The Murder of Martha Moxley
Was her killer just set free?
The 1975 murder of 15-year-old, Martha Moxley, made headlines 45 years later, when the man convicted of her murder in 2002 was set free. But why?
On the night of October 30, 1975, Martha Moxley was participating in “mischief night,” where teens of Belle Haven, Connecticut played traditional pranks like ding-dong ditch and TP-ing the homes of unsuspecting neighbors. According to friends with Moxley that night, she was last seen at approximately 9:30 p.m. flirting with her neighbor, Thomas Skakel, in his backyard.
Martha Moxley’s body was found under a tree in her family’s backyard that Halloween morning. Although her pants and underwear were pulled down, there were no signs of sexual assault. Near her body were pieces of a broken six-iron golf club, which had been used to bludgeon and stab her to death. The golf club was traced back to the affluent Skakel family. Their eldest son, Thomas, the last one to see Martha the night of her murder, became the prime suspect. Also on the list of suspects was Kenneth Littleton, the Skakel’s live-in tutor. In the first few years following the 15-year-old’s murder, no charges were filed against any of the primary suspects and the investigation seemingly went cold.
