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The Kennedy
Connection
It is well known that the Skakel family is related to the Kennedy family through the marriage of Ethel Skakel to Robert Kennedy, brother of our beloved, fallen US President, John Kennedy. Ethel Skakel Kennedy is the sister of Rushton Skakel, father of Michael and Thomas Skakel, both prime suspects in the murder of Martha Moxley.
What is not known is, if this relationship between the two families, had any direct
influence on the subsequent homicide investigation into Moxley case. Some have opined that
Skakel children, by very relation to this powerful American Dynasty, managed to get away
with murder. Many believe the Greenwich Police showed deference to the Skakel family from
the onset of this investigation. It was felt that more pressure could have and should have
been applied to members of the Skakel clan. Only hours after Martha's body had been found,
the police had already determined that the Tonny Penna 6 iron was indeed the murder
weapon. After walking away from interviewing Dorthy Moxley and Helen Ix, the detectives
were already aware that Tommy Skakel was the last one reported to have seen Martha alive.
While interviewing Skakel family members that afternoon the detectives noticed a
matching Tony Penna iron in the home. They did not retrieve this iron until Rushton Skakel
returned home the following day. Many have questioned if this was standard police
procedure. Considering that another team of investigators at the same time were collecting
5 bags of "evidence" from the Hammond home without his presence and knowledge,
it does seem questionable as to why they waited for the return of Rushton Skakel to remove
this piece of evidence. Upon reflection of these two situations, it does seem that the
Greenwich Police in the very least, were affording the Skakel family special courtesies.
Did the Kennedy family use any muscle to stalwart the Moxley investigation? If so, were
there payoffs and to whom? Why did former prosecutor Don Browne sit on this case for so
long? Why did Don Browne take the case with him when he was promoted to the states
attorney's office? Was this an arrangement made between the powerfully connected Kennedy
family and the local Greenwich authorities? In Jerry Oppenheimers book "The Other Mrs
Kennedy" he states that a secretary to Ethel Kennedy witnessed a meeting between
Ethel and Ted Kennedy the very day that Moxley's body was found. After the meeting, Ethel
was said to be highly distressed and made a call to a friend that she had to get out of
the house. Also reported, Jim Terrien's stepfather, married to Rushton's sister
Georgeanne, tells Oppenheimer that his wife made the call to Ethel to tell her about the
Skakel boys involvement in the Moxley case. He adds that Ethel was quite upset and did not
want this to "touch the Kennedy's. It has been often written that Ethel Kennedy
herself, made it a mission to out-Kennedy the Kennedy family. It seems she relished the
image of being the widow of a fallen possible future president and mother to eleven
fatherless children, a martyr to the cause so to speak, and sister in law to John Kennedy,
who actually did make it to office. She has been said to protect the Kennedy name at all
costs. Michael Skakel in fact, states that she was so unwilling to besmudge the Kennedy
name, that she would not allow her own son David, to be registered in a rehab center under
the Kennedy name, even though having done so would have allowed for him to avoid the long
waiting list. He overdosed the next day, not having received treatment.
Was there an intervention from the Kennedy side, in behalf of Ethel's relatives the
Skakel's, or did the Greenwich police themselves, choose to treat the Skakel family with
kid gloves without the need of any action from the Kennedy family ? If the Kennedy's had
supported the Skakel's in the past, would they continue to in light of events in recent
years? Has Michael Skakel's alerting the press regarding Michael Kennedy's
relationship with an underage family babysitter, severed any possible support he may have
received from his Kennedy relatives?
It will be interesting to see what happens. To date, the heirarchy of the Kennedy family
have remained silent not showing any outward support for their Skakel relatives. A few of
Robert Kennedy Jr and Ethel Skakel Kennedy's children have made public comments of
support. At Skakel's reasonable cause hearing Robert Kennedy Jr and his brother Douglas
showed up in court. It was noted that they did not return from the lunchbreak.Will these
few signs of Skakel/Kennedy's support be as far as the Kennedy family is willing to reach
in Skakel's behalf in the future? Considering the closeness of Ted Kennedy to his
sister-in-law Ethel, this is quite surprising. Or is it? Somehow, I think that the Kennedy
family proper, do not wish to touch this one with a ten foot pole.
