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CBS' 48 Hours will focus on the murder of Martha Moxley in its upcoming episode that will air on June 4, 2022. Titled The Diary of Martha Moxley, the episode will delve into the shocking murder of 15-year-old Moxley in 1975 and the subsequent investigation that went on for decades.
The case received widespread global coverage and publicity and has been explored in numerous documentaries like Unsolved Mysteries and Mugshots. Continue reading to find out who Martha Moxley was and how she died.
Who was Martha Moxley?
Martha Moxley was a teenager from Greenwich, Connecticut. She was a high school student who was known to be quite popular and friendly among her peers. Moxley lived in the seemingly quiet neighborhood of Belle Haven with her parents, Dorothy and David, and elder brother John.
On October 30, 1975, Moxley went to hang out at the neighboring Skakel house along with her friends. The Skakels were a prominent family in the town, known for their connection with former US Senator Robert F. Kennedy. The next morning, Moxley's body was discovered under a tree near the Skakel family's backyard.
Subsequent investigation revealed that Moxley had been struck and stabbed with a golf club from the Skakel house.
How did Martha Moxley die?
Police kicked off the investigation by questioning the Skakel family as she was last seen with Thomas Skakel. Thomas' brother Michael Skakel told authorities that at 9.30 PM, he'd gone to his cousin Jimmy Terrien's house to watch Monty Python's Flying Circus and returned at 11.30 PM. Thomas told the police that Martha had left some time after Michael went to his cousin's place. Thomas also had an alibi: his friend Ken Littleton said Tommy was with him around 10 PM watching TV.
Police could not find any new leads, and the case went cold until it was reopened several years later. In 1991, when a physician and member of the prominent Kennedy family, William Kennedy Smith, was charged with rape, rumors began to float that Smith was involved in Moxley's death. A private investigation soon began by The Sutton Associates at the behest of Rushton Skakel, Michael Skakel's father.
A report of the investigation was leaked by the media in 1995, which revealed certain discrepancies in Michael's story.
The case further gained momentum when one of the former students at Élan School, which Michael attended in 1978, claimed that Michael had confessed to the murder and that he'd ''get away with the murder'' because of his privileges and connections.
In June 1998, a one-man grand jury revisited the case, and after more than a year, Michael was charged with the murder of Martha Moxley. Michael surrendered to the police in early 2000 following the issuing of an arrest warrant. He was eventually sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in 2002.
11 years later, a judge ordered a new trial for Michael, and he was subsequently released from prison on several conditions. In 2016, however, the Connecticut Supreme Court reinstated Michael Skakel's conviction and concluded that he had been adequately represented by his legal team. The conviction was vacated two years later before Connecticut Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo said in 2020 that Michael would not be retried.
You can watch CBS' 48 Hours - The Diary of Martha Moxley on June 4, 2022.
