Skakel to be arraigned Feb. 21
By Associated Press, 2/5/2001 17:49
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) Kennedy nephew Michael Skakel
will be arraigned Feb. 21 for the second time in the
1975 murder of his Greenwich neighbor. But this time,
he'll be charged as an adult instead of a juvenile.
Skakel, a nephew of the late U.S. Sen. Robert F.
Kennedy and his widow, Ethel, was 15 when Martha
Moxley, also 15, was killed on Oct. 30, 1975. The
Skakels lived across the street from the Moxleys in
the upscale Belle Haven section of Greenwich.
No arrests were made for more than 24 years. Skakel
was charged in the killing in January 2000 and later
arraigned as a juvenile.
A judge ruled last week that his case should be
transferred to adult court, saying Connecticut has no
juvenile facility where it could send Skakel, now 40,
if he is convicted.
At the arraignment, a charge of murder will be
formally read in Stamford Superior Court. From that
date, prosecutors have 60 days to schedule a probable
cause hearing, where a judge will decide whether there
is enough evidence to hold Skakel for trial.
A juvenile court judge already ruled there is enough
evidence for a trial, but Skakel must go through the
process again in adult court.
The case has been assigned to Judge John F. Kavanewsky
Jr., the presiding criminal judge in Stamford,
although it is unclear if he will preside at the
arraignment.
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