| Case in Chief |
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Dorthy Moxley, victim's mother |
 Martha left home for last time with friends around 6:30 p.m. or 6:45 p.m. on Oct. 30, 1975.
Witness did not know the Skakel boys or that her daughter was friendly with them
She told police initially that Martha was due home by 9:30 p.m. but later testified that it would not be unusual for Martha to come home later on a non-school night.
Doubts anyone could have climbed a tree leading to roof outside Martha's window. Skakel allegedly told another witness he climbed the tree and looked in window on night of murder.
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John Moxley, victim's brother |
Returned home about 11 p.m. to learn Martha was not home but was not too concerned.
Drove around Belle Haven at his mother's request in the middle of the night but could not find his sister.
Returned home from football practice to find police all over the property.
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Sheila McGuire, victim's friend |
Last saw Martha on Oct. 30 when they walked home from bus stop together.
Discovered Martha's partially-clad body about 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 31 beneath a large pine tree on the Moxley property and then ran hysterically to the house.
Never saw any metal object protruding from Martha's neck.
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Dan Hickman, Greenwich Police Department (retired) |
Took a missing persons report from Dorthy Moxley on morning of Oct. 31
He and partner Millard Jones, both youth officers, were first policeman on the scene after body was found.
Insists he saw a shiny metal object that he assumed was a golf club shaft protruding from Martha's neck.
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Thomas Keegan, Greenwich Police Department (retired) |
As captain of detectives, he was in charge of investigation.
Applied for arrest warrant for Thomas Skakel in 1976 but prosecutors would not sign it.
Went on to become police chief. Now retired, he is a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives
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Thomas Sorenson, Greenwich Police Department (retired) |
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Took autopsy photos of victim's body at the morgue at Greenwich Hospital on Nov. 1, 1975
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Dr. H. Wayne Carver, Chief State's Medical Examiner |
Reviewed Dr. Elliot Gross's autopsy findings and photos and agreed there was no sexual assault
Victim was struck with golf club eight or nine times, fracturing her skull and nose
Martha was possibly unconscious early on in attack
Golf club shaft was plunged through one side of Martha's neck and out the other about the time she died
Time of death sometime between 9:30 p.m. and 1 a.m.
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Dr. Henry Lee, forensic scientist |
Reviewed 150 photos, 200 documents to reconstruct crime scene
Believes Martha's pants and underwear were pulled down to her ankles prior to being struck
Martha probably dragged feet first, both face up and face down at different times, before being placed face down beneath a tree
Only Martha's blood and DNA found on her clothes
Killer probably would have gotten a lot of blood on his or her clothes
Two hairs found on sheet used to wrap body "microscopically similar" to Kenneth Littleton's hair
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James Lunney, Greenwich Police Department (retired) |
Seized 4-iron from same set as murder weapon after receiving consent from Rushton Skakel Sr.
Skakels' lawyer let Lunney see a 3-iron and 5-iron from club set a year after murder but would not let him take them
Police had access for two or three months to Skakel home and residents before lawyer put a stop to it
There were clubs found in Skakel shed and home did not have a garage then
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Jackie Wetenhall O'Hara |
Victim and Thomas Skakel flirted often
Read portions of Martha's diary to jury
Confirmed that Martha's ambivalence toward Thomas' advances and diary thoughts that Michael sometimes acted like "an ass" were accurate
Left Martha the Skakel home when she left at 9 p.m.
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Helen Ix Fitzpatrick |
Defendant, to best of her memory, left home in car before 9:30 p.m.
Gave slightly differing accounts to police, prosecutors over the years about who left in the car
Family dog "Zock" barked "violently" in direction of crime scene from 9:45 p.m. to 10:15 p.m.
Conceded that her family was close to Skakels growing up and feels sympathy for defendant
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Andrea Shakespeare Renna |
Dined with Skakels at Belle Haven Club until 8:30 p.m.
Defendant was home when car left Skakel home
Defendant still home when witness left at 9:45 p.m.
Gave slightly different version to investigator in 1991 but is certain now that defendant did not leave in car
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Kenneth Littleton, Skakel live-in tutor |
Watched "French Connection" from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. and went to bed
Went outside at 9:30 p.m. for a few minutes to investigate "scuffling" noise in yard; found nothing
Thomas Skakel joined him to watch movie from 9:40 p.m. to about 10:20 p.m. Prosecution, however, produced a document from CBS attesting that the chase scene began at 10:25 p.m. and ended at 10:32 p.m.
Taking medicine and treatment for a psychiatric disorder diagnosed in 1985
Testified on cross-examination that he
told a psychiatrist in 1992 that he once admitted to
his ex-wife, "I did it." The prosecution rehabilitated
the witness quickly. Littleton said emphatically that
he did not kill Martha and never admitted that he did.
He explained that he merely was repeating what his
ex-wife told him he had said during an alcohol-induced
blackout.
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Mary Baker, Kenneth Littleton's ex-wife |
Married Littleton in 1983, divorced him in 1990. The
couple has two children.
Testified that in 1991 prosecution investigators
Frank Garr and Jack Solomon recruited her in a failed
effort to get Littleton to implicate himself on tape
Insisted that, while investigators may have been
interested in trying to implicate her ex-husband, she
hoped to exonerate him
Denied that Littleton ever admitted that he was,
or could have been, responsible for Martha's murder
Recorded more than 20 telephone conversations
with Littleton without his knowledge and tried to get
him to implicate himself in the murder in a Boston
motel room while investigators listened in a nearby room
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Elaine Pagliaro, state criminalist |
Serves as assistant director of the Connecticut Forensic Science Laboratory
Agreed with her former boss, renowned forensic scientist Dr. Henry Lee, that Kenneth Littleton's hair was "microscopically similar" to two dark hairs found on a sheet used to wrap Martha's body. But there were also dissimilar characteristics.
Microscopic analysis is far from being the desired way of concluding someone was the contributor of an unknown sample, such as the hair found at the Moxley crime scene
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Dr. Terry Melton, forensic expert |
Conducted mitochondrial DNA test on one of two hairs found on a sheet used to wrap Martha's body and compared it this year to a sample of blood supplied by Kenneth Littleton
The DNA test concluded that the crime scene hair was not Littleton's and more likely came from someone with Asian ancestry
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James McKenzie, president Great Lakes Carbon |
As a young corporate lawyer for Rushton Skakel's company, sent to Skakel home after murder in 1975 to maintain order
Michael Skakel appeared more agitated than other children in the "chaotic" situation but attached no significance to his behavior
Contradicted Kenneth Littleton's testimony that 15 to 20 lawyers were present; he was the only one and he was not there to represent the Skakel's as a criminal lawyer
Never told Littleton to take the defendant and three other boys to the Catskills
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Rushton Skakel Sr., defendant's father |
Witness is 78 years old and suffers from dementia
Had difficulty identifying family members or recalling details of the "very big incident" that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001
Does not recall telling Kenneth Littleton to take defendant and other boys to the Catskills the day after Martha's body was found but said Littleton would not have done so without his "authorization"
Does not recall telling Mildred Ix in 1981 that defendant questioned whether he could have killed Martha in an alcohol-induced blackout; she later retracted that grand jury testimony
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Mildred "Cissy" Ix, Belle Haven resident |
Was best friend of the Skakel children's mother, who died of cancer in 1973, and looked after kids for Rushton Skakel Sr.; she still lives on Walsh Lane in Belle Haven section of Greenwich
Recalled that family dog "Zock" barked at Michael Skakel, but not Thomas Skakel, when they arrived for gathering of teenagers at the Ix home after Martha's funeral
Retracted her 1998 grand jury testimony that Rushton Skakel Sr. told her in 1981 that the defendant wanted to take a truth serum to find out if he had killed Martha during an alcohol-induced blackout; insisted Rushton Skakel never said those words but concedes she told grand jury that the elder Skakel said it
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Emmanuel "Manny" Margolis, Skakel family attorney |
Well-known in Fairfield County as a civil liberties attorney
Hired in late January 1976 to represent Skakel family; still represents Rushton Skakel Sr. and Thomas Skakel
In late 1976, showed police a three-iron and five-iron from the same set of Skakel family clubs that the murder weapon, a Toney Penna six-iron, came from
Asked police to stop dealing with Skakels directly in January 1976
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Matthew Tucciarone, Greenwich hairdresser |
Trimmed defendant's hair in late 1975 or early 1976 but did not know who he was at the time
Overheard defendant tell his sister, "I'm going to get a gun and kill him ... Why not? I did it. I killed before."
Figured out from media accounts in 1980 that the youth who made the statement was Michael Skakel but did not go to authorities until April 2002, after jury selection got under way
Denied defense claim that he is trying to "get in on the act"
Agreed with defense that he had no way of knowing what Michael Skakel was talking about when he made the statement
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Larry Zicarelli, former Skakel family driver |
Michael Skakel confided in early summer 1977 that he either had to kill himself or leave country because he had done "something very bad"
Defendant downed a double Scotch for lunch and then threatened twice to jump from the Triborough Bridge in New York
Defense claimed in questioning that the "bad" thing Skakel did was sleep the night before in his deceased mother's dress
Despite earlier promise to keep police posted, Zicarelli did not give statement about bridge incident until 1993
Zicarelli gave Rushton Skakel two weeks' notice on day of bridge incident but was fired three days later
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Charles Seigan, former Elan resident Title |
Defendant never confessed but either became tearful or irritated when confronted about suspicions of others at Elan that he was involved in Martha's murder
Michael Skakel told some residents that he may have been "blind drunk and stumbling" but does not remember much about night of murder
Skakel said numerous times that he did not know if he committed the crime
Defense brought out that when Skakel offered "I don't know," brow-beating by Elan residents and staff usually stopped
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Dorothy Rogers, former Elan resident |
Brought to court from North Carolina, where she is currently incarcerated on unspecified misdemeanor charges
Raised in Greenwich, she knew Skakel family from the Belle Haven Club
During "small talk" with defendant at Elan School dance in 1978, Michael Skakel said he could have killed Martha but could not remember
When arrested for burning down her parent's home in Greenwich in 1980, she told police about Michael Skakel's alleged statements at Elan
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Richard Haug, Greenwich Police Department (retired) |
Took Dorothy Rogers' statement about defendant's remark at Elan in 1978 that he could have killed Martha but could not remember
Forwarded report on Rogers' statement to detectives involved in Moxley investigation in September 1980. Prosecution denies defense claim that they were seeing the memo for the first time during the trial.
Believes Michael Skakel became a suspect after police learned of Rogers' statement in 1980 but was unsure if any investigator followed up
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John Higgins, former Elan resident |
Met Michael Skakel out Elan in 1978 and 1979 but the two were night friends
Testified that defendant became emotional and was crying during two-hour conversation on the porch of their dormitory
Michael Skakel began discussion of Moxley murder with "I don't know what happened," but soon offered, "I may have done it," and "I must have done it." Finally, Skakel said, "I did it."
Fearing reprisals, Higgins kept information to himself until an investigator called him in 1996. Initially, denied hearing any confession. In a second, secretly recorded conversation he told investigator about Michael Skakel's alleged statement on the porch at Elan
In terse exchange with defense, witness said it was "a pain in the ass" to have to testify and is still unsure if what Skakel told him what amounted to a confession
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Elizabeth Arnold, former Elan resident |
Resides in Massachusetts now but attended Elan with Michael Skakel from September 1978 through December 1978
Recalls a group therapy session where Michael Skakel claimed that on night of murder he was drunk, may have blacked out and was unsure if he or his brother killed Martha
Defendant told the witness that all he could recall was "running around" outside
Testified that the defendant claimed that his brother "f---ed" the defendant's girlfriend, but explained later that she understood that there was no intercourse
When confronted, Skakel typically went from denying he killed Martha to stating that he did not know if he killed her
Witness believes he was not responsible for the killing
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Alice Dunn, former Elan resident |
Resides in Portland, Maine, graduated from Elan and stayed on as a staff member
Over dinner and drinks after Michael Skakel graduated from Elan, defendant confided that he could not recall much about the night of the murder and was unsure if he or his brother killed Martha
Testified that Skakel often said he did not kill Martha but stated he was unsure when confronted about the killing during therapy sessions at Elan
When defendant denied responsibility, he was pummeled by other residents in a boxing ring with the approval of Elan staff
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Transcript of Gregory Coleman's testimony |
Witness died of a heroin overdose in Rochester, N.Y., in August 2001
Jury listened to transcripts of Coleman's pretrial testimony
While guarding defendant after he ran away from Elan in 1978, witness remembers that Michael Skakel seemed to be treated differently and witness remarked, "Boy, this guy can get away with murder"
Skakel allegedly responded, "I am going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy."
Witness claimed that defendant told him that Martha "spurned his advances" and that as a result Michael Skakel got a golf club and "drove her skull in"
Testified that Skakel told him he went back to crime scene two days after the killing and masturbated on Martha's body; however, she was found the morning after her mother reported her missing
Swore at early pretrial hearings that Skakel said he used a "driver" or one-wood, although the murder weapon was a six-iron
Coleman admitted during the last of three times he testified prior to the trial that he had taken heroin one hour before he testified to a grand juror and was sick from withdrawal during another hearing
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Elizabeth Coleman, wife of late Gregory Coleman |
Met Gregory Coleman in 1986 and he told her then about Skakel’s alleged admission at Elan in 1978 that he killed Martha
In mid-1990s, Gregory Coleman was watching tabloid show about Thomas Skakel and announced, “It’s not Tommy. It’s Michael.”
Testified that Gregory Coleman told her that Michael Skakel said, “I am a Skakel. I am going to get away with murder because I’m related to the Kennedys”; the statement varied slightly from Gregory Coleman’s pretrial testimony that Skakel said, “I am going to get away with murder. I am a Kennedy.”
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Michael Meredith, former friend of defendant
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Attended Elan, but at different time than Skakel. In 1987, both tried unsuccessfully to use a class-action lawsuit to shut Elan down.
Admitted to a long history of arrests and drug abuse, which he conceded could have come from the fact that he had a famous father, former NFL player Don Meredith
Testified that Skakel told him during 1987 that he did not kill Martha but was outside her bedroom looking in and masturbating in a tree on the night of the killing
Sparred with defense lawyer, calling Mickey Sherman an "ambulance-chasing creep"
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Andrew Pugh, former Belle Haven resident
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Considered defendant his best friend growing up in Belle Haven
Testified Skakel had a crush on Martha but she did not seem to feel the same way
During a failed attempt to renew the friendship in 1991, Skakel denied killing Martha but claimed to be in a tree on Moxley property masturbating on night of killing. Witness assumed Skakel was referring to the large pine tree they both climbed regularly as kids. It was the pine tree under which Martha’s body was discovered.
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Gerrane Ridge, acquaintance of defendant
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Part-time model who resides in Massachusetts
Skakel was invited to her South Boston apartment in 1997 by Marissa Verrochi, the former babysitter allegedly involved with Michael Kennedy before he died in a skiing accident
Overheard Skakel say, "Ask me why I killed my neighbor"
Insists statement was made "in jest"
Testified that she lied to an investigator when she told him that she did not hear anything from Skakel
Also admitted lying to friend Matt Attanian when she told him in a secretly recorded phone conversation in February that Skakel admitted killing Martha with a golf club while high on LSD and other drugs because his brother had been intimate with Martha
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Richard Hoffman, writer
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The Massachusetts-based author and Skakel agreed to collaborate on a book about the defendant’s life
Skakel told Hoffman that he had a crush on Martha
Turned over taped interviews with Skakel when investigators showed up at his house with a search warrant
During one 25-minute section of a recording, Skakel spoke about his fondness for "Mischief Night" and his opinion that Martha was "hot" and "really cute"
Skakel can be heard on the tape saying that he went to his cousin’s house at 8:15 p.m. and returned sometime later. Feeling too "horny" to sleep, Skakel said he roamed the neighborhood before climbing a tree outside Martha’s house and masturbated.
The defendant said on the tape that, after Martha’s body was found, he was afraid to tell anyone he was on the Moxley property because he feared they would think he killed Martha
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| Rebuttal Case |
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Julie Skakel, defendant's sister |
Backed off her 1975 police statement that she saw a figure, which she assumed was the defendant, dart across the front of the Skakel home about 9:30 p.m. on the night of the killing; the defendant claims he was enroute to his cousin's house by then
Questioned about her 1998 grand jury testimony that she did not see any others cars in the Skakel driveway when she departed to drive Andrea Shakespeare home; insists now that she has never been able to recall whether there were other cars in the driveway
Testified for first time ever that tutor Kenneth Littleton changed his clothes sometime between dinner at Belle Haven Club and a 10:30 p.m. encounter in Skakel kitchen
Told jurors that Skakel's learning disability was misdiagnosed as a behaviorial problem when he was a teenager
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Jennifer Pease, former Elan student |
Contacted prosecution on May 21 after reading about other Elan residents' testimony
Testified that deceased witness Gregory Coleman told her at Elan in 1979 that defendant had previously admitted to crushing a girl's skull with a golf club
Never reported alleged confession and did not come forward earlier because she believed her testimony would be "he said, he said" hearsay
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James Lunney, Greenwich Police Department (retired) |
Police never told Elan staff that Michael Skakel was a suspect in the Moxley murder between 1978 and 1980, suggesting that only Skakel could have brought information about the murder with him to the Maine treatment center
Also testified during prosecution's case in chief and the defense case
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Marie Deitch, Greenwich Time archivist |
Newspaper published page one story in June 1991 that disclosed that Martha Moxley had been stabbed through the neck with the broken shaft of a golf club
Disclosure offered to rebut defense witness Jack Solomon's testimony that the information was not publicly known when former Skakel tutor Kenneth Littleton and his ex-wife, Mary Baker, were discussing case later in 1991 and the following year
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