Kennedy Cousin Michael Skakel Sues Police Officer, Town After Martha Moxley Murder Conviction Is Overturned

Michael Skakel was imprisoned for 11 years after being convicted of murdering Martha Moxley, before the conviction was overturned

Michael Skakel’s murder conviction in the 1975 death of Martha Moxley was overturned after he spent more than a decade behind bars. Now, he’s suing the case’s lead police investigator and his hometown of Greenwich, Conn., according to CBS News, Greenwich Time and the Associated Press.

In 2002, Skakel — a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy's widow — was found guilty of murdering Moxley, a friend and neighbor of his family in Greenwich, per CBS.

Both Skakel, 63, and Moxley were 15 at the time of her death.

After serving more than 11 years in prison, he was freed on an appeal in 2013 on the grounds that he was not given a fair trial due to deficient legal counsel, according to Greenwich Time.

Related: Did Kennedy Cousin Get Away With 15-Year-Old Girl's Murder, or Was He Wrongfully Imprisoned?

In 2018, the Connecticut Supreme Court overturned Skakel's conviction and in 2020, the murder charge was dropped, and a state prosecutor announced that the Kennedy cousin would not be put on trial again.

“He spent 11 and a half years in jail for a crime he didn't commit and was put through every thinkable proceeding until the case was finally dismissed," Stephan Seeger, Skakel's defense lawyer, told CBS.

Related: Michael Skakel's Attorney Claims Undiscovered Evidence Could Clear the Convicted Murderer

Now, Skakel is suing the lead police investigator in the case, Frank Garr, as well as the town of Greenwich for alleged malicious prosecution and civil rights violations, according to court records obtained by CBS.

The lawsuit contends that Garr was intent on convicting Skakel out of financial interest, and thus ignored key evidence about other suspects in Moxley’s murder, Greenwich Time reports.

According to the complaint, the defendants “knew that there were other more likely suspects and that there was no probable cause to arrest and/or maintain a prosecution against the Plaintiff (Skakel), but continued to do so intentionally and maliciously, in order to convict a 'Kennedy Cousin,’” per CBS.

The complaint also alleges that the state’s primary witness, Gregory Coleman — who allegedly heard Skakel’s murder confession — was “mentally unstable and was a complete liar who could not be trusted,” per Greenwich Time. (Coleman has since died.)

Related: Kennedy Cousin Michael Skakel Asks Court to Reverse Decision Reinstating Murder Conviction

"For a sensationalized 'Kennedy Cousin' murder he didn’t commit, he was given 11 and a half years of his life in jail," Seeger told Greenwich Time.

The suit seeks unspecified compensation and punitive damages, Greenwich Time reported. Neither Garr nor the town Greenwich have filed their responses to the suit, per CBS.

PEOPLE was not able to immediately reach either party.

Related: RFK Says Cousin is Not A Killer: 'Police Can Target Innocent People'

Moxley was bludgeoned to death with a golf club and found in the yard of her family home on Oct. 31, 1975.

The brutal way she died, coupled with the Kennedy name, caused the case to garner international attention — as well as a 2021 episode of CBS’ 48 Hours, "The Diary of Martha Moxley” — long after Moxley’s death.

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In 2000, after new books about the case reignited the police investigation, Skakel was arrested, per CBS.

Skakel's brother, Tommy, was also mentioned as a possible killer, but denied any involvement in her murder, CBS reported.

Another one of Skakel’s relatives, 2024 presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., has consistently fought for Skakel’s innocence.

“Michael deserves to have his story told,” Kennedy told PEOPLE in 2016. “Nobody understood what the facts were in the case. There was a narrative and a kind of prevailing orthodoxy and it was almost altogether untrue.”

Related: Connecticut Court Hears Arguments on Overturned Murder Conviction of Kennedy Cousin Michael Skakel

Meanwhile, Moxley's family has maintained their belief in Skakel’s guilt.

“I believe Michael is the one who swung the club,” Moxley’s mother Dorthy told PEOPLE in 2016. “It has been 41 years since Martha died. When you gather all this information for that long a time, you get to a point where you put it all together and it just fits.”

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