NORWALK, Conn., May 29 (UPI) -- The Michael Skakel trial moved into the rebuttal phase Wednesday and the case could be in the hands of a jury by late Thursday.
Skakel, 41, the nephew of Ethel Kennedy, is on trial in Norwalk, Conn., Superior Court on a charge of beating Martha Moxley to death on Oct. 30, 1975, when they were 15-year-old neighbors in Greenwich, Conn.
Prosecutors were expected to call several rebuttal witnesses Wednesday, including Julie Skakel, the defendant's sister.
Closing arguments were expected on Thursday after which the jury of six men and six women would begin deliberations.
The case against Skakel is built on mostly circumstantial evidence and partial confessions made at various times over the years. There is no DNA or other evidence linking him directly to the crime.
His defense hinges on an alibi supported only by the testimony of two brothers and a cousin.
Defense attorney Michael Sherman concluded his case on Tuesday with the testimony of a retired forensic expert, Dr. Joseph A. Jachimczyk, of Houston.
Called into the investigation by Greenwich police within weeks of Moxley's slaying, Jachimczyk said he estimated the time of death at about 10 p.m., based on the body's condition, stomach contents, and reports of dogs barking about that time.
The doctor also admitted the time of death could have been an hour or so earlier or later.
Skakel's brother, Rushton Skakel Jr., and cousin, James Dowdle, testified Michael was at Dowdle's home some 20 minutes away watching television at 10 p.m.
Also with them was another brother, John Skakel, who testified Tuesday he told police in 1975 Michael had been in the group that drove to Dowdle's house.
Under cross-examination, however, John Skakel said he could no longer remember who left the Skakel house about 9:30 p.m. for the 20-minute drive.
Sherman on Tuesday also called a prosecution witness, former detective James Lunney, who said Michael Skakel told him in 1975 he returned home shortly after 11 p.m. and went right to sleep.
In an audio tape played previously for the jury, Skakel admitted he did leave the house again about 11:30 p.m., and climbed a tree outside what he thought was Moxley's bedroom window and masturbated.
John Skakel testified he woke up just after 11:30 p.m. that night and heard a rustling in the adjacent "mud room" where the family kept golf clubs.
Police have traced the golf club used to kill Moxley to a set owned by Skakel's late mother.
While the defense focused on 10 p.m. as the time of death, the prosecution was never so precise and said Moxley could have been killed any time between 9:30 p.m. and 5 a.m. on Oct. 31.
Michael Skakel did not take the stand in his own defense.
"I think we reached more than reasonable doubt," Sherman said outside the courthouse after Tuesday's session. "I think we proved actual innocence."
