Bio

Michael C. Skakel was born on September 19, 1960, in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was the fourth of six children in the Skakel family. His parents were Rushton Skakel and Anne Reynolds Skakel. The family lived in a wealthy neighborhood called Belle Haven.

Michael's early life took a turn when his mother died from brain cancer in 1973. This event had a deep impact on him. After her death, he struggled with alcohol problems. His cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., described him as a sensitive child who dealt with a harsh and often violent father. Michael also had dyslexia, which went undiagnosed until he was 26 years old.

In 1978, when he was 18 years old, Skakel was arrested for drunk driving in New York. To help him, his family sent him to a school called Elan, located in Maine. At Elan, he received treatment for alcoholism. He stayed there for two years and then left.

During the 1980s, he competed in speed skiing events across the country. In 1993, he graduated from Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts. After college, he worked as a driver for Ted Kennedy's reelection campaign in 1994. Shortly after that, he took a job at the Citizens Energy Corporation, where he worked under his cousin Michael Kennedy.

Murder Story

On October 31, 1975, the body of 15-year-old Martha Elizabeth Moxley was found under a pine tree in her family's yard in Greenwich, Connecticut. She had been bludgeoned with a 6-iron golf club. The golf club was linked to Michael Skakel, who was 15 years old at the time and lived nearby. For many years, the murder remained unsolved, but there was suspicion surrounding the Skakel family home. The investigation shifted to various suspects, including Skakel's older brother.

In the early 1990s, renewed interest in the case emerged, largely due to media coverage and books that speculated about the identity of the killer. In 1998, a one-man grand jury was formed to further investigate, leading to Michael Skakel being indicted for Martha Moxley's murder in June 2000.

During the trial, which began in 2002, the prosecution presented a case based on circumstantial evidence and testimony from witnesses. Some witnesses claimed that Skakel confessed to killing Moxley, while others provided alibis for him. Skakel maintained that he was at his cousin's house during the time of the murder. On June 7, 2002, the jury found him guilty. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

Following his conviction, Skakel's defense team filed multiple appeals and argued that the case should have been handled in juvenile court. However, these appeals were rejected by the Connecticut Supreme Court. Skakel's efforts to overturn the conviction included claims of new evidence and prosecutorial misconduct, but he remained incarcerated and continued to fight his conviction.