendly's, which immediately was like, uh. And Michael treated me and got me a
double, but I only wanted a single, so I threw the top scoop out the window. Then I was driving again and Tom put his
arm around me. He kept doing stuff like that. Jesus, if Peter ever found out I would be dead.
>> Oh. >> I think Jackie really likes Michael and I think maybe he likes her. Maybe
because he was drunk, I don't know. >> Okay. >> So that was on September 12th. September
15th, she talked again about hanging out with them and saying that he she doesn't
think that or that Michael told her he doesn't like Jackie, but he leads her on. But she thinks he leads her on, so
it's like very teenager like. >> like summer of '75, I'm 15. >> Yeah, and a few days later she journaled
and said, "Michael, meaning Michael Skakel, uh was so totally out of it that he was being a real [ __ ] in his
actions and words. He kept telling me that I was leading Tom on when I don't like him except as a friend.
>> Mhm. >> I said, 'Well, how about you and Jackie? You keep telling me you don't like her
and you're all over He doesn't understand that he can be nice to her without hanging all over
her. Michael jumps to conclusions. I can't be friends with Tom just because I talked
to him. It doesn't mean I like him. I really have to stop going over there. >> Oh my god.
>> That's just like currently very chilling. >> Yeah. >> It's cuz it's just at the very least
here what we're seeing is like she was just annoyed. >> Yeah. >> By Michael kind of like telling her like
accusing her of leading Tommy on and Tommy being a little too like >> She wasn't having a good time
>> presumptuous. Yeah, she wasn't having a good time with that boy. >> like she wanted to move on from it.
>> Yeah. >> Oh, wow. >> I know. Now, although she had always been a really good girl, a really easy kid, and
generally got along very well with her parents, Martha wasn't you know she wasn't a robot.
>> Yeah. >> She was a girl. >> She's a teenage girl. >> teenage girl in a very wealthy suburb
with a lot of stuff >> at her disposal. >> Her brother John said she had a wilder
side as well, occasionally missing her curfew, drinking a beer, smoking. In mid-October it was that wilder side
of her personality that had landed her in a little trouble with her parents, who grounded her for some teenage
infraction, nothing crazy. >> Okay. >> Nobody even remembers what the infraction was. It was that
>> So obviously it was not little. >> But when Martha's country club friends came calling on the for her on the night
of October 30th, which is a lot of times dubbed Mischief Night. >> Mhm. >> Dorothy Moxley took pity on her daughter
and allowed her to go out with her friends for a little while as long as she was back at a reasonable hour.
>> Okay. >> I think because Martha was such a good kid >> She's like she probably was like you
learned your lesson. >> Yeah. Like I'm not too worried about you doing a lot more.
After leaving the Moxley house that night, Martha and her friend Helen um X Fitz-Patrick met up with two other
friends, Jackie Wint Hall and Jeffrey Byrne. And the two walked over to the Skakel house.
When they were there, they all just kind of piled into Tommy's maroon Lincoln, which the Skakel boys referred to as the
Lust Mobile. >> Ew. Like what the ew. I don't like it. >> And they sat parked in the driveway.
Within a few minutes, Tommy, who had been drinking that night, started rubbing Martha's leg without her
permission, to which she responded by pushing his hand away repeatedly. cuz she was not about that.
>> of times, whoa, boom. >> Yeah. Now, a little before 9:30 p.m., Tommy and Michael's brothers, Rush Jr. and
John, came out of the house with their cousin, Jimmy Terrien. And they announced that they were going
to Jimmy's house, the cousin, for the rest of the night. >> Okay. >> So, Michael was kind of feeling like the
Michael Skakel was feeling like the fifth wheel, so he got out of the car and decided to go along with them
instead of staying with Martha and her friends. So, now it's just Is it just Martha and Helen and Tommy?
And then Jeff? >> I think so, yeah. >> Okay. >> And Jackie. >> And Jackie. >> Yeah, okay.
>> Okay. So, later, when they gave their statements to police, Jeff and Helen said they remembered seeing Martha and
Tommy play fighting in the Skakels' driveway not long after the other group had left.
>> Okay. >> The report says Martha was pushing Thomas and Thomas pushing Martha.
>> Was that playful? >> At one point, Thomas pushed Martha down and he either fell or got down on her.
I'm here to tell you that that doesn't sound like play fighting, that sounds like he was trying to attack her.
>> Yeah. >> That's just what it sounds like in that report. >> Yep. >> Eventually, when Tommy and Martha began
kissing, Jeff and Helen decided to leave to give them some alone time, and it was the
last time they would see Martha alive. >> But let's all remember that Martha wasn't interested in Tommy.
>> Yeah. So, later that night, when Martha still hadn't come home, Dorothy Martha Moxley
began calling around to her friends to find out where Martha was. From Helen, she learned that Martha was
last seen around 9:30 with Tommy Skakel. >> Mhm. >> So, Dorothy called the Skakel house and
spoke to Tommy. According to Tommy, not long after Jeff and Helen walked off, he went inside the
house and he went up to his bedroom. The last time he'd seen Martha, she was walking across the lawn in the direction
of her own house. >> Now, completely by herself. >> Yeah. So, Dorothy was concerned, but
Martha hadn't given a specific time that she was going to come home, so she tried
not to panic. Dorothy later said Martha was a very sharp girl. She wasn't stupid about
things. >> Mhm. >> But when several more hours went by and Martha still hadn't returned home by
4:00 a.m. >> Oh, man. >> Dorothy finally called the police to report her missing.
>> Yeah. >> An officer was dispatched to the Moxley house and they ran through the usual
questions, so you know, about a missing teen, especially in the '70s, remember? >> Had there been an argument? Did Martha
usually stay out this late? Had she run away before? Had Martha been a younger child, the police would very likely have
fanned out to search the neighborhood, but at the time, the common belief among law enforcement was that when a teenager
disappeared for a short time, they were probably just blowing off steam and or had run away and they would eventually
come home. >> Yeah. >> Uh we've seen that that is not true most of the time and you end up wasting a lot
of valuable time. >> Yeah. >> So after taking a quick look around the outside of the house and finding
nothing, cuz what the [ __ ] would they find on a quick cursory search of the house
>> when she hasn't returned to the house? >> The officer logged the report and told
Dorothy to call back if Martha still hadn't returned home in a few more hours. Then he returned to the station.
Okay. Now feeling helpless at this point, cuz what does she do now? >> Right. >> Dorothy called her husband, who was in
in Atlanta on business, and asked him to come home. >> Okay. >> Then when the sun came up, she decided
to go over to the Skakel's house where Martha was last seen. >> Good for her. >> When Dorothy knocked on the door,
Michael Skakel answered and Dorothy remembered that he was, quote unquote, disheveled and looked like a mess.
>> Mhm. >> As though he hadn't got much sleep. Now Michael explained that he hadn't
seen Martha since he left with his brothers to go to his cousin's house the night before and he'd gone straight to
bed when he got home a little before midnight. >> Okay. >> It's like, you look real tired.
>> Yeah. >> Several more hours passed with no word. Then a little after 12:30 p.m., one of
the Moxley's neighbors, a girl on her way to school, made a terrifying discovery.
>> Oh, god. >> Lying on the ground beneath a clump of pine trees about 200 ft from the Moxley's front
door >> Stop. >> was Martha's body. She was lying on her stomach in a pool of blood.
Her pants and underwear were pulled down around her ankles. She had been severely beaten in the head
and face. A former detective Steve Carroll said her face her head was a bloody mess. She
was a blonde, but you could never tell because her hair was matted down with blood, very thick and heavy.
>> Oh my god. >> Martha was lying in a large pool of blood and near the body investigators
found a Tony Penna six iron golf club broken into three pieces. >> Holy [ __ ] an iron golf club?
>> Yeah. Based on the limited evidence at the scene, Carroll and the other investigators theorized that Martha was
first attacked near the Skakel's driveway. Then after she'd broken free, the killer chased her through the
backyard and caught up with her not far from her own home. >> Oh. >> Once Martha was on the ground, the
assailant struck her in the head and face with the six iron as many as eight or nine times.
According to the coroner's report, this is very graphic, just to warn you. The beating was so savage that it tore
pieces of Martha's scalp from her skull, leaving it dangling over her face. >> Oh my god.
>> After the eighth or ninth blow to the head, the shaft of the golf club broke into multiple pieces, at which point the
killer took up the broken pieces with the handle and rammed the jagged end of the club
into Martha's throat. >> Oh my god. And she's like 200 ft from her house. >> Her mom is in the house
and this is happening to her daughter 200 ft away from her house. >> Oh my god. >> I
when I read that, that'll stay with me. I didn't even know that detail of this or I didn't remember
it at the very least. I That's unthinkable. >> Mhm. >> That is completely >> And to think that she was running away
from somebody and was so close to home. It was a matter of feet. >> Yeah. I just It like honestly it makes my like
it turns my stomach. It really turns my stomach. Like oh. >> That's wild. >> Now, although the medical examiner found
no concrete evidence of sexual assault, he did note a quote reddish mark on both
her inner thighs, which he stated were consistent with bloody hands trying to push the victim's legs apart.
>> Oh, awful. >> Now, for investigators at the scene and those who would later be assigned to the
case, Martha Moxley was the first murder case any of them had ever seen and it is
one of the most brutal things >> to ever come across. >> one of the most brutal murders you can
think of and this is their first murder case. >> That's unthinkable. >> In the history of the Greenwich Police
Department, the number of homicide cases on record could be counted on one hand.
>> Wow. >> They were not experienced in the investigation of homicide, let alone one
so brutal and someone so young. >> Yeah. >> Which would prove seriously consequential for their investigation.
>> And but Steve Carroll and his associates took up the case determined to find out
who did this. That afternoon, Chief Thomas Keegan assigned to the case to detectives Steve
Carroll and James Lunney, who would act as co-lead investigators. At 3:00 p.m., James Lunney and his partner went to the
Skakel house to interview the kids while Carroll and his partner began interviewing the Moxleys' neighbors.
At the time, Rushton Skakel was away on business and the kids' tutor, Ken Littleton, was left in charge.
According to 18-year-old Julie Skakel, she and several of her brothers had dinner at the Belle Haven Beach Club the
previous evening and returned home around 9:00 p.m. And at that point, Tommy and Michael met
up with Martha and her friends in the driveway of the house while the rest of the kids went inside.
Michael confirmed his sister's story and added that after hanging out with Martha
and her friends for a short time, he got bored and went with his brothers to their cousin's house and didn't come
home until after 11:00 p.m. >> Okay. >> Later that afternoon, Tommy was asked to
come down to the station for an interview. >> I bet. >> At which time he repeated the story he
told Dorothy Moxley, but with some added information now. >> Mhm. >> Tommy claimed he and Martha had been
kissing and wrestling on the Skakel's front lawn, which was corroborated by Jeff and Helen that they at least saw
play fighting is what they thought it was. Then he went inside around 9:30 p.m. to work on a homework project which
is about Abraham Lincoln. The last time he'd seen Martha, she was walking in the
direction of her house. After the interview, Lonnie checked with Tommy's teachers and they all denied assigning a
homework project about Abraham Lincoln. >> Interesting. >> Which is a wildly stupid lie to make up
cuz it is so easily disproven. >> Exactly. >> Now, elsewhere in the neighborhood,
Carol and his partner were canvassing the area looking for anyone who might have seen or heard anything out of the
ordinary the night before. Although no one saw anything, many of the neighbors closest to the Moxley
house recalled hearing the sound of several dogs barking wildly around 10:00 p.m.
>> Oh. >> Dorothy Moxley, too, remembered hearing the noise and thought someone must have
been having an argument. >> Oh, okay. >> Otherwise, the most anyone seemed able to offer investigators was just like
suspicion and speculation. Some in Belle Haven told the detectives about a like a
transient man they described him as that they'd seen hitchhiking in the area the
day that Martha was killed and thought surely this man had something to do with the
murder. Could not be one of our own. >> No, never. >> It quickly became apparent to
investigators that Tommy Skakel was the last person to see Martha alive that night. They also determined based on the
reports of the barking dogs that the time of the death was most likely somewhere around 10:00 p.m. Okay. Since
Michael Skakel had been at his cousin's house when they believed the murder took
place, he was ruled out as Martha's killer, leaving Tommy as the most likely suspect.
>> Mhm. >> Based on what they learned, Carol and Lenny theorized that Tommy had wanted to
go further than kissing Martha, and when Martha rejected him and began walking home, he chased her down and attacked
her. >> Mhm. >> That was the theory. >> Makes sense. >> The next day, detectives spoke to
Rushton Skakel and explained that they needed to search the area more thoroughly, but they didn't mention that
they suspected Tommy. >> Okay. >> Like everyone else in the neighborhood, Skakel wanted to help find Martha's
killer, so he gave his permission for investigators to search his house and continue speaking with his children. He
was like, "Absolutely." >> Okay. >> Operating on the assumption that Skakel's verbal permission was good
enough, >> Mhm. >> Carol and Lenny never bothered to get a search warrant. >> That wasn't smart.
>> I will never get over this fact. >> That wasn't smart. >> You just said, "Sounds good to me."
>> Yeah. Verbal agreement isn't >> is admissible. >> Nope. >> You learned that. Wait, before you got
that shiny badge that you show people, >> That's such a basic. >> that. That's such a basic. That's basic
[ __ ] >> been day two after orientation. >> Yeah. >> Oh, man. >> secured Rushton Skakel's permission,
detectives returned to the Skakel's house to follow up with Tommy while additional officers searched the house.
When he was confronted with the lie about the homework project, Tommy stuck to his story, insisting that he had gone
up to his bedroom to work on the project, which the detectives now knew didn't exist.
>> like, "Okay, show me the project. Where is it?" >> Lincoln thing. Meanwhile, officers
searching the house found a set of Tony Penna golf clubs in the mudroom with several clubs missing.
>> Mhm. >> They eventually located most of the other clubs on the back deck, but
the six iron was nowhere to be found. >> You got to be [ __ ] kidding me. And the fact that they found that and it's
not admissible. >> Yeah. For reasons that remain unclear, it appears that the detectives didn't
bother to push back on Tommy Skakel's claims that he was working on a project that had literally never been assigned.
Nor did they take the clubs or anything else into evidence. >> Interesting. >> Just
let that let that settle. They literally found out that he was lying. >> They have about his alibi.
>> to back it up, to say he doesn't have that project. >> Yep. >> They didn't say, "Hey, can you show me
the project?" >> Yep. >> They found the golf clubs. >> Missing one that happened to be used in
the murder weapon. >> Missing the only one that's used as a murder weapon, and they took
nothing. What did they do? Talk to a Skakel. That's it. >> Oh my god, dude. >> Now,
in retrospect, >> Yeah. That's one of the most critical mistakes. >> in this investigation were definitely
made in these early days, which is the worst time to make them. >> It sure is. >> While most could be chalked up to
just inexperienced and doofusy detectives, many believe that the real underlying problem was the
investigators' unwillingness to aggressively pursue Tommy Skakel because of his father's wealth and
power. >> Mhm. >> And to me, that fits the bill. >> I think so. >> Because I'm like, which one do you want
to be? Do you want to be a a a a a shady [ __ ] who doesn't want to question a wealthy,
powerful family? Or do you want to be a dumb detective who didn't do the most basic [ __ ] in the
world? >> Oh, man. >> Pick one, I guess. Pick your poison. >> to say they're both pretty shitty.
>> They're both pretty bad. They both don't paint you in a good light. >> know all the details of this.
>> Yeah, Steve Carroll said in a 2003 interview, "I think it was a case of circumstances. Did we tread lightly?
Probably. Out of respect or fear? I don't know. But we thought really that we were doing a good job.
>> A young girl was murdered and you decided to tread lightly? >> I don't know if you want to go with
that. >> Probably not. >> And I don't know if you want to say we thought we were doing a good job. Did
you? So we're going >> By not collecting evidence? >> one. >> Wow. >> Yeah, I don't know. In fact, everything
seemed to be pointing towards Tommy Skakel, but Carol and Lenny seemed completely unwilling to follow the very
obvious evidence that was like breadcrumbing right to him. So the next day, Detective Thomas Keegan
gave a statement to the press, though it didn't do a whole lot to answer any questions or like help anyone with their
fears. He told reporters, "We have reason to believe she was assaulted on the property and dragged to the tree."
Yep, thanks. Unfortunately, when it came to any theories or potential suspects, Keegan
was tight-lipped, saying only, "We don't have a heck of a lot going to go on." You actually have You have almost
everything you need. >> smoking gun. >> Now a few days later, Deputy Police Chief Raymond Grant followed up on
Keegan's vague statement, telling reporters, "It's not that we don't have leads, but I don't know when we'll break
the case. If I did, I'd tell you." The most non The most non-sentence sentence ever. It just includes
absolutely no information. >> Wow. >> So the silence and very poor communication from investigators would
prove to be another problem for local police. Not only did it do nothing to make locals feel any safer, but it also
suggested investigators weren't making any progress on the case. And if it felt to the public that
detectives weren't making any progress, that's probably because they weren't. >> Probably.
>> Now within a few days of the murder, the investigation began to run into several
roadblocks, many having to do with the social status of the primary suspect. >> I think so.
>> One of Tommy's teachers refused to go on the record refuting the claim about the
homework assignment and became generally uncooperative. From that point forward, it seemed as
though every lead Carolyn and Lonnie had managed to come up with started falling
apart. Within a few weeks, when it became clear detectives were focusing on his son,
Rushton Skakel rescinded his permission to speak to his children and routed everything through the family's lawyer.
>> I'm sure. >> By then, Tommy had taken two polygraph tests with the first showing
inconclusive results and the second showing no deception. >> Interesting. >> Which is very interesting.
>> I mean, he had a practice run. >> Within a few months, investigators found themselves in a very difficult position.
They no longer had access to their suspect and no one seemed willing to speak out against the Skakels. But at
the same time, the public pressure to find Martha's killer had only grown louder and more demanding.
In late March, Connecticut State Attorney Thomas Brown responded to the growing criticism by publicly accusing
the Skakels of stonewalling detectives and impeding the investigation. >> Wow. Brief.
>> According to Brown, the local police were, quote, "apparently being frustrated by the refusal of a
particular family, which could supply pertinent information to assist or cooperate in the police investigation."
Although Brown didn't call out the Skakels by name, Tommy Skakel had been associated with the case in the press
from day one. So, there was little doubt who he was referring to. >> Mhm. >> Also, Brown made it clear in no
uncertain terms that the Greenwich police were equipped to investigate the case. He said, "I'm personally satisfied
with the manner in which the police investigation has progressed over the months, despite the unfortunate refusal
of cooperation by the particular family, which has clearly impeded the investigation."
Now, under the gun to solve the case with or without the Skakels' help at this point, investigators or detectives
began casting a much wider net and started looking at anyone who could have any reason or want to harm Martha, which
I said, "Why?" >> You're wasting your [ __ ] time." Like you have everything. >> Including her parents and her brother,
too. >> You got to be [ __ ] kidding me. Are they missing golf clubs? >> on. In the end, the larger suspect pool
did nothing to help the investigation and actually probably did a lot more harm than it did anything else.
Now, at first, detectives focused their attention on the Skakel children's tutor,
uh Ken Littleton, who failed his polygraph exam. >> Yeah, because he probably had something
that he was hiding. >> But when he passed his second polygraph, I love how they're like, "Let's just do
it until you pass." >> Like what? >> They determined he knew more than he was saying, but he wasn't Martha's killer.
>> Yeah. >> Which seems likely. >> Yeah. >> After moving on from Littleton, investigators shifted their attention to
one of the Moxleys' neighbors, Edward Hammond. According to journalist Leonard Levitt,
it was never clear, {quote} what had piqued their interest in Hammond, although the police file did state he
had blood on his clothing from a household accident. >> Okay. >> Regardless of what got them to spend so
much time on Hammond, he was like very cooperative with detectives and provided extensive biological samples to rule
himself out. >> Yeah, so anybody who's willing to do that, it's not them. >> He cooperated completely. Now, with
Tommy Skakel being beyond their reach and every other suspect ruled out because they weren't even real suspects
to begin with, I feel like, investigators went back to the earliest case notes, particularly the neighbor's
note about the mysterious and suspicious hitchhiker seen in town. >> Okay. >> Because you got to That That seems like
at least a lead that you I mean, you got so much evidence on one on other side, but like you might as
well chase this one down. >> Yeah, it's out of the ordinary, you know. >> Now, despite not knowing whether the man
even existed or where he could be found, the investigative team would spend an unreasonable
amount of time pursuing the hitchhiker lead, which would literally come to nothing in
the end. >> Great. >> Nothing. Like nothing. >> Did they find out >> anybody. >> If they had like, "Hey, he was on this
corner and this is where I saw him going." Even that is hard to chase cuz like where did he go?
>> Yeah, anywhere. >> even know what he looks like. >> Right. Now, by the end of the 1970s,
investigators had exhausted every lead they had and were no closer to actually nailing down Martha's killer.
>> And her poor family is just having to continue living in this community. >> With everybody.
>> Yeah. >> Now, in the meantime, several of the Skakel kids had grown up and moved away,
including Michael, who after being arrested on a charge of drunk driving in late 1978
was sent to the Elan School, a private institution in Maine for troubled teenagers.
>> Mhm. >> With so many people having come and gone and so many mistakes having been made in
the investigation, it seemed like the case might never be solved. >> Yeah. >> Now, throughout the first half of the
20th century, a lot of Americans had a fascination and respect for the last of the nation's really like aristocratic
families, like the Vanderbilts, you know, the Rockefellers, the Astors. >> By the later part of the century though,
that fascination and respect had like kind of turned into resentment and disdain.
>> Yes. >> Because the social consequences of wealth inequality were becoming more and
more apparent around the country. Others meanwhile took a kind of like perverse pleasure in watching as many in what
remained of high society were taken down by scandals or otherwise fell from grace.
>> It is It is interesting >> It's fascinating. >> of these like wealthy families do end up
like just falling apart. >> Because you have to think, rarely do you just get there.
>> Mhm. >> Rarely is there a glistening golden path leading to where you get >> Yeah.
>> in those situations. >> Yeah. >> Somebody got kicked in the teeth along the way. Like you know what I mean? And
eventually, that person who gets kicked in the teeth is going to come back to bite you with a brand new set of
chompers, >> Mhm. you know? It's It when you see these like and I'm not saying every like you know aristocratic
family, of course I'm not saying that. I'm not generalizing. I'm just saying a lot of the times when
you see them being absolutely taken down by just like scandal after scandal, you're like,
well, it was going to bite you. You didn't get there purely. The people who get there with like just the regular
stuff. Usually aren't the ones taken down cuz there's nothing to take down. But the like ones with like high society
involved. Cuz it is it's fascinating. It really is. Now, in 1991, 30-year-old William
Kennedy Smith, son of Jean Kennedy and Steven Smith, and prominent member of the Kennedy family, was accused of
violently sexually assaulting a woman he'd met on Florida beach on a Florida beach in March. The charges and
subsequent trial received a lot of media coverage and prompted many journalists to dredge up the family's past scandals
and conspiracy theories. Smith would ultimately be acquitted of the charges. But that didn't stop the speculation and
rumors from continuing long after the case was closed. Among them, there was a curious rumor that had circulated about
William Kennedy Smith staying at the Skakel house on or around the time of the Moxley murder.
>> Interesting. >> he had been at the house on the night of the murder, was it not possible that he
could be involved or know something about Martha's death? >> Okay. >> There was no truth
whatsoever that he was staying there. >> Okay, I was going to say. I was like, I
feel like we really have the perfect case to begin with. >> Yeah, about William Kennedy Smith being
at the Skakel house that night, and speculation faded. I know. But for high-profile journalist Dominick
Dunne, who we have talked about, >> It inspired an interest in the case and in the scandalous history of the
Kennedys more broadly. Dunne had spent a lot of his career writing about the crimes and cover-ups
committed by the wealthiest people in America. And based on what he learned in his very cursory research, the Martha
Moxley murder seemed like exactly the kind of crime he was accustomed to covering.
>> Mhm. >> He later said in 2003, "The fact that there was no search warrant is one of
the most outrageous things when they knew that the golf club came from the set of golf clubs that belonged to the
late mother in the Skakel household." >> Wow. >> I want you to hold that one, too. That
is such a liar. The golf club that's missing is part of a set that belonged to their late
mother. Yeah. >> Wow. >> He said later, Dominick Dunne said later in 2003, "There had to be intimidation
of the police. This was a very, very rich family." >> Interesting. That's a quote.
>> That's a quote. From Dominick Dunne in 2003. Well, it's in the show notes. >> Stay away from us, big soda.
>> No, big carbonation, you stay away. >> Get out. >> Now, in the early winter of 1991,
Dominick Dunne reached out to Dorothy Moxley to express his interest in writing a book about the case.
Um he later recalled she was very hesitant about it. I'm sure. >> Totally understand.
>> Yeah. >> But when I told her that I, too, was the parent of a murdered daughter. Cuz
>> That story is tragic. >> His daughter >> Dominique. >> is Dominique Dunne, who we have covered.
>> Mhm. Yeah. >> Um It's such a sad story. >> It is. >> Um so he said, "When I said that I, too,
was the parent of a murdered daughter, she said, 'Okay.'" >> Yeah. And he knew what it was like to
know who killed his daughter and get away with it. >> do anything about it. Now,
I'm just to give you a quick In case you're like, "Wait, what? You covered what?"
>> Yeah. >> Um Dominick Dunne's daughter, Dominique, had been steadily building a name for
herself in Hollywood when in 1982 she was murdered by her ex-boyfriend who only served a few years in prison for
her murder. Um it was this fact and the obvious failure on the part of the system in that case that motivated
Dunn's career in true crime and inspired him to dig deeper into the Martha Moxley
case. Now, so glad he came. >> Yeah, absolutely. >> Now, after their first meeting, Dunn and
Dorothy Moxley agreed the best approach would be for him to write a fictional account of the case which would
eventually be released in 1993 as A Season in Purgatory. >> Oh, okay. I didn't know that.
>> Yeah, along with the rumors about William Kennedy Smith, Dominick Dunne's interest in the case resulted in the
state's attorney John Solomon reopening the investigation into Martha's murder which had been labeled inactive in 1982.
Um Solomon later said, "As we talked about the case, we realized that since 1975, many new techniques for examining
evidence had been developed. And we hope that some of the witnesses who were teenagers then would come
forward with information that they may have previously withheld. >> And you never know, they might be living
with a lot of guilt. >> You never know. Now, at the same time, Solomon did acknowledge how difficult
the case had been up to that point with many different roadblocks and so that set the expectations low from the
outset. Like let's not think we're going to just plow forward here. The news that the case was being
reopened was very encouraging for the Moxley family who had spent a decade and a half advocating for victims of violent
crime, by the way. >> Good for them. >> But the tone and attitude around the wealth and power of those involved
remained much the same as it had been in 1975. One anonymous local told a reporter from
the Boston Globe, "Money can buy anything in this town. A lot of people feel like that."
>> Mhm. >> Others echoed that sentiment. Kristy Calahan, one of Martha's closest
friends, said, "Whenever you get around the Kennedy name, people start to tiptoe
and do things they wouldn't normally do." Which we're from New England. >> I was going to say, we are from New
England. >> Can confirm. >> Yep. And just look at >> Yeah. >> Just look. >> Look at it.
>> Just look at it. >> Yeah. >> Uh she said it's not necessarily intentional, but the family has this
mystique and it can be intimidating. >> It's actually very fascinating. >> And you're born into the idea here
that that's just untouchable. >> Yeah, and that they're royalty. >> You just don't you don't go
>> Much like you don't touch the Morgans, let us. >> Exactly. >> touch the Kennedy family.
>> touch the Kennedys. You don't want to do that. It turned out that locals were
right to expect the wealth and power of Rushton Skakel to remain a significant impediment to this case. Since the day
that Martha was discovered, the most viable suspect had been Tommy Skakel. >> Mhm.
>> Which meant it was inevitable that detectives would start the new investigation with the Skakel family
when the case was reopened. Hoping to get ahead of the police though, Rushton hired Sutton Associates,
a prestigious Long Island private investigation firm. >> That just sounds like a very prestigious
firm. >> He wanted to investigate the case and any connection between it and his
family. Over the course of several years and at the cost of more than 1 million dollars,
the agency would dig deeper into the case than anyone had ever before, ultimately producing a document referred
to as the Sutton Report. >> Okay. >> Yep. The report has never been made public.
>> Stop it. >> But excerpts from it have been presented as evidence in various court cases,
>> Okay. >> allowing some of the contents to come to light. >> Okay. >> Among other things, the report confirms
what many people had already suspected. Tommy Skakel lied to police about his actions and whereabouts on the night of
the murder. >> Great. >> What was less expected was what the Sutton investigators and soon many
others would learn about Michael Skakel. >> Oh, you just gave me chills. >> And we're going to stop there in part
one. >> [ __ ] >> Because hold on, strap in everybody, and there's more to come, let me tell you.
>> Oh my, oh me, oh my. I don't I knew I knew of this case, but you're unlocking
things that I did not know. >> It's a very brutal, tragic, horrifying, and fascinating in the worst
way kind of case. >> Let me grab a fun fact. >> Yeah, good call. >> Well, this is actually insane.
The longest wedding veil was longer than 63 football fields. >> What the [ __ ] >> That's insane.
>> That's that's too much. >> Her veil was nearly 23,000 ft, which is the same length as about 63
and 1/2 football fields. >> Damn. How do you even like how does that fit in the building?
>> How do you move? >> Oh my. >> How do you move? >> That's inconceivable, really.
>> Damn. >> Well, there's that for you. >> There's that. >> I love that. Wait, here's another one.
This one's funny. Some cats are allergic to people. >> That's actually that makes more sense than anything I've
ever heard. >> It's actually my most favorite thing that I ever heard. >> that makes so much sense.
>> Because everyone is always like, "I'm allergic to cat." No, he's allergic to you, actually.
>> Sorry. >> you could leave my house. >> you Maybe he needs his medicine from you, okay? Maybe get out.
>> Apparently, it's very uncommon, but it happens, okay? >> I'm saying. >> I think that's hilarious.
>> Damn. Wow. >> Well, with all that being said, we hope you keep >> Oh, damn. I don't know why I said it.
>> Uh do it. >> Do you say it? >> No, you say it. >> I say it, yeah. >> Well, with all that being said, we hope
you keep listening. >> And we hope you keep it >> weird. >> Not so weird, that you forgot the ending
to your own show 8 years in. >> I'm tired, man. >> That's okay. I usually do I I'm usually the one that
forgets it. >> Mhm.

On October 30, 1975, fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley failed to return home after a night out with friends in Belle Haven, an exclusive wealthy enclave in Greenwich, CT. The following morning, Moxley’s badly beaten body was discovered underneath a tree, just a few hundred feet from her house, triggering one of the most notorious murder mysteries in the state’s history.

MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:

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References

Associated Press. 1975. "Parents guarding children in Greenwich murder area." Connecticut Post, November 10: 2.

—. 1998. "1975 murder case before grand jury." Hartford Courant, July 12: 22.

—. 1998. "Fuhrman book on 1975 slaying points to Kennedy relative." Hartford Courant, May 10: 28.

Brown, Marian Gail. 2002. "Verdict shocks court observers 27 years after Moxley slaying." Connecticut Post, June 8: 1.

CNN. 2007. Moxley case: Excerpts from the Sutton Report. December 17. Accessed November 26, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/court.archive.skakel11/index.html.

—. 2002. Moxley Case: Who was Martha Moxley? Accessed November 21, 2025. https://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/court.archive.skakel9/index.html.

Connecticut Post. 1975. "Girl, 15, found murdered at her Greenwich home." Connecticut Post, November 1: 1.

Ellement, John, and Lisa Prevost. 2000. "Skakel is arrested in '75 Conn. murder." Boston Globe, January 20.

Gaines, Judith. 1998. "Grand juror to probe '75 Conn. murder." Boston Globe, June 18.

—. 1991. "Police taking a fresh look at 1975 murder of Conn. teen-ager." Boston Globe, October 7.

Hartford Courant. 2002. "Skakel jurors." Hartford Courant, July 28: H2.

Lang, Joel. 1997. "Martha's murder." Hartford Courant, May 18: 10.

Levitt, Leonard. 2004. Conviction: Solving the Moxley Murder . New York, NY: Regan Books.

Mahony, Edmund. 2020. "No retrial for Skakel." Hartford Courant, October 31: 1.

Merchant, Robert. 2016. "Skakel murder conviction reinstated." Connecticut Post, December 31: 1.

Ondek, Richard. 1976. "Prosecutor says family impedes murder probe." Connecticut Post, March 26: 1.

Owens, David. 2013. "Freed on bail." Hartford Courant, November 22: 1.

2003. Mugshots: Michael Skakel. Performed by Single Spark Productions.

State of Connecticut v. Michael Skakel. 2004. S.C. 16844 (Supreme Court of the State of Connecticut, June 23).

Tofig, Dana. 1999. "Suspect's lawyer seeks to suprress comments." Hartford Courant, May 27: B7.

Tuohy, Lynne. 2002. "A life, a death revisited." Hartford Courant, May 8: 1.

—. 2000. "Kennedy nephew facing arrest in killing." Hartford Courant, January 19: 1.

—. 2002. "No apology, no remorse." Hartford Courant, August 30: 1.

—. 2002. "One final chance to make their cases." Hartford Courant, June 4: 1.

—. 2002. "Prosecution puts on its rebuttal." Hartford Courant, May 30: 1.

Cowritten by Alaina Urquhart, Ash Kelley & Dave White (Since 10/2022) Produced & Edited by Mikie Sirois (Since 2023) Research by Dave White (Since 10/2022), Alaina Urquhart & Ash Kelley Listener Correspondence & Collaboration by Debra Lally Listener Tale Video Edited by Aidan McElman (Since 6/2025) Listener Tale Theme Music licensed from https://www.purple-planet.com Main Theme: Matti Paalanen — Trick or Treat — Provided by Jamendo Ad Music: Title: Artist: BlueJay Studio — Spooky Waltz — Provided by Jamendo

Brief Summary

Martha Moxley's murder case reveals police ineptitude and the influence of the wealthy Skakel family in Greenwich, Connecticut.

Key points

Introducing the Case. Alaina and Ash introduce the case of Martha Moxley, hinting at its complexity and scandal.
The Wealthy and Powerful. The case involves wealthy families and the complications of privilege in the investigation.
Martha Moxley's Background. Martha Moxley is described as a bright and outgoing girl, loved by her family and friends.
Martha's Tragic Death. Martha Moxley was found brutally murdered just 200 feet from her home.
The Investigation Begins. Detectives start piecing together the events leading up to Martha's disappearance.
Detectives Fail to Collect Evidence. Detectives didn't take crucial evidence into account, leading to critical mistakes in the investigation.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

That's insane.

4:49WatchJun 2, 2026

Tension

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