Disclaimer: This article has mention of killing.
The 1975 murder of Martha Moxley remains one of the most shocking crimes that has failed to reach a proper resolution over the years. Moxley was just 15 when her body was found in her yard in the Belle Haven neighborhood of Greenwich, shortly before Halloween.
She was beaten with a golf club and the case became infamous, not just because of the brutality, but because the main suspect, Michael Skakel, was connected to the powerful Kennedy family.
Skakel, now 65, is speaking publicly for the first time about the crime. His interview is part of NBC News Studios’ new 12-episode podcast, Dead Certain: The Martha Moxley Murder, which launched on November 4. In the trailer, Skakel asks journalist Andrew Goldman, “Um, my name is Michael Skakel and why am I being interviewed? I mean, that’s kind of a big question, isn’t it?”
At the time, Skakel lived across the street from Moxley. Both were 15. Police initially investigated other suspects, including Skakel’s brother, Thomas, who was reportedly the last person to see her alive. But in 2002, Skakel was convicted and sentenced to 20 years to life.
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His conviction was overturned in 2013 after a judge ruled his lawyer failed to defend him properly. Skakel was released on a $1.2 million bond. In 2016, prosecutors appealed, and the Connecticut Supreme Court reinstated the conviction. Two years later, the court reversed its decision again, saying Skakel’s right to a fair trial had been violated.
In 2020, prosecutors formally dropped the case, saying they could no longer prove Skakel’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Goldman, who ghostwrote the 2016 book Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison for a Murder He Didn’t Commit, explores the case in depth in the podcast.
Skakel’s childhood seemed perfect from the outside. He grew up in a Tudor mansion with his parents and six siblings. But behind closed doors, he says he suffered abuse from his father, Rushton Skakel, a wealthy businessman and alcoholic. He recalls being beaten after his father caught him looking at Playboy magazines at age nine.
“I just never knew when it was going to happen,” Skakel says in the podcast. “I didn’t know why it happened.”
At a party in Greenwich, Connecticut, the body of 15-year-old Martha Moxley is found bludgeoned to death and stabbed repeatedly near the home of her neighbor, 15-year-old Michael Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy. pic.twitter.com/oQmjwowm2c
— 1975 Live (@50YearsAgoLive) October 30, 2025
The focus shifted from Thomas to Skakel after he admitted climbing a tree near Moxley’s house and throwing pebbles at her window, masturbating when she didn’t appear. Moxley’s body was found under that same tree the next morning.
Andrew Pugh, a friend and neighbor, testified that Skakel had “an attraction, an infatuation” with Moxley, according to The New York Times in 2000.
Skakel has always maintained his innocence. Moxley’s mother and brother, however, have said they believe he is guilty.
The case has inspired books and films, including A Wealth of Evil by Timothy Dumas and A Season in Purgatory by Dominick Dunne. The podcast offers new insights, including Skakel’s personal reflections and the impact of his family’s dysfunction.
