Steve Carroll was among the first investigators from the Greenwich Police Department to walk up to Martha's body. Bryant says he wanted no part of it, so he left Belle Haven. At the fast part, he wouldn't even let go. They were a tightknit foursome, the Moxleys, playing doubles at the Belle Haven Beach Club, going out on the town, or on vacation together. Demolition Garden Wall Do Anything Aerial View Holy Spirit Mount Rushmore Aerial view of the Moxley home. Her body was found the next day on the three-acre estate. Patti Aronofsky is the senior producer. AP There they discovered a piece of the murder weapon: the shaft of a golf club. MattC September 18, 2017 at 8:04 AM. "48 Hours" tried to reach him, but couldn't. TimesMachine is an exclusive benefit for home delivery and digital subscribers. Angry and frightened townspeople say that family influence has put Thomas Skakel beyond the reach of the system that hounded Peter Reilly. And Robert Kennedy was determined to exonerate his cousin. For this, Skakel, too, suffers a special kind of hell. Really? For nearly forty years, the Skakel clan has included major figures in Greenwich society. They never . UNSOLVED: Teenager Peter Reilly, a poor Canaan resident, was railroaded for the murder of his mother, Barbara Gibbons. I'm a Kennedy.". Richard Burns: I think it's sad that she's not around to have, you know, lived these 45 years. You have their best friend who says that they confessed to him. Still, Shoenbach says Kennedy irresponsibly perpetuates Bryant's allegations. The Moxley family moved from Piedmont, California, to their sprawling home in Greenwich, Connecticut, during the summer of 1974. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Despite the judge's ruling, almost a decade later in 2016, Robert Kennedy Jr. repeated Bryant's allegations in his book "Framed". That very security, in fact, was one of the main reasons that David Moxley had chosen Belle Haven. Tori Holland: I think she would've done great things. During the final summer of her life, Martha had become friends with two of the Skakel brothers, Michael, who was 15 years old, and his older brother Tommy. Richard Burns: And I just thought that was kind of a cheap shot. The guards know everyone and they stop and question outsiders venturing near the fabulous homes of Belle Havenites. The firm spent . As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. On August 30, 2002, Michael Skakel, 41, was sentenced to 20 years-to-life for killing Martha Moxley when they were teenagers in 1975. Should authorities have looked elsewhere? MICHAEL SKAKEL (audio recording): I was like, "oh my God, did they see me last night?". Conn. TONY BRYANT: There is no doubt in my mind that they were involved. At least 12 dead after winter storm slams South, Midwest, The Saturday Six: Dental device controversy, scientist's bug find and more, Indonesia fuel depot fire kills 18; more than a dozen missing, 3 children killed, 2 others wounded at Texas home, Man charged for alleged involvement in 2 transformer explosions, Nikki Haley slams potential GOP contenders, and Trump and George W. Bush, Duo of 81-year-old women plan to see the world in 80 days, Tom Sizemore, actor known for "Saving Private Ryan" and "Heat," dies at 61, Alex Murdaugh trial: What to know about the double murder case. The prime suspect at the time was Moxley's neighbor, then-17-years-old Thomas Skakel, the scion of a well-connected family whose influence seemingly put Thomas beyond the reach of the law. Fortunately, there are a variety of methods you can use to protect your garden from these pesky critters. Finding nothing, the police left and issued a routine alert for Martha Elizabeth Moxley, five-foot-five, 120 pounds, long blonde hair, blue eyes, last seen wearing a blue parka and dungarees. In 2013, after spending 11-and-a-half years in prison, Michael Skakel got a huge break when a judge agreed that Skakel's representation had been inadequate and overturned his conviction, granting him a new trial. Martha Moxley's House (former) Greenwich, Connecticut (CT), US Like Tweet Share Pin This is the former site of the Moxley's modest bungalow, where lived a 15-year-old murder victim, in a case that attracted worldwide publicity in 1975. Robert Marchant July 31, 2017. She was still just a girl, after all, with braces on her teeth and baby fat stubbornly clinging to her body. The state's case hinged on the theory that enraged with jealousy over Martha's relationship with Tommy, Michael had killed her in a drunken rage. Her full name was Martha Elizabeth Moxley. On the night of October 30, 1975, sixteen-year-old Martha Moxley was hanging out with her friends in their upscale neighborhood. Len Levitt (2003): And now they announce a reward and a hotline. After hearing from Coleman and other former Elan students, state's attorney Jonathan Benedict convened an unusual and rarely used one-person grand jury to look at all the evidence and all the suspects in the case. The authorities say Miss Moxley was attacked in the driveway of her family's home on Oct. 30, 1975. You can subscribe to Connecticut Magazine here, or find the current issue on sale here. The murderer apparently used the time well, for police indicate that they have virtually no material evidence in the case. GREGORY COLEMAN (news report): The first words he ever said to me was, "I'm going to get away with murder. In 1991, the trial of another Kennedy cousin - William Kennedy Smith - who was charged with rape in Florida, but acquitted, would open a new chapter in the Moxley case. Its a relief that the state has concluded they could not prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt they never could, Seeger said. The feeling is that the police just aren't trying very hard on this case., Police Chief Baran, who has worked in Greenwich for thirty-one years, has heard these allegations before and they infuriate him. The grip half, which might carry fingerprints, was missing. Michael told police that after watching "Monty Python's Flying Circus" at his cousin Jimmy Terrien's house, he came home around 11:30 p.m. and went straight to bed, but he told his dad's investigators another story: MICHAEL SKAKEL (audio recording): And I remember thinking, oh my God, if I tell anybody that I was out that night, they're going to say I did it. Tori Holland: It's very frustrating. If the cops find a kid drunk-driving from somewhere like Belle Haven, they drive him home. The family name, of course, appeared in news accounts, including frontpage stories in the New York Times and Daily News. Dorothy Moxley sensed that her daughter's absence was not "routine." She had a 9:30 p.m. curfew and she wouldn't stay away without calling. In 2003, Tony Bryant was videotaped by Michael Skakel's team. It is many of these same people who are most bitter about the Moxley case and use it as a chance to vent longstanding frustrations about their better-off neighbors. We left no stone unturned, insists Keegan. Led by Captain Keegan, crouching with a camera behind a parked car, the plainclothes detectives were filming the funeral-goers, recording who came and how they behaved. Also missing in the Moxley case is a motive, says Keegan. Reply. "This little girl this cute, little amazing girl was murdered brutally by somebody. Although Tommy Skakel became a suspect as the last person known to have seen Martha alive, he had an alibi and Greenwich Police Department didn't have enough evidence to arrest him. According to Santos, although police did not have enough evidence to charge Tommy with the crime, "the weight of the evidence is that Tommy Skakel killed Martha Moxley. It took the jury four days. When Carroll spoke with "48 Hours" in 2000, he was still shaken by what he had seen. Tori Holland: You have no sense of peace. He also fired Ken Littleton whose life unraveled shortly after. JUDGE: Michael Skakel versus the state of Connecticut has been concluded. They were in the Lincoln until around 9:30 p.m., when two other Skakel brothers said they needed the car so they could drive their cousin, Jimmy Terrien, to his house to watch the U.S. premiere of "Monty Python's Flying Circus." I concur Michael is the murderer. A semi-sexual encounter And suddenly casts himself as being, most likely the last person to see her alive. And hell tap on our door and say I want to tell you what really happened.". (Young Skakel did take several vacation trips, most of them brief, in the year following the killing; but so did most kids in the Belle Haven set.). The scene outside was circus-like. We have followed every lead you could think of, says Captain of Detectives Thomas Keegan, the thirty-seven-year-old ex-Marine who heads the investigation. Since 1975, the tony neighborhood of Belle Haven, in Greenwich, Connecticut has been haunted by the death of Martha Moxley, a 15-year-old girl who was bludgeoned with a golf club. What's more, Hasbrouck's attorney is baffled as to why anyone would believe Tony Bryant. Part of the answer, eventually, came from Thomas Skakel himself, whom Connecticut was finally able to reach and question despite the turndowns from his father and his lawyer. Sherman also failed to convince the judge to allow tommy to testify, which could have raised doubts about Michael's involvement. The demolition of the home where a teenager was killed 25 years ago could be delayed by the trial of the man accused of murdering her. His account is confirmed at least indirectly by Captain Keegan. On October 30, 2020, the 45th anniversary of Martha Moxley's murder, the State of Connecticut announced it would not retry Michael Skakel. Jonathan Benedict: I think it's a fair suggestion based upon the evidence of the case. It will remain until the case is solved. The police later find out that no teacher at Tommy's school ever assigned this paper. All his statement did was breed more of the same rumors, says attorney William Lapcevic, then Greenwichs assistant town counsel. Len Levitt (2003): He's got no motive to kill Martha. He kept putting his hand on my knee. Larry Shoenbach: To coin a phrase, it's Black versus White. its a one-armed battle we cant win against gossip. Rushton Skakel's sister Ethel had married Robert Kennedy in 1950. Eight months after Michael Skakel was sent off to prison, Kennedy got a tip he believed would reveal Martha's real killers. She could have been flirting with Tommy, and maybe that made him angry. On October 4, 1975, a little over three weeks before her murder, Martha wrote: "I went to a party Tom S. was being an ass. I really have to stop going over there.". She was then dragged more than a hundred feet to beneath the spreading pine tree. Email editor@connecticutmag.com. They would get their suspect. She adds, Theyd give him the third degree. A girl's attention. She was murdered in 1975. In an unusual move, Connecticut learned, local detectives brought in at least one investigator from the Detroit Police Department because of that agencys experience in the nations murder capital. We achieved our fantasy. But the state put on nine other witnesses who told the jury that Michael implied he had killed Martha. Dorthy Moxley [2000]: "I'm Dorthy Moxley and I live across the street and I'm looking for my daughter Martha. June 4, 2022 / 10:04 PM He told police that Tommy was watching TV with him around 10 p.m. A life, that in Martha's own words, was full of hope. That decision was ultimately upheld by the Connecticut Supreme Court. Erin Moriarty: But it wasn't just Tommy who changed his story, was it? It's very upsetting. The tree in the backyard where the murder took place is apparently still there. Some five hundred people attended Marthas funeral November 4 at First Lutheran Church. But Skakel cousin Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., says, "The evidence is much stronger in suggesting that other people may have committed the crime.". HUBERT SANTOS | Michael Skakel's attorney: Your Honor, the petition for new trial that we've filed on behalf of Michael Skakel claims newly discovered evidence which involves the allegations concerning Tony Bryant. appreciated. In her entries, she described her relationship with the Skakel brothers. I mean it just was not like her. This case of Martha Moxley's murder got worldwide publicity. As one of the regulars at Augies Bar in downtown Greenwich puts it, If you have money, you can get away with murder here. This suspicion is not confined to Chickahominy, says a writer who has lived in town eight years. The most persistent rumor, fueled by Brownes statement, was that Thomas Skakel had never even been questioned by police; that his family prevented it. On Doorbell Night, five guards were on duty instead of the normal two. Lynne Tuohy: Driving the nail into the coffin of Michael Skakel, in terms of a guilty verdict. It was it was so obvious because, I mean, the next day, it was all over. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. of Emergency Services & Public Protection. Holland and Burns share their thoughts on the Skakel family, who have been at the heart of the investigation since the start. Martha was friendly with the seven Skakel kids, spending time mostly with Michael who was also 15, and his older brother, 17-year-old Tommy. She had started dating just that summer, but nothing serious. Hannah Vair is the associate producer. Lesley Stahl: In hearing this myself, without the the preamble about masturbating to anybody is that he's actually talking about murdering her. Tori Holland: She was the California girl of all of us. Bryant knew the two teens from New York and told Skakel's investigators that Hasbrouck had become obsessed with Martha. Geoffrey Byrnes father heads a metals company that bears his name, and Sheila McGuire, who couldnt make it that night, is daughter of the vice president of the pharmaceutical company that makes Vicks products. They break people down., There is no end to the story of Martha Moxleys killing, at least not yet. Lynne Tuohy: It was huge. Michael and his brother, Tommy, according to one of his attorneys, have been estranged for years. But there were problems with that theory. Erin Moriarty: And not just the last person to see her alive, but who's with her at the time that investigators believe she may have been killed. And on October 4, a little over three weeks before her murder, Martha wrote: "I went to a party! Fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley was murdered 46 years ago outside her home in Greenwich, Connecticut. After Michael Skakel was sent off to prison in August 2002, his cousin Robert Kennedy Jr. became his staunchest supporter. Jackie Wetenhall was also along the night that Martha died. Murder Sites Len Levitt (2003): Michael lied to the police. It doesnt matter what we say or do . Between the guards and the numerous children who were about, someone would surely have noticed a suspicious outsider. Len Levitt (2003): What goes on between Martha and Tommy then is sort of playful, pushing back and forth with sexual overtones. And and isn't that really taking him out of context? It's the Black guy Let's blame him why not. Lesley Stahl: If I did this on "48 Hours" I'd be fired. "She was not a wallflower. In this week's "48 Hours," Erin Moriarty speaks to some of Moxley's friends, who are. [Editor's note, September 2021] As described below, this 1977 feature article looks at the infamous 1975 murder of 15-year-old Martha Moxley of Greenwich. Lynne Tuohy: There were no more leads to pursue. TONY BRYANT: I mean, he loved her beautiful blonde hair. The style was And she was struck so violently that the shaft of the golf club shattered. People who can afford Greenwich (about $60,000 for an acre of land and $120,000 for the average home) are not just paying for the privilege of choosing between the towns twenty-four private beach and country clubs. Lynne Tuohy: The only motive, really, is jealous rage over the attention she was showing Tommy Skakel.