Dorthy Moxley, Mother of Martha Moxley, Dies at 92
Dorthy Moxley, whose family name became linked with the Kennedys as the 1975 murder of her teenage daughter, Martha, became a decades-long media sensation, died Tuesday after she was hospitalized last week with the flu, her son said. She was 92.
A Life of Tragedy and Media Sensation
Moxley, who had also been diagnosed with colon cancer, returned to her home in Summit, New Jersey, where she died surrounded by loved ones, John Moxley said Thursday.
“She was an incredibly positive person,” he said, adding, “One of her great talents is accepting the support that people so graciously offered to my mom.”
The Murder of Martha Moxley
Moxley, who had worked as a teacher, was in the national spotlight when Martha, 15, was bludgeoned to death on Oct. 30, 1975, near her family’s home in an affluent neighborhood of Greenwich, Connecticut. Her body was found the next day under a tree, and police said she was beaten with a golf club and stabbed after it broke.
The case was associated with the Skakels, whose children lived across the street and with whom Martha had been socializing.
The Investigation and Trial
Despite suspicions cast on members of the Skakel family, the case remained unsolved. But a one-judge grand jury began reviewing the case in 1998 and an arrest warrant was issued in 2000 for Michael Skakel, the nephew of Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel Kennedy.
Skakel was also 15 at the time of Martha’s killing. His arrest set off intense speculation over whether his family’s prestige and connections played a role in the case; he remained adamant he was innocent.
In 2002, Skakel was convicted in Martha’s murder and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. But the case continued to grab headlines as Skakel appealed. He was granted a new trial in 2013 based on inadequate legal counsel at his initial trial, and was freed on bail. But in 2016, the Connecticut Supreme Court reinstated his conviction in a divided decision.
Skakel’s Conviction and Release
That same year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote a book defending his cousin, titled, “Framed: Why Michael Skakel Spent Over a Decade in Prison for a Murder He Didn’t Commit.”
Following more legal maneuvering, Skakel’s conviction was vacated in 2018 and a new trial was ordered. But in 2020, prosecutors said they would not seek a retrial, telling a judge they did not believe they could prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt due to a lack of forensic and eyewitness evidence.
Conclusion
Dorthy Moxley remained a steadfast presence amid the courtroom battles and still believed Skakel was guilty. Her son, John Moxley, said Thursday that his mother learned to live with so many questions still unanswered. Her husband, J. David Moxley, died 13 years after Martha was killed, in 1988.
“We used to always say that you can’t control what happens to you,” John Moxley said, “but you can control how you react.”
FAQs
Q: Who was Dorthy Moxley?
A: Dorthy Moxley was the mother of Martha Moxley, a 15-year-old girl who was murdered in 1975.
Q: What was the outcome of the trial?
A: Michael Skakel was convicted of Martha’s murder in 2002, but his conviction was later vacated and he was released from prison in 2013. He was granted a new trial in 2013, but prosecutors declined to seek a retrial in 2020.
Q: Did Dorthy Moxley believe Michael Skakel was guilty?
A: Yes, Dorthy Moxley remained convinced that Michael Skakel was guilty of her daughter’s murder until her death in 2024.
Q: What was the motive behind the murder?
A: The motive behind Martha’s murder is still unknown. Despite extensive investigation and multiple trials, the killer has never been officially identified.
