New Trial Denied
Despite Skakel's claim of new suspects, a Conn. superior court denied his request for a new trial.- Appeals Court Ruling
The state's highest court in Jan. 2006 upheld Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's murder conviction (PDF). - Skakel's Reaction
Skakel wrote this handwritten reaction the appeals court ruling from his jail cell. - Diary Excerpts
Martha Moxley wrote about her problems with Michael Skakel in her diary, excerpts of which were entered into evidence. - Book Proposal
Michael Skakel's outline for an autobiography. - Libel Suit
This lawsuit was filed against the weekly Greenwich Post newspaper for an article alleging Skakel and his brother committed a robbery a week before Martha Moxley's death. - Sutton Report
Private eyes hired by the Skakels turned up damning evidence. - Probable Cause Ruling
A juvenile judge found enough evidence to indict Skakel. - More key documents
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A judge denied Michael Skakel's bid for a new trial Thursday, rejecting the Kennedy cousin's claim that two other men committed a 1975 killing that sent him to prison, his attorney said.
Superior Court Judge Edward R. Karazin Jr. ruled against Skakel based on a week of testimony in April, said Skakel lawyer Hope Seeley.
Seeley said she was extremely disappointed, citing the quality of the evidence. "We believe Michael Skakel was wrongly convicted, and we will continue to pursue every legal avenue available to us," she said.
Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, is serving 20 years to life in prison for his 2002 conviction for fatally beating his 15-year-old neighbor Martha Moxley in Greenwich in 1975 with a golf club.
"The state is grateful to see that the judge didn't find anything in the petition that undermined the reliability of the jury's verdict," prosecutor Susann Gill said.
Skakel sought a new trial based on Gitano "Tony" Bryant's claim that his two friends told him they got Moxley "caveman style."
Bryant gave a videotaped statement to a Skakel investigator in 2003, but has since invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The two men he implicated have done the same.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Skakel's cousin, played a central role in investigating Bryant's claim and telling Skakel's attorneys about it.
Prosecutors have said Bryant's claim is fabricated and that nobody saw him and his friends in the predominantly white, gated neighborhood the night of the murder. Bryant, who attended the same private school as Skakel, and one of the men he implicated are black; the other has been described as mixed race.
But Skakel's attorneys said key parts of the claim were corroborated by others and that Skakel deserved a new trial.
Bryant's claim was the latest twist in a case that was improbable from the start, with an unusual murder weapon in a wealthy New York City suburb where violent crime was rare.
In his appeal, Skakel also challenged the credibility of a star witness for the state who testified that Skakel confessed to him when they attended a private boarding school. Skakel's attorneys found three men the classmate named as possibly being present, but none said they heard Skakel confess.
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