John and Dorthy Moxley hugged, smiled and spoke of running on faith.

A reporter asked Dorthy Moxley outside court what she has relied on the most. She smiled and pointed toward the heavens.

For those who sought to have Michael Skakel convicted, last Friday seemed surreal. Yet for John Moxley, Martha's brother, it wasn't enough.

"This is hollow," Moxley said. "Victory doesn't go with this. It doesn't bring Martha back."

Following the verdict, the Moxleys gathered with prosecutors in another courtroom. When asked by a reporter what took place, John Moxley replied, "Wiping away a lot of tears."

The message of the verdict was "don't be afraid to ask for help," Moxley said. Another message, he added, was "go home and kiss your kids."

Dorthy Moxley said she had "great empathy" for the Skakel family.

"They have been very supportive of Michael and that's to be commended," she said.

The Moxleys weren't the only ones cheering the verdict. As Dorthy and John stepped away from the microphones at the rear of the courthouse, a crowd of well-wishers, who had gathered in the parking lot applauded.

Meanwhile, Dominick Dunne, whose 1993 novel "A Season in Purgatory" was loosely based on the Moxley case, could hardly contain his joy, but managed to compose himself enough to say, "I think this is the right verdict."

As a crowd gathered to watch the departing sheriff's van that would take Skakel to jail, one woman positioned herself.

"I want to be sure he hears me when I scream the word 'murderer,'" she said. Two reporters promptly asked her to move away from the press if she was going to scream anything.

Former Los Angeles police detective Mark Fuhrman, author of "Murder in Greenwich," a book on the case which accused Michael Skakel of the crime, was praised by State's Attorney Jonathan Benedict for writing "a nice book which pointed in the right direction." Benedict quickly added that the prosecution never obtained any evidence from his book.

However Deputy Chief State's Attorney Chris Morano appeared more than politely grateful.

"Thank you for all your help," he said softly, while shaking Fuhrman's hand outside the courthouse.

For Fuhrman, Friday represented the payoff of his work on the book and perhaps a parting message to those who criticized the highly controversial former detective during his investigation. Prior to the jury's ruling, Fuhrman said he believed the state's case to be "enough." His sentiments grew stronger after the verdict.

"If the jury listened to evidence, they've got to come back with a verdict of guilty," Fuhrman said.

Timothy Dumas, author of "Greentown," another book on the case said he was in "complete shock."

"I thought Skakel did it but I thought, as seen by the jurors, that the case was kind of thin," he said. "I think the prosecution made the absolute best of what they had to work with."

Dumas said earlier he thought the case would end with a hung jury. Many courtroom observers had predicted a hung jury or an acquittal.

Benedict said he had maintained faith in the prosecution's case for a long time."

"I felt confident about this case since the grand jury," he said.