Dorthy Moxley, mother of slaying victim Martha Moxley, dies at age 92

Dorthy Moxley, mother of 15-year-old Martha Moxley — whose slaying Kennedy-cousin Michael Skakel was tried for — has died.

She was 92, and passed away at her Summit, N.J., home on Tuesday from complications of pneumonia, Greenwich Time reported.

Her daughter, Martha Moxley, was found bludgeoned and fatally stabbed with a golf club in the backyard of her family’s home in Greenwich’s tony Belle Haven neighborhood on Halloween 1975.

The devoted mom was known for navigating the convoluted case against the family’s across-the-street neighbor, Skakel, with grace, dignity and humanity, Greenwich Time noted.

The case went unsolved for years, until evidence began pointing to Skakel, who was the same age as Martha. Michael Skakel and his brother Tommy are nephews of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy, and thus cousins of RFK Jr.

In this Nov. 6, 2013 file photo, Michael Skakel listens to Judge Trial Referee Thomas Bishop’s ruling during a hearing in Rockville Superior Court in Vernon, Conn.(AP Photo/Fred Beckham, Pool, File)

“My mother was never vindictive. She just wanted justice for my sister,” her son, John Moxley, told Greenwich Time in confirming his mother’s death.

Dorthy Moxley advocated on her late daughter’s behalf, using every means possible to draw attention to her case.

Skakel was first charged in 2000 — 25 years after the teen’s murder — and convicted in 2002 in Norwalk Superior Court. A 20-year prison sentence followed.

Skakel lobbied for a retrial on various grounds over the years but was denied until 2013, when a Connecticut judge upheld his assertion that his previous defense had been incompetent. He was then released on $1.2 million bail.

The conviction was reinstated in 2016 but then vacated by the Connecticut Supreme Court in 2018. After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case, prosecutors announced two years later they would not seek another murder trial. Last November, Skakel sued the town and the case’s lead investigator, seeking damages for alleged malicious prosecution, among other rights violations.

“I have learned how to cope, that’s the only thing you can do,” Dorthy Moxley once told Greenwich Time in an interview. “We’ve had so many things happen. I just take it one day at time.”

She is survived by two grandchildren, as well as her son, Greenwich Time noted.

With News Wire Services

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous post Thursday’s high school roundup/scores: Danny Viscione’s hat trick powers Billerica to strong victory
Next post The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. Accepted by NYSE American for Compliance Plan