The Murder of Martha Moxley (Part 2)

Episode of Morbid · June 4, 2026 · 56 min

Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley conclude the Martha Moxley case, covering Michael Skakel's changed alibi, Mark Fuhrman's book, conviction, appeals, and dropped charges.

Summary

In the second of two episodes on the 1975 murder of fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley in Belle Haven, Greenwich, Connecticut, Alaina Urquhart narrated the case's later history while Ash Kelley reacted. After show business about their Radio City live show and Urquhart's novel The Butcher Legacy, Urquhart described how the prospect of DNA testing led Tommy and Michael Skakel to revise their alibis, with Michael admitting he had climbed a tree outside Martha's window that night. The hosts criticized the original investigation for fixing the time of death at 10 p.m. based on neighbors' reports of barking dogs rather than the medical examiner's much wider window, which had allowed Michael to be ruled out.

Urquhart recounted how the privately commissioned Sutton report, which documented Michael Skakel's alleged confessions at the Elan School, was shelved by Rushton Skakel but leaked by an unnamed young employee to Dominick Dunne, who passed it to former LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman. Fuhrman's 1998 book Murder in Greenwich named Michael Skakel as the killer and drew criticism from Greenwich police. A one-person grand jury led by Judge George Thim then produced charges in 2000, and Skakel was convicted in 2002 despite the death of star witness Gregory Coleman, with Jennifer Pease corroborating his account.

The episode then traced the lengthy appeals: a 2013 ruling that Skakel's attorney Michael Sherman had been ineffective, a 2016 reinstatement of the conviction by the Connecticut Supreme Court, and its 2018 reversal, after which prosecutors entered a nolle prosequi in 2021. The hosts noted Dorothy Moxley's death in December 2024 and lamented that the case remains unsolved and inactive, with Urquhart stressing she wanted it solved regardless of who was ultimately identified. The episode closed with a fun fact about baby elephants and TV recommendations.

Chapters

0:00
Intro and show business
The hosts promote their Radio City live show, The Butcher Legacy video series, and the Salem Slicer game.
3:51
The Skakel brothers' new alibis
Urquhart explains how DNA prospects led Tommy and Michael Skakel to change their stories, with Michael placing himself outside Martha's window.
8:42
Barking dogs and the time of death
The hosts criticize investigators for relying on reports of barking dogs rather than the medical examiner's time-of-death window.
11:59
The Sutton report and Elan School confessions
Urquhart describes Michael Skakel's alleged confessions at the Elan School and how the suppressed Sutton report was leaked to Dominick Dunne.
Linked moment · 14:53Skip to 14:53 using a listen link in the info box.
14:53
Mark Fuhrman and Murder in Greenwich
Fuhrman investigates with help from retired detective Steve Carroll and publishes a book naming Michael Skakel.
21:26
The one-person grand jury
Judge George Thim reviews the evidence, privilege disputes arise over Elan records, and charges are brought in 2000.
29:01
Arrest and call to Dorothy Moxley
Skakel surrenders, is released on bond, and upsets Dorothy Moxley by phoning her to proclaim his innocence.
31:34
The 2002 trial
Despite the death of witness Gregory Coleman, prosecutor Jonathan Benedict presents a circumstantial case and the jury convicts Skakel.
39:49
Sentencing and appeals
Skakel is sentenced to 20 years to life, and years of appeals culminate in rulings that his lawyer was ineffective.
45:44
Nolle prosequi and an unsolved case
Prosecutors decline to retry Skakel, Dorothy Moxley dies in 2024, and the hosts lament the case's inactive status.
52:24
Fun fact and TV recommendations
The hosts share a fact about baby elephants sucking their trunks and recommend animal shows.

Key points

What was said, by whom, with the exact words. Timestamps jump to the moment.

Ash Kelley
Kelley argued that relying on neighbors' recollections of barking dogs was as unreliable as eyewitness testimony.
“That's the same as like eyewitness testimony. Like that's never, that's not that reliable”
Listen from 9:23 · Time of death estimation
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart mocked investigators for treating barking dogs as forensic evidence for the time of death.
“So it's like we're using them as a forensic tool now? Like, when did that happen?”
Listen from 10:35 · Time of death estimation
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart said Michael Skakel's new alibi placed him at the scene and made him the leading suspect.
“Michael hadn't just ruled himself back in as a suspect. He'd effectively moved himself to the top of the list”
Listen from 11:40 · Murder of Martha Moxley
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart praised retired detective Steve Carroll for acknowledging the original investigation's errors.
“Like he was like, no, I think we fucked up along the way”
Listen from 18:05 · Murder of Martha Moxley
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart cautioned that while the evidence looked damning, examined closely it proved little on its own.
“When you really pull apart the pieces though, you go, well, you have to think of every part of this”
Listen from 19:04 · Circumstantial evidence
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart found it contradictory that officials dismissed Fuhrman's book yet convened a grand jury soon after its publication.
“Everybody thinks the book is a bunch of, a crock of shit, and all of a sudden they're like,”
Listen from 22:32 · Grand juries in Connecticut
Ash Kelley
Kelley condemned Michael Skakel's call to Dorothy Moxley, saying he could not claim to feel a grieving mother's pain.
“No, you don't know a mother's pain whose daughter was slaughtered. 200 feet from her home”
Listen from 30:57 · Murder of Martha Moxley
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart agreed with the prosecutor that the brutality of the attack showed clear intent to kill.
“There was no way whoever did that to Martha did not intend to kill her”
Listen from 34:40 · Murder of Martha Moxley
Ash Kelley
Kelley criticized defense attorney Michael Sherman's terse closing argument as unconvincing.
“Babe, that's not going to convince me of anything. That's just going to convince me you didn't have your morning coffee”
Listen from 38:35 · Murder of Martha Moxley
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart said Dorothy Moxley believed the conviction was correct but expected it would not hold because of the Skakels' resources.
“But she never believed that it would hold because she knows they have infinite resources”
Listen from 43:28 · Ineffective assistance of counsel
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart said Skakel's conviction was never assured given the circumstantial evidence and the long delay before trial.
“But in truth, his conviction was just never a sure bet”
Listen from 45:26 · Circumstantial evidence
Ash Kelley
Kelley argued that decades-old witness memories cannot be relied upon by a jury in a retrial.
“you can't necessarily rely on somebody's memory from 30 years ago as you're on a jury”
Listen from 46:05 · Nolle prosequi
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart judged it unlikely that Skakel would be recharged absent new evidence.
“In the absence of any new compelling evidence of his guilt, it seems pretty unlikely because nothing has come out since then that points to him”
Listen from 48:11 · Nolle prosequi
Ash Kelley
Kelley called for investigators to re-examine the golf club used as the murder weapon.
“And they need to look at that golf club. Did fingerprinting ever fucking happen on that thing?”
Listen from 49:47 · Cold case investigations
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart said she wanted the case solved regardless of whom it ultimately identified.
“Regardless of who is the person they identify, I would like it to be solved”
Listen from 51:12 · Cold case investigations
Alaina Urquhart
Urquhart suggested the absence of crime in Belle Haven points to a killer who potentially knew Martha.
“And it makes you think more that this was someone who potentially knew her because like it's not like random strangers were”
Listen from 52:08 · Murder of Martha Moxley

People

In the conversation

Alaina UrquhartCo-host of Morbid, autopsy technician and author of the Butcher novels
Ash KelleyCo-host of the true crime podcast Morbid

Discussed

Michael SkakelSon of Rushton Skakel and nephew of Ethel Kennedy, linked to the Moxley case
Martha Moxley15-year-old murdered in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1975
Thomas SkakelSon of Rushton Skakel and early prime suspect in the Moxley murder
Rushton SkakelWealthy Greenwich resident and Great Lakes Carbon heir, brother of Ethel Kennedy
Dorothy MoxleyMartha Moxley's mother and victims' advocate
Mark FuhrmanFormer LAPD detective from the O. J. Simpson case and author of Murder in Greenwich
Dominick DunneWriter and Vanity Fair crime journalist, father of Dominique Dunne
Steve CarrollGreenwich police detective and co-lead investigator on the Moxley case
Frank GarrFormer Greenwich detective working for the state who criticized Fuhrman's book
Jonathan BenedictProsecutor in Michael Skakel's 2002 trial
Michael ShermanMichael Skakel's trial attorney, later found ineffective
Gregory ColemanFormer Elan School student and key witness who died before trial
Jennifer PeaseFormer Elan student who testified corroborating Coleman's account
George ThimConnecticut judge who served as the one-person grand jury
Thomas BishopConnecticut judge who ordered a new trial for Skakel in 2013
Richard ColangeloConnecticut chief state's attorney who declined to retry Skakel
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.Health secretary whose appointment Jesse Kelly cited as coalition-building

Topics

The Murder of Martha Moxley (Part 1)
Morbid · Jun 1, 2026 · 55 min
Morbid hosts Alaina Urquhart and Ash Kelley recount the 1975 murder of 15-year-old Martha Moxley in Greenwich, Connecticut, and the botched early investigation into the Skakel family.

From the publisher

(Part 2 of 2) On October 30, 1975, fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley failed to return home after a night out with friends in Belle Haven, an exclusive wealthy enclave in Greenwich, CT. The following morning, Moxley’s badly beaten body was discovered underneath a tree, just a few hundred feet from her house, triggering one of the most notorious murder mysteries in the state’s history.

Summary, chapters and key points were generated from the episode transcript on September 28, 2026. Quotes are checked word for word against the transcript.

Categories: True Crime