Prosecutors decline to retry Kennedy cousin in 1975 slaying

Oct. 30 (UPI) -- Prosecutors in Connecticut told a judge Friday they don't intend to retry Michael Skakel, a member of the political Kennedy family, for the 1975 death of his neighbor.

Skakel, the nephew of Robert Kennedy widow Ethel Kennedy, served 11 years in prison for killing Martha Moxley when the two were 15 years old. The Connecticut Supreme Court vacated his 2002 murder conviction two years ago.

Connecticut Chief State's Attorney Richard Colangelo said Friday his office couldn't prove a case against Skakel beyond reasonable doubt since the death of several witnesses.

The Hartford Courant reported Colangelo entered a nolle in the case, which will end in a dismissal in 13 months.

"I believe the state cannot prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, therefore the state is going to enter a nolle," Colangelo told Stamford Superior Court Judge Gary White.

Skakel, 60, was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in 2002 on the murder conviction, and served 11 years before being released on $1.2 million bail. A judge granted him a new trial, but the Connecticut Supreme Court later reinstated the murder conviction in 2016.

The state's high court again vacated the conviction in 2018.

Moxley's family previously said they would be at peace if Skakel were not retried because they didn't want to go through another trial.