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Martha Moxley, Michael Skakel: ‘Dateline’ NBC Profiles Belle Haven, Greenwich, Connecticut Golf Club Murder Case With Matt Lauer

By Traciy Reyes
Published on: 08:27 PST, Jul 14, 2016

Martha Moxley, the American teen who was beaten and stabbed with a golf club near her home in Greenwich, Connecticut, over 40 years ago, will be the next murder case to air on Dateline NBC. In a special with Matt Lauer, Dateline NBC will revisit the case that shocked Americans and ended with the arrest of Kennedy family member, Michael Skakel, decades after the murder.

Today, Michael Skakel is out of prison. On the show, viewers will hear from Martha Moxley’s mother, Dorothy, who has continued to fight for justice for her daughter. Also, taking part in the interview is Michael Skakel’s cousin, Robert Kennedy Jr., a longtime supporter of Michael Skakel, who has written his own book on the case.

Halloween Horror In Greenwich: Rich Teen Found Dead In Yard

In October 1975, the body of Martha Moxley was discovered under a tree in Belle Haven, a posh community located in Greenwich, Connecticut, one of the nation’s most elite neighborhoods. Martha had been reported missing by her mother when she didn’t return home. Hours earlier, Martha Moxley had met up with friends and other teens in Belle Haven. Those who remember the events of that night say that it was freezing cold outside, and it was the day before Halloween.

The community was a private one that had a security guard stationed at the entrance. Although it was dark that night, Belle Haven was considered a safe community and finding Martha’s dead body under the tree on Halloween day added an eerie element to the case.

An autopsy report concluded that Martha had been bludgeoned and stabbed to death. Investigators say the weapon used in the attack was a golf club. The investigation led police back to the home of 17-year-old Tommy Skakel and 15-year-old Michael Skakel. Tommy was the last person seen with Martha, and Michael had a crush on her.

The Skakels were a rich and powerful family in Greenwich, Connecticut. They were also very connected since they were related to the Kennedy family by marriage.

People who knew the Skakel brothers say they were wild boys who did any and everything they wanted to do. Their mother was dead and their father, Rushton Skakel, was not home most of the time. In fact, on the night of the murder, he was out town, and Tommy and Michael Skakel were left in the care of a tutor.

The Skakel brothers were immediately named as suspects in the case, and allegedly, their father used his clout to protect his sons from any further interviews with police. He also tried to keep them out of the public eye.

Up Against Money And Power In Connecticut–Shocking Secret Revealed!

Years later when Michael Skakel was sent to the Elan School, an elite school for troubled teens, he allegedly admitted to killing Martha Moxley during group therapy. His statements were kept secret for many years until the rape trial of William Kennedy Smith gained national attention in 1991. It was there that rumors began swirling once again about the Martha Moxley case, prompting author Dominick Dunne to begin his own investigation and write a book which shined the light back on Michael Skakel and his powerful family.

Dominick Dunne’s book, A Season In Purgatory, also became a television movie in 1996. In that movie, the names were changed, and the golf club weapon was changed to a baseball bat. But, people knew instantly that the movie was about The Skakel family.

The negative publicity was so shocking and disturbing for The Skakels that Rushton decided to clear his sons’ names once and for all by hiring a private investigation firm to look into all of the evidence. During Sutton and Associates’ investigation, they had access to information about the family that even the police were denied.

However, it didn’t turn out the way Rushton Skakel had planned. According to CNN, the firm’s findings, which were documented in The Sutton Report were damaging, prompting Rushton Skakel to discontinue the investigation with the firm and demand that all mouths remained shut about what they had found. However, The Skakels and the firm hadn’t counted on the information being leaked by a person who was hired to organize the file. The secret document eventually found its way to OJ Simpson Detective Mark Fuhrman, who by this time was also writing a book on the case.

The information covered in Mark Fuhrman’s investigation broke the case wide open, leading to Michael Skakel’s arrest after almost 25 years. In 2002, Michael Skakel was found guilty and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

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The Martha Moxley Murder Case Today

In 2013, Michael’s first conviction was overturned, and he was released from prison until a new trial date is set. Now, Dateline NBC will learn how Martha Moxley’s mother feels about Michael Skakel’s release from prison. In the preview, she stated that they had the right person in prison and said she was not fond of Robert Kennedy Jr. and The Kennedy family.

  1. Robert Kennedy Jr. believes that Michael Skakel should have never been arrested.
  2. Today, some point the finger at Tommy Skakel, according to the New York Post.
Linda Fitzpatrick, 18, of Greenwich, Conn., was found dead on October 8, 1967 in the boiler room of a tenement of New York City?s Lower East Side. Near her was the body of another youth tentatively identified as Leroy Hutchenson, about 24, of Central Falls, R.I., both were found nude and beaten to death. (AP Photo)
Linda Fitzpatrick, 18, of Greenwich, Conn., was found dead on October 8, 1967, in the boiler room of a tenement of New York City?s Lower East Side. Near her was the body of another youth tentatively identified as Leroy Hutchenson, aka James ‘Leroy’ Hutchinson about 24, of Central Falls, R.I., both were found nude and beaten to death. (AP Photo)

Before The Moxley Murder: Another Girl, Another Town

Before Martha Moxley’s murder, Linda Fitzpatrick, another Greenwich, Connecticut, teen was murdered. Like Martha, she also came from a wealthy family and was the daughter of Irving Fitzpatrick, a spice importer. According to the New York Daily News, 18-year-old Linda Fitzpatrick and her “hippie friend,” James Hutchinson, were found naked and dead in a boiler room in New York’s East Village in 1967. The case is known as ‘The Groovy Murders.’

Watch Dateline NBC this Friday, July 15, at 10/9 p.m. Central. To read more on the case, you can find a wealth of information at the website MarthaMoxley. Recently, Dateline NBC took a look at another old murder case as they examined the actions of Charles Manson and the murder of Sharon Tate.

[Photo by Douglas Healey/AP file]

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