Dorthy Moxley, Mother of Murdered Teen, Dies at 92
Long-Running Media Sensation
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, has died at the age of 92. She passed away on Tuesday after being hospitalized last week with the flu, her son, John Moxley, announced.
Early Life and Murder of Martha Moxley
Moxley, a former teacher, was in the national spotlight when Martha, 15, was bludgeoned to death on October 30, 1975, near her family’s home in an affluent neighborhood of Greenwich, Connecticut. Her body was found the next day under a tree, with police concluding that she was beaten with a golf club and stabbed after it broke.
The Skakel Connection
The case was linked to the Skakels, whose children lived across the street from the Moxley family and with whom Martha had been socializing. Despite suspicions cast on members of the Skakel family, the case remained unsolved. In 1998, a one-judge grand jury began reviewing the case, and an arrest warrant was issued in 2000 for Michael Skakel, the nephew of Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel Kennedy.
Skakel’s Arrest and Trial
Skakel, who was 15 at the time of Martha’s murder, was arrested in 2000 and later convicted of the crime in 2002. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. However, Skakel maintained his innocence and appealed the conviction. In 2013, he was granted a new trial based on inadequate legal counsel at his initial trial, and he was freed on bail. The Connecticut Supreme Court reinstated his conviction in 2016, but in 2018, his conviction was vacated, and a new trial was ordered. Ultimately, in 2020, prosecutors decided not to seek a retrial due to the lack of forensic and eyewitness evidence.
Dorthy Moxley’s Reaction
Throughout the years, Dorthy Moxley remained a steadfast presence, always believing that Skakel was guilty. In a 2018 interview on NBC’s "TODAY" show, she said that Skakel’s imprisonment had given the family some justice. "Martha was killed when I was 43, and in just a few weeks, a couple of weeks, I’m going to be 86," she said. "That means half of my life I have lived with this. So I think I can live the rest of my life with it also."
Conclusion
Dorthy Moxley’s life was marked by tragedy, but she refused to let it define her. She continued to live with the questions surrounding her daughter’s murder, but she also learned to control how she reacted to it. Her son, John Moxley, said, "We used to always say that you can’t control what happens to you, 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 reason for her death?
A: Dorthy Moxley died at the age of 92 after being hospitalized with the flu.
Q: What was the outcome of the murder case?
A: The case remained unsolved until 2000, when an arrest warrant was issued for Michael Skakel, a 15-year-old boy who was a friend of the Moxley family. Skakel was later convicted of the crime, but his conviction was later vacated due to inadequate legal counsel.
Q: What did Dorthy Moxley say about the case?
A: Dorthy Moxley remained a steadfast presence throughout the years, always believing that Skakel was guilty. In a 2018 interview, she said that Skakel’s imprisonment had given the family some justice.
