November 18, 2024
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Change of venue hearing delayed in Kennedy nephew’s trial

STAMFORD, Conn. – A hearing on whether to move the murder trial of Kennedy nephew Michael Skakel has been pushed back a day, to Thursday, the court announced Monday.

Superior Court Judge John F. Kavanewsky Jr. will hear arguments from prosecutors – who want the case moved to nearby Bridgeport – and the defense, which opposes the move.

Skakel, 40, is charged in the October 1975 beating death of Greenwich teen-ager Martha Moxley, who was bludgeoned with a golf club on her wealthy family’s estate. Skakel and Moxley were both 15 at the time.

Witnesses said Skakel confessed to the crime while in rehabilitation at the Elan School in Poland Spring, Maine.

Skakel has maintained his innocence. Skakel is the son of Rushton Skakel Sr., the brother of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy’s widow, Ethel.

A judge ruled last month that the case should be tried in Stamford, which borders Greenwich, where the crime was committed. Stamford is the seat of the judicial district that includes Greenwich.

But prosecutors say the case should be moved because in 1975 all major crimes in the area were handled in Bridgeport Superior Court.

The decision could shape the jury: the Stamford-area jury pool would be more likely to include affluent residents, while the Bridgeport area is more impoverished.


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