Word: skakel
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Since the Michael Skakel trial began two and a half weeks ago, his siblings - Stephen, Julie, and Rushton Jr. - have steadfastly supported their brother, accused of murdering their 15-year-old neighbor, Martha Moxley, in 1975 outside her Greenwich home. The group, which each day eats lunch at a local saloon-style restaurant and never speaks to the press, has created a kind of protective, mental barrier between Michael and his accusers, in particular the Moxley family, which sits in the courtroom just a few yards away...
...father of seven claims he has dementia and prostate cancer, and yesterday he gingerly took a seat in the witness box of the Superior Court after greeting his accused son with a kiss on the cheek. Michael mouthed the words "I love you." Skakel Senior said that he did recall driving home from a hunting trip after murder. "The house was full but I don't remember any of the names of the people who were there." In fact, he returned to a chaotic scene of police, reporters and lawyers. He had then instructed live-in tutor Kenneth Littleton...
...With no luck examining the father, prosecutors turned to alleged admissions of guilt made by Skakel. They told jurors of testimony from from a grand jury inquiry four years ago, family friend and neighbor Mildred Ix said Skakel's father had confided to her that Michael might have been the killer. "He said," Ix testified then, "Michael had come up to him and he said, 'you know, I had a lot of to drink that night and I would like to see, I would like to see if, if I could have had so much to drink that I would...
...said she was close to the family, dramatically changed her story under cross-examination. Ix explained that Skakel Senior had indeed said that Michael had wanted to take a truth drug, but that her statement that he might have murdered Moxley was wrong. "I know Rush never, ever heard from Michael that he ever killed anyone," Ix said. "I then assumed something that was really in my heart of hearts. I put in Rushton Skakel's mouth what I actually thought." Outside the court, Moxley's brother John angrily branded Ix's new story "a boldfaced...
...hairdresser recounted another alleged admission by Skakel when the defendant was a teenager. Matthew Tucciarone described in detail how Skakel made the alleged confession as he cut his hair at the Golden Touch salon in Greenwich in the mid 1970s. Skakel, a then bushy-haired youngster had sat in the hairdresser's chair wearing a plaid shirt and trousers while speaking to a young woman. Tucciarone said Skakel was angry and told the girl he wanted to take a gun and kill someone. "You can't do that," the girl said, and Skakel allegedly replied "Why not, I killed before...