Who killed Martha Moxley?

Since 1975, the tony neighborhood of Belle Haven, in Greenwich, Connecticut has been haunted by the death of Martha Moxley, a 15-year-old girl who was bludgeoned with a golf club. "Went driving in Tom's car … I was practically sitting on Tom's lap … He kept putting his hand on my knee." "I went to a party! … Tom S. Was being an ass. At the dance he kept putting his arms around me … making moves." "Michael was so totally out of it that he was being a real ass----. He kept telling me that I was leading Tom on … Michael jumps to conclusions. … I really have to stop going over there." MICHAEL SKAKEL (audio recording): And I remember thinking, oh my God, if I tell anybody that I was out that night, they're going to say I did it. MICHAEL SKAKEL (audio recording): I pulled my pants down, I masturbated for 30 seconds in the tree … and I remember thinking, "Oh, my God. I hope to God nobody saw me j----- off." … then I woke up to Mrs. Moxley saying, "Michael have — have you seen Martha?" …  I was like, "Oh my God, did they see me last night?" GREGORY COLEMAN (news report): The first words he ever said to me was, "I'm going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy." GREGORY COLEMAN (news report): He had made advances towards her and she rejected his advances and quote, unquote, that he drove her skull in with a golf club. MICKEY SHERMAN [to reporters outside courthouse]: Michael's defense and his only defense is that he did not commit this crime. MICHAEL SKAKEL (audio recording): "… oh, my God, did they see me last night?" … and I remember just having a feeling of panic. MICHAEL SKAKEL (audio recording): I was like, "oh my God, did they see me last night?" MICHAEL SKAKEL (audio recording): And I remember thinking, "oh, my God. I hope to God nobody saw me j----- off." TONY BRYANT: Well, that night … We decided to go up to Greenwich and hang out … VITO COLUCCI: So, do you believe that they killed her? TONY BRYANT: I mean, he loved her beautiful blonde hair. TONY BRYANT: I'm trying to remember at one of the mixers … and he got jealous of other guys coming up to her and talking to her. TONY BRYANT: "I don't understand why she is spending her time with those guys when she could be with me." TONY BRYANT: "I've got my caveman club — VITO COLUCCI: And then right after the murder, when you met up with both Adolph and Burt, they told you, we got — we did it. TONY BRYANT: I knew who they were implying. It was — it was so obvious because, I mean, the next day, it was all over. I mean, it was everywhere. HUBERT SANTOS | Michael Skakel's attorney: Your Honor, the petition for new trial that we've filed on behalf of Michael Skakel claims newly discovered evidence … which involves the allegations concerning Tony Bryant. JUDGE: Michael Skakel versus the state of Connecticut has been concluded. "October 4: Dear diary - tonight was a Sacred Heart dance …When we walked in, some guy asked me to dance … some other guy asked me, it turned out to be a slow dance. It was Stairway to Heaven. At the fast part, he wouldn't even let go. … I also danced with Dicky, Neil, & Peter Zamenski. A lot with Dicky …" MICHAEL SKAKEL (in court): Mickey had me believing he was the real deal. MICHAEL SKAKEL (in court) He said he was a media whore. HUBERT SANTOS: You spent most of your time talking to the media, right? HUBERT SANTOS: You knew that Tommy Skakel was the last person to see Martha Moxley alive? HUBERT SANTOS: Did you know … that he strangled a fellow classmate right in front of his teacher? HUBERT SANTOS: Did you try? HUBERT SANTOS: Was there anybody else at the home? NEWS REPORT: Wednesday, a Connecticut judge granted the 53-year-old a new trial in the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley. HUBERT SANTOS [to reporters outside courthouse] An innocent man now goes free … DORTHY MOXLEY [2013 to reporters]: Martha, my baby, will never have a life…  To lose a child is the worst thing in the world. "Dear Diary, today is the last day of '74. Boo hoo. '74 has been one of the best years of my life. … Well, hope '75 is as good."

What happened to Moxley has been a mystery that has gripped Belle Haven and the nation, aided by the fact that Moxley spent her last night alive with young members of the Skakel family, cousins of the Kennedys. In 2000, Michael Skakel was charged with her murder. He was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to 20 years to life in prison. After spending more than a decade in prison for the murder, in 2013 a judge granted Skakel a new trial, saying his first attorney failed to adequately represent him. In 2018, the Connecticut Supreme Court vacated his murder conviction and ordered a new trial. But in 2020, prosecutors said they would not retry him. TONY BRYANT: There is no doubt in my mind that they were involved. VITO COLUCCI: Right. TONY BRYANT: "We did it. We achieved our fantasy." MICKEY SHERMAN: Is that a question? MICKEY SHERMAN: I believe so. MICKEY SHERMAN: I don't recall that. MICKEY SHERMAN: He was going to invoke the Fifth Amendment no matter what we did. DENNIS OSSORIO The boys were there.

Now, for the first time since Martha Moxley was murdered, her childhood friends Richard Burns and Tori Holland are speaking together to "48 Hours" correspondent Erin Moriarty. TONY BRYANT: — and I'm going to go grab somebody and pull them by the hair and do what cavemans do." HUBERT SANTOS: Yeah. HUBERT SANTOS: Was Michael Skakel one of them?