Kennedy cousin whose murder conviction was overturned sues ex-cop, Connecticut town

HARTFORD, Conn.– Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, whose conviction for killing a Connecticut teenager in the 1970s was overturned, is suing the lead police investigator in the case and the city of Greenwich, alleging malicious prosecution, civil rights violations and other alleged misconduct .

Skakel, 63, a cousin of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, was found guilty in 2002 in the 1975 death of Martha Moxley, who lived across the street from the Skakel family in wealthy Greenwich and whose body was found in her family's home. backyard. Both Skakel and Moxley were 15 when she died.

The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned Skakel's conviction in 2018 after he served more than 11 years in prison, saying his attorney failed to present evidence of an alibi. A prosecutor announced in 2020 that Skakel would not stand trial again and the murder charge was dropped.

The new lawsuit alleges that the investigator, Frank Garr, intended to get Skakel convicted and withheld key evidence about other potential suspects from Skakel's defense.

The defendants in the lawsuit “knew that there were other, more likely suspects and that there was no probable cause to arrest and/or prosecute the plaintiff (Skakel), but continued to do so intentionally and maliciously, in order to condemn. “Kennedy Cousin,” the complaint alleges.

The attorney general's office, which is defending Garr, declined to comment Tuesday. An attorney for Greenwich did not immediately return an email message. A message was also left on a phone list for Garr.

Skakel's attorney, Stephan Seeger, called the lawsuit a civil rights action against Garr and the city.

“He spent 11 and a half years in prison for a crime he did not commit and was put through every conceivable process until the case was ultimately dismissed,” Seeger said.

The lawsuit, filed in November in state court in Stamford, seeks unspecified damages of more than $15,000.

The case attracted international attention because of the Kennedy name, Skakel's wealthy family, numerous theories about who killed Moxley and the brutal way she died. Several other people, including Skakel's brother Tommy Skakel, were named as possible killers. Tommy Skakel denied involvement in the murder.

The murder took place in the exclusive Bell Haven section of Greenwich, where Martha and Skakel were neighbors. During the trial, prosecutors said Skakel was angry with Martha for rejecting his advances while she was in a sexual relationship with Tommy. There were also witness statements about incriminating statements that Skakel allegedly made.

Skakel's attorneys later argued that Skakel's trial attorney, Mickey Sherman, made poor decisions, including not focusing on Tommy as a possible suspect and not attempting to contact an alibi witness. They said Skakel was several miles from the crime scene and watching a Monty Python movie with friends when Moxley was killed on Oct. 30, 1975.

Sherman has defended his representation of Skakel.

There was no physical evidence and no eyewitness linking Skakel to the killing, his attorneys said.

Skakel's cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now a presidential candidate, was one of his staunchest defenders and wrote a book saying that Skakel had been framed.

Skakel was first arrested in 2000, after new books about the Moxley case reignited the police investigation.

The lawsuit alleges that Greenwich police, prosecutors and Garr, who worked for the Greenwich Police Department before becoming an inspector in the district attorney's office, withheld crucial information favorable to Skakel during his defense at trial.

The information, the indictment says, included sketches of a potential suspect who did not resemble Skakel, psychological reports on other suspects and statements from witnesses who said two other men were near Moxley the night of her murder, including someone who made incriminating comments. .

The lawsuit also alleges that Garr had “deep antipathy” toward Skakel and his family, that he wanted to make a profit by collaborating on a book about Skakel's murder of Moxley, and that he threatened witnesses into testifying against Skakel.

Skakel suffered violations of his constitutional rights, loss of liberty from his time in prison, humiliation, shame, “severe emotional distress, terror and fear,” financial losses and damages and “destruction of reputation and family relationships,” the lawsuit said.

Attorneys for Garr and Greenwich have not yet filed a response to the lawsuit.

Moxley's family continues to believe Skakel was the killer.