Ask Not: The Kennedys and the Women They Destroyed

by Maureen Callahan

Michael Skakel was arrested for her murder. He was convicted in 2002 and sentenced to twenty years to life. In 2013, after years of agitating, his cousin Robert F. Kennedy Jr. helped push for a retrial; Skakel was released on $1.2 million bond. His conviction was vacated in 2018. The prosecutor ultimately decided to drop all charges against him. In November 2021, I became the last person to see the state’s evidence in Martha’s case, which contained everything from her personal diary to the murder weapon. Under state law, the evidence was about to be sealed away forever. The prosecutor in the case, Susann Gill, told me she hopes the court will someday reverse that decision, given the historical importance of the case. Her greatest fear is that the evidence will be destroyed.