In the last 25 years, there have been comments made by all close to this case that are

Worth Remembering!!

 

 

The Moxley family said:

 

David Moxley said . . .

"In hindsight I would have gotten aggressive as hell. Within 24 hours I would have brought in outside detectives. I would have brought in outside attorney's. I would have offered a reward. There'd have been an uproar, I'll tell you that."

to reporter Len Levitt

 

2dorthy22.jpg (6430 bytes)Dorthy Moxley said . . .

"Everything in my life was so perfect. I had good solid parents who loved us, I went to college, I met a wonderful man, I had two beautiful children--and then my life fell apart"

in an interview with Tim Dumas

 

"I can't comprehend why anybody would kill Martha. I don't think she had an enemy in the world. Why would you want to kill Martha? What did she ever do to them,? It must have been sex. She was so..so...appealing."

in an interview with Tim Dumas

 

"I just don't think they really knew what they were doing"

in reference to the GPD investigation

"Dorthy? My name is Mrs Moxley"

  to 48 hours interviewer in response to Mike Skakel's "you've got the wrong guy" comment at his arraignment

 

"They did not ask me one single question about Martha. Can you believe that? Not one question! All they told me was how they could prove without a doubt that no one in the Skakel household had committed the murder."

to Tim Dumas in an interview regarding the Sutton Associates investigation of Martha's murder. Rush Skakel told the Moxley's and the police that he would share any info they were able to uncover. Needless to say, to date, nothing has been told to the Moxley family or the police.

 

2johnmoxley.jpg (9142 bytes)John Moxley said . . .

"It would be terrifically hard. In Dominick Dunne's book "A Season in Purgatory", the hardest thing for me was the trial. Because with Martha's case, you know it would be a circus like that. It wouldn't be just cut and dried. It would be a long, drawn out ordeal that would take a terrific personal toll. It would be like going to the dentist and having all your teeth removed. It would be terrifically painful. For everyone involved."

to Tim Dumas on the prospect of a trial...

 

"After spending the first day with them, I was like, "Lets get out of here. I didn't know them before that. I found out that I didn't like them. They were cocky and seemed to feel entitled to different treatment".

to Tim Dumas in regards to the trip he and his family took with the Skakel family, to Windham, NY, after Martha's murder

 

 

The Skakel Family said:

 

Rushton-Skakel1v.jpg (11136 bytes)Rushton Skakel Sr said . . .

"Steven heard the girl laughing"

to GPD after he questioned him about hearing Martha screaming the night of her murder

 

"I owned a set of Tony Penna woods but am not sure I owned the irons"

to Greenwich Police investigating Martha's murder

footnote...   the clubs belonged to his former wife and he was fully aware there was a complete set. The fact that he was hedging on this very fact in my opinion sends up a red flag. Why the need to deny it unless there was something to hide.

 

"Gentlemen, I want to tell you that back in 75 - 76 I was concerned about  my children. I didn't know what they had done. I didn't know! Today there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that none of my children was involved in that murder. You know what my problem was? I never should have listened to those attorney's."

to chief investigator Solomon...

 

"I am going to call my kids, my sons, my daughter. I am going to set up meetings for you with them, and each one of them is going to come in and see you." "You have my word on that"

in a meeting with Greenwich Police officials Jack Solomon and Frank Garr in 1991

footnote...  to this day, not one member of the Skakel family has made themselves available to the police for questioning

 

"If my kids didn't do it, I want my family's name cleared publicly. If they did do it, I want to prepare the best possible defense."

to Billy Krebs, an investigator for Sutton Associates

 

"Dear Sir:

This is to inform you that I, Rushton W, Skakel hereby withdraw the "Authorization to Release Medical and School Records" concerning my son Thomas, executed January 16, 1976. This withdrawal shall take immediate effect."

letter Rush Sr dropped off at the GPD

footnote, just moments after dropping off this letter Rush suffered some form of collapse at the home of Cissy Ix and in the presence of Ix and Skakel attorney Donovan. He was sent by ambulance to the hospital and then released to enter into an alcoholic detox program

 

Michael Skakel said . . .

"I last saw Martha at 9:30 when he left with his brothers for the Terriens home"

to Greenwich police the day Martha's body was found

 

"Tommy was making passes at Martha by rubbing her thigh"

to Greenwich police the day Martha's body was found

 

"Tommy was the last one seen with Martha"

to Greenwich Police, Mrs Pugh, N Y Time reporter  and other reporters present the day Martha's body was found

 

"Looking back I would have to say that my brothers and I were pretty wild"

in his book proposal for Dead Man Talking

 

"We headed over to the Terrien's fifteen or 20 miles away. Jimmy always liked to race, to time himself from one place to another. He always had to beat his best time. He was running all the lights, driving like a maniac."

in his book proposal for Dead Man Talking...

footnote..  .they had not arrived at Terrien's by 10:00 having left the Skakel's anywhere between 9:25 - 9:30. This is a 12- 15 minute ride and Skakel claims they were racing there. Terrien claims they made no stops. Where were they?

 

 

Thomas Skakel said . . .

"The last time I saw Martha she was at my back door at 9:30 PM"

to Greenwich Police in 1975

 

"The last time I saw Martha was at 9:50 as she was running across my backyard heading for home "

to Sutton investigators in 1993

 

"If only I had walked Martha home, maybe this never would have happened."

to Mrs Moxley the day of Martha's funeral

 

John Skakel said . . .

Says he can not remember that  Michael was in fact in the car that went to the Terrien's the night of Martha's murder

footnote....  ...after extensive questioning by the Sutton Associates, John could not place Michael with him and his brother Rush Jr that night. This included an attempt at hypnotism, to jog his memory. John is said to be the most truthful of the Skakel children Considering John did go, this make does appear to make Michael's alibi less than solid

 

2julie.jpg (7935 bytes)Julie Skakel said . . .

"No way did he go to Terriens"

to Sutton investigators in reference to Michael's alleged alibi the night of the murder

Footnote Julie Skakel was afraid of her younger brother. What could she possibly fear? Family friend and attorney Tom Sheridan must have felt this was important information as he made a point to send a memo about it to the Sutton Associates

 

"I have no rapport with the nuns at Sacred Heart and am worried about comments they might make about me"

to GPD on January 22, 1976

 

Steven Skakel said . . .

"He heard Martha screaming in his backyard"

to school chum Lucy Tart, on the bus ride the morning of October 31 (4) hours before Martha's body had been found.

 

Footnote...   Rush Sr offered to "talk" to the boy and surprisingly, the story changed from Steven heard Martha scream, to he heard Helen or Martha laughing. There is no available documentation that the Greenwich police ever made an attempt to interview Steven Skakel about this incident or why the change in story

 

The Police said:

 

2stevecarrol2.jpg (9983 bytes)Detective Steve Carroll said . . .

 

"We were too nonchalant where the Skakels were concerned. No doubt about it."

 

"The medical examiner failed to examine Martha's body fully for signs of a sexual assault."

 

"The Skakel's were saying that maybe the club came from someplace else. You could get a Toney Penna six iron anyplace." "True, but the fibers on that club put it here."

 

"Yep. I came out of Meadowbrook Drive and turned left up Otter Rock. I see all this toilet tissue and stuff in the trees. This is 8:30 - 9:00 at night. I was right there. I didn't see any kids. Never saw anybody out that night. Again it was cold, The circumstances were just so perfect for anybody who wanted to do something. You couldn't have planned it so perfectly- the weather, the darkness, the wind, the absence of people. Usually there were a whole bunch of kids hanging out here, rocking against the chain."

to Tim Dumas in an interview

 

"Michael would have been prime, had he been on the scene and not up at Sursum Corda. Now he has himself on the scene, living up to his wacky billing, and perhaps hearing Martha in her death throes."

To Tim Dumas in an interview

Footnote Sursum Corda was the family home of Jim Terrien

 

"Why can you not convene a grand jury-have them bring in a true bill or not a true bill?

question addressed to Prosecutor Don Browne which resulted in Carroll being kicked out of his office and asked not to return

 

"When you go see Don Browne, bring your dancing shoes. Oh, he'll waltz you! You can tell him I said that too."

to Tim Dumas in an interview

 

 

Investigator Frank Garr said . . .

"What I think happened was, these guys were out doing the investigation they should, but things weren't turning out the way they expected -"

Garr's opinion as to why the Skakel's did not hand over the Sutton findings to the police as agreed upon. This was said to Tim Dumas

 

"I think the killer of Martha Moxley knows exactly what he did, and lives with it every day-but is able to"

to Tim Dumas in an interview

 

"She's gone, I can't bring her back. Rationalizing it like that. That's what I think. I'm not a doctor. I'm not a psychologist. I'm nothing but a cop. But if you want my opinion, that's my opinion-that the person who killed Martha Moxley don't give a shit."

to Tim Dumas in an interview

 

Prosecutor Don Browne said . . .

"Don't tell me how to run my business! turns to Thomas Keegan and says "I don't want him up here anymore!"

in reference to Steve Carroll's asking for a grand jury to be convened on the Moxley case

Footnote, HAD there been a Grand Jury convened would we still be talking about this case 25 years later? Many think we would not! Strangely Browne took this case with him when he moved up to the states attorney's office and allocated that Inspector Frank Garr would continue pursuing it. It was Browne's contention that HE would be the one to prosecute this case if it ever went to trial. Some have speculated that there might have been some dirty dealing involved. When Browne was removed as special prosecutor and replaced by Jonathan Benedict, the Grand Jury was convened within months and an arrest warrant for Michael Skakel issued. It is up to you to decide if there is any significance.

 

"I'm not going to discuss suspects in this case. I want to make that perfectly clear."

to Tim Dumas when he asked for an interview

 

 

Windham, NY police chief James Scarey said . . .

"Lately, Michael has been causing numerous problems for the family."

to Detective Lunney shortly after the murder of Martha Moxley when the Skakel family sought refuge at their vacation home in Windham, NY

 

Commander Hale Detroit Homicide Division said . . .

(one of the outside advisors Greenwich police called in to assist them in the investigation)

"There should have been a thorough, formal search of the house. If Rushton Skakel was as cooperative as the Greenwich police say, why not go and do it immediately? Then, if he refused, they could have asked for a search warrant. Because when it came to the Skakel's, the Greenwich police were trading lightly."

to reporter Len Levitt for one of his articles on the Moxley case

 

 

Friends of the Family said:

 

Geoffrey Bynre said . . .

"He didn't do it. I know he didn't do it. He's not the sort of person who could have done such a thing."

to Greenwich Time reporter regarding Tommy Skakel as Martha's killer

 

George Boyton said . . .

(former Skakel tutor/babysitter and soccer coach, Littleton's predecessor in 1974)

"When I came to say hello he had a glass of wine in his hand, and when I went to say goodbye he had a glass of wine in his hand."

to Tim Dumas in reference to his observance of Rush Skakel Sr , during Boyton's employ

 

"He was bent on making trouble, tripping guys, hitting guys"

to Tim Dumas in reference to Michael Skakel's personality

 

 

Peter Coomaraswarmy said . . .

"Many a time I walked through the Skakel's kitchen while the Greenwich cops were eating lunch. It was fucking unbelievable"

in an interview with Tim Dumas

 

Mildred "Cissy" Ix said . . .

"Why are you people so set on Rush's boys?"

to Detective's Lunney and Carroll early on in the investigation (Note that she mentions BOYS)

 

"Tommy could never have done that, but Michael, I'd give you Michael in a minute".

to Dorthy Moxley

 

"Your Friend" said . . .

"The police should take into custody all the group of boys and girls that were together on that evening...and in two hours they would find who killed Marta.The police nor the press has the right to cover the crime even if the killer is the nephew of Mrs Ethel Kennedy."

in an anonymous letter sent to the Moxley's only days after the murder and before any Skakel's were considered suspects

 

Anonymous Belle Haven resident said . . .

"He walked all through Belle Haven carrying a golf club in his hand. A golf club! So finally somebody called Anna Mae his new wife, and said Anna Mae, you've got to do something about Rush walking around with that golf club". And Anna Mae said Why? And this somebody just said "Oh my gawd!"

to Tim Dumas in an interview in reference to Rush Sr

 

Other Suspects said:

 

Ken Littleton said . . .

"do we really know that he was in the car?"

to Sutton investigators referring to Michael leaving that night with his brothers

 

"I never understood why (Rushton Skakel) turned against me, I think he wanted to separate himself and his family from me when the police began pressuring me."

to Len Levitt

 

Ed Hammond said . . .

"I wish to God that I'd seen or heard something that could have helped the police figure out what happened to that poor girl. But I didn't and I became a suspect, I have to live with that every day of my life"

in an interview with Tim Dumas

 

 

Michael's Former

Rehab Acquaintances said:

 

Steve Dougherty said . . .

( attended Father Martin's rehab with Michael Skakel in 1987)

"I caught a fish, and it was flopping around on the deck. I said, "Quick get something to kill it with." (Michael said) "What we need is a golf club, kill it with that." And I am thinking, "Golf club? Why not just get a knife?" That's how it came up. He said he used to kill small animals with golf clubs. Cats, squirrels, groundhogs...something of that nature. Anything on his estate."

in an interview with Tim Dumas

 

Reasonable Cause Hearing

Witnesses said:

 

John Higgins said . . .

"He related that he was in his garage and he was going through some golf clubs and he had a golf club. He was outside of his garage running through some woods and he remembers seeing pine trees and he blacked out. "

 

 

Gregory Coleman said . . .

"He had made a comment that he was trying to make advances towards this girl and that this girl was not complying with those advances and thus he drove her skull in." "In a wooded area around his home."

at Skakel's June 20th Reasonable Cause Hearing

 

"I believe the facilitator was Alice Dunne but  I am not definite of that."

in response to Jonathan Benedict's question of who was the facilitator of the primal scream session where Michael Skakel admited his guilt in the Moxley murder, Skakel's June 20th Reasonable Cause Hearing

 

Andy Pugh said . . .

(Michael Skakel's childhood friend testifies to a conversation he had with Skakel when Skakel attempted to renew the friendship in the 1990's that had ended around the time of Martha's murder)

"It was mostly lawn maintenance equipment, lawnmowers, blowers, you know, some sporting equipment, stuff like that"

at Skakel's June 21st Reasonable Cause Hearing, in reference to the outbuilding in the backyard of the Skakel property

 

"The way that I learned of it was I had come home from school and gone over to Michael's house after school as I always did every day. And I noticed there was a lot of -- it was different. Normally you would just go in the front door and look around and there was --

at Skakel's June 21 Reasonable Cause Hearing, in response to the question  how did he first learn that Martha Moxley was dead. Defense Attorney Micky Sherman interupted Pugh making an objection before Pugh was able to complete his thought

footnote.....it appears that Pugh was going to mention the amount of cars that were parked in the Skakel driveway that afternoon. If this is where he was going, he will be able to confirm Ken Littleton's testimony that 10-15 Lincoln Continentals were on the Skakel property that afternoon, which donned CT and NY plates. Littleton believed these to be lawyers.

 

"I knocked on the door. Somebody I didn't recognize came down, said --"

at Skakel's June 21 Reasonable Cause Hearing, in response to the question  how did he first learn that Martha Moxley was dead. Defense Attorney Mickey Sherman interrupted Pugh making an objection before Pugh was able to complete his thought

footnote...Pugh did not know the man that answered the door, it has been stated that the man was a Skakel family attorney. Obviously something Sherman did not want in the record. The timing of this is crucial in determining when the Skakel family were alerted that Martha was dead

 

"It was in the context of us getting together and sort of renewing our friendship. And, you know, I said that it might be difficult for me because I had some, you know, doubts about his involvement. And I asked him, you.23 know, if he had anything to do with it and he said no."

in June 21st Reasonable Cause Hearing testimony Pugh relates the conversation that Michael Skakel had with him when he hoped to reestablish their old friendship

 

"He did tell me that he had been on their property that same evening in that tree masturbating but that he had nothing to do with her death".

in June 21st Reasonable Cause Hearing testimony Pugh relates the conversation that Michael Skakel had with him when he hoped to reestablish their old friendship

 

" He said the tree and I assumed it to be that tree because that was the only tree we climbed."

in June 21st Reasonable Cause Hearing testimony Pugh relates the conversation that Michael Skakel had with him when he hoped to reestablish their old friendship.

Footnote...the tree in question is the pine tree on the Moxley property that Pugh and Michael Skakel used to climb as kids. It was the tree that Martha's body was found under. Pugh states they never climbed any other trees on the Moxley property. Pugh further states that this is the tree that Michael Skakel referred to climbing and masturbating in the night that Martha Moxley was murdered

 

 

Alice Dunne said . . .

While not specifically mentioning the victim's name, the respondent indicated to Dunn that either he or his brother was responsible for the murder. Later, the respondent conceded to Dunn, that as far as he was concerned, he might have committed the murder. The respondent also admitted to Dunn that the golf club, involved in the murder, belonged to his family. As in his conversation with Higgins, the respondent also made reference to pine trees during a conversation with Dunn.

"I don't  know if I did it, it was myself or it was my brother, it  was one of us but I was in a blackout and I don't  remember. Is that fair to say that was your testimony before the Grand Jury?"

June 28th Reasonable Cause Hearing where Prosecutor Jonathan Benedict catches Alice Dunne trying to change her story. Benedict reads verbatim Dunne's words from the Grand Jury transcripts of what she says Michael Skakel said to her at Elan

 

Q    But, anyway, let me return to this. Mr. Skakel is 11 returned to Elan after  an absence. He is guarded on the stage in the dining hall; correct?
A   "Yes"

Dunne confirms to prosecutor, Jonathan Benedict, what  prosecution witness Gregory Coleman claims that Skakel was being guarded and held on the stage in the dining hall. where Coleman alleges Michael Skakel made further admissions. June 28th Reasonable Cause Hearing

 

The Authors said:

 

2domdunne.gif (16308 bytes)Dominick Dunne said . . .

"Mrs so and so knows everything. Here's her number. She's in Florida. So I get Mrs so and so on the phone and she takes this attitude to me. This arch, how-dare-you-call-me attitude. "I play golf with Rush Skakel! We go to the same parties!

"They'd rather whisper about it at tea parties and go for their golf game. Which I find irritating, I mean a girl is dead here."

in an interview with Tim Dumas

 

"If the Greenwich police have pussyfooted for 18 years, they were not going to cooperate with me. I went in back doors."

in an interview with Tim Dumas

 

2timdumas2.jpg (10689 bytes)Tim Dumas said . . .

"One thing is clear: the Skakels have done a lot of lying about the night Martha was murdered. They've spent hundreds of thousands of dollars "Clearing the family name", only to see it sink intractably into mud."

Quote from Tim Dumas in his book "Greentown"

 

2fuhrman1.jpg (8698 bytes)Mark Fuhrman said . . .

 

 

The Skakel Attorney's said:

Tom Sheridan said . . .

"Don't bother Michael, he is making progress and doesn't want a relapse."

to Detective Lunney when he attempted to find out what the circumstances were as to why Michael was sent to Elan

 

Christopher Roosevelt said . . .

(attorney for Whitby School, in which Skakel was a cofounder and contributor)

"If Thomas is arrested he would be defended by a battery of lawyers who would claim that Thomas was temporarily insane."

to GPD detective Steve Carroll when he was trying to obtain copies of Tommy Skakel's school records

 

Superior Court Judges said:

 

Superior Court Judge George N. Thim said:

There was probable cause to indict and District Attorney Jonathan Benedict asked for the arrest of Michael Skakel for the murder of Martha Moxley

after his 18 month Grand Jury investigation and hearing testimony of over 50 witnesses

 

Superior Court Judge Maureen Dennis said:

 

"Having observed the conduct, demeanor and attitudes of these witnesses, the court finds them each to be credible. None of the respondent's witnesses specifically or directly refuted the essence of Higgins', Coleman's and/or Pugh's testimony"

 

"From the evidence presented, a reasonable and prudent person of caution could logically infer that the respondent retrieved the Tony Penna number 6 iron golf club, the instrument used to murder the victim, from his family home and/or the outbuilding thereon and ran through the woods and pine trees near his home, to the Moxley property. A person of reasonable caution could further infer and deduct that the respondent was at the location where the murder took place and at a time when it occurred, giving the respondent the opportunity to commit the act with which he is charged."

 

Moreover, the respondent himself has acknowledged to at least two individuals that he was at the scene where the body was found. It is also more than mere coincidence that twice, once to Coleman and, more than a decade later, once to Pugh, the respondent made statements, concerning his masturbating either on the victim, or in the tree on the Moxley property on the night the victim was murdered. Although the time of the masturbation as reported by Coleman was questioned, neither statement regarding this distinctive and individual act by the respondent was rebutted. Of even greater import is the fact that the respondent has, twice, made admissions that he committed the murder, and, once, even bragged that he was "going to get away with murder."

 

"Considering the victim's head, the additional perforating wound to her neck, piercing her hypopharnx, the location of the pooling of blood, and the distance the victim's body was dragged to its ultimate terminus, partially hidden under the large pine tree, in conjunction with the statement made by the respondent that he "drove her skull in," the court finds that the specific element of intent to cause death has been proven well beyond a mere suspicion."

 

"Having considered all of the state's documentary, photographic and testimonial evidence, as well as the respondent's submissions for purposes of rebuttal, the court finds, pursuant to Connecticut General Statutes ¤17-60a (1) (Rev. to 1975), that there is reasonable cause to believe that the respondent has committed murder, the underlying act with which he is charged."

 

excerpts from Judge Dennis' decision for the reasonable cause hearing

 

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