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Tag: Michael Skakel

  • Ethel Kennedy Fast Facts | CNN

    Ethel Kennedy Fast Facts | CNN

    Here’s a look at the life of environmental and human rights activist Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy.

    Birth date: April 11, 1928

    Birth place: Chicago, Illinois

    Birth name: Ethel Skakel

    Father: George Skakel, businessman

    Mother: Ann (Brannack) Skakel

    Marriage: Robert F. Kennedy (June 17, 1950-June 6, 1968, his death)

    Children: Rory, 1968; Douglas, 1967; Matthew, 1965; Christopher, 1963; Mary, 1959; Michael, February 27, 1958 – December 31, 1997; Courtney, 1956; David, June 15, 1955 – April 25, 1984; Robert Jr., 1954; Joseph II, 1952; Kathleen, 1951

    Education: Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart, 1949 (now called Manhattanville College)

    Established an organization called Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, which supports the causes championed by Robert F. Kennedy.

    Met Robert Kennedy though his sister, Jean.

    Her nephew, Michael Skakel, was convicted in 2002 of the 1975 murder of his neighbor, Martha Moxley. In 2018, the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated Skakel’s conviction and ordered a new trial. Prosecutors announced they would not retry Skakel in October 2020.

    1955 – Ethel’s parents, George and Ann Skakel, are killed in an airplane accident.

    1959 – Campaigns for Robert’s brother, John F. Kennedy, during his run for the presidency.

    1961-1964 – Robert Kennedy serves as attorney general of the United States.

    1964 – Robert Kennedy is elected to the US Senate to represent New York.

    March 16, 1968 – Robert Kennedy announces he will run for the Democratic presidential nomination.

    June 5, 1968 – Robert Kennedy is shot while campaigning in Los Angeles. He dies on June 6 at the age of 42.

    2012 – Daughter Rory Kennedy’s documentary, “Ethel,” premieres.

    November 24, 2014 – Receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama.

    September 20, 2016 – Ethel attends a ceremony held by the US Navy as they announce the naming of a Navy refueling ship in honor of Robert F. Kennedy.

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  • Michael Skakel Today: Where is Martha Moxley’s Alleged Killer Now?

    Michael Skakel Today: Where is Martha Moxley’s Alleged Killer Now?

    An upcoming TV special on ID titled Halloween Horror will revisit Martha Moxley’s unsolved murder and the case against Michael Skakel. It airs this Friday, October 27, 2023, at 10 p.m. ET.

    Martha, 15, was bludgeoned to death sometime on the night before Halloween in 1975. Her body was found behind her famiy’s Belle Haven, Connecticut, home. This triggered a decades-long investigation into the teenager’s death. Key developments in the case included the conviction of Michael Skakel, whose family is known for their connection with the Kennedys.

    Michael was first found guilty in 2002 and served eleven years in prison before a judge overturned his conviction in 2013. The state’s Supreme Court then reinstated the conviction in 2016 and reversed this decision two years later. He is currently a free man but maintains a low-key profile. The state further announced that it will not send the exoneree to trial again.

    Martha Moxley case: Is Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel free?

    A jury first convicted Michael Skakel of Martha Moxley’s murder in June 2002. He received a 20-year prison setence in August. But a Connecticut judge ordered a new trial for him in October 2013 after he served eleven years of his sentence, as per CBS. The judge cited ineffective representation for the defendant at his trial. Following this, he was released from prison.

    However, the state’s Supreme Court insinstated Michael’s conviction on December 30, 2016 and reversed their decision two years later, once again vacating the same in May 2018. He was ordered a retrial. According to the New York Times report, the Kennedy cousin walked out of prison a free man in October 2020.

    The State of Connecticut ruled that Michael will never be retried in Martha’s murder. He remains a free man today despite being a primary suspect in the victim’s 1975 bludgeoning and stabbing death. Sportskeeda reported that the exoneree has since remained out of the public eye, maintaining a low profile.

    The case against Martha Moxley’s alleged killer Michael Skakel

    The New York Times mentioned that authorities first ruled Michael Skakel a suspect in the case when a he admitted to murdering Martha Moxley during a group session at his reform school. Multiple witness accounts confirmed the story. However, the school’s owner Joe Ricci denied that any such confession was made.

    Before that, in 1977, two years after the killing, police had even traced the murder weapon – a golf club – to the collection Skakel family’s collection. Michael’s brother Tommy and another young man were potential suspects. But both passed lie detector tests.

    Reportedly, police only arrested Michael Skakel in January 2000, a quater-century after the crime. He was 39 years old at the time. However, authorities charged him as a minor because he was 15 years old at the time of Martha’s murder. In the following months, two of his former schoolmates disclosed that the accused once claimed, “I am going to get away with murder. I am a Kennedy.”

    Halloween Horror airs with Martha Moxley’s murder on Investigation Discovery on Friday, October 27.

    Nikita Mahato

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