Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel sues Connecticut cops for 'withholding evidence' he claims would have spared him 11 YEARS in jail for bludgeoning death of wealthy neighbor when they were teenagers

Kennedy cousin Michael Shakel, who had his murder conviction in the 1970s killing of a teenager in Connecticut overturned, is suing the lead investigator in the case. 

Shakel was found guilty in 2002 of the October 1975 death of Martha Moxley, who lived across the street from the Skakel family in Greenwich.

Both Shakel, a nephew of Robert F. Kennedy's widow, Ethel Kennedy, and Moxley were 15 at the time of her death, with her body being found in her family's backyard. 

The Connecticut Supreme Court overturned his conviction in 2018 after serving more than 11 years in prison, with the murder charge being dropped in 2020. 

In a new lawsuit, Shakel is suing the lead investigator Frank Garr for alleged malicious prosecution, civil rights violations and other claimed wrongdoing. 

Shakel was found guilty in 2002 of the October 1975 death of Martha Moxley, who lived across the street from the Skakel family in Greenwich

Martha Moxley was bludgeoned and stabbed to death on her parents' estate in Greenwich, Connecticut

Skakel leaves Superior Court in handcuffs after the first day of his sentencing hearing August 28, 2002 in Norwalk, Connecticut

The lawsuit alleges Garr was intent on getting Skakel convicted and withheld key evidence about other potential suspects from Skakel's trial defense.

The defendants in the lawsuit 'knew that there were other more likely suspects and that there was no probable cause to arrest and/or maintain a prosecution against the Plaintiff [Skakel], but continued to do so intentionally and maliciously, in order to convict a `Kennedy Cousin,´' the suit alleges.

Shakel's attorney Stephan Seeger called the lawsuit a civil rights action against Garr and the town. 

'He spent 11 and a half years in jail for a crime he didn´t commit and was put through every thinkable proceeding until the case was finally dismissed,' Seeger said.

The lawsuit, filed in state court in Stamford in November, seeks unspecified damages over $15,000. 

The lawsuit claims Greenwich police, prosecutors and Garr, who worked for Greenwich police before becoming an inspector with the state's attorney's office, withheld crucial information beneficial to Skakel from his trial defense.

The information, the suit says, included sketches of a potential suspect who did not resemble Skakel, psychological reports on other suspects and statements from witnesses who said two other men were in Moxley's neighborhood on the night of her killing, including one who made incriminating comments.

The lawsuit also alleges Garr had 'deep antipathy' toward Skakel and his family, was looking to profit from collaborating on a book about Skakel killing Moxley, and threatened witnesses so they would testify against Skakel.

Skakel is a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F Kennedy, pictured together in 1962

Skakel's cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., seen here, is now a presidential candidate, and was one of his staunchest defenders, writing a book saying Skakel was framed

Several other people, including Skakel's brother Thomas Skakel (pictured fourth down, without a shirt) who denied any role in the killing, have been mentioned as possible killers

Skakel suffered violations of his constitutional rights, loss of liberty from his time in prison, humiliation, embarassment, 'severe emotional distress, terror and fear,' financial loss and harm and 'destruction of reputation and family relationships,' the lawsuit says.

On the night of the killing, Martha Moxley and other teens in the tony Belle Haven neighborhood were out doing pre-Halloween pranks and had visited the Skakel home, police said.

According to friends, Moxley had flirted and kissed Thomas Shakel, Michael's older brother, that evening before the pair were later spotted 'falling together behind the fence' near the Shakel family pool, according to the Hartford Courant. 

Her body was found the next day on her family's estate, across the street from the Skakel home, her pants and underwear were pulled down around her ankles.

She had been beaten with a 6-iron owned by the Skakel family and stabbed in the throat with a piece of the golf club's shattered shaft, police said.

Two hairs found near or on her body had African American and Asian characteristics, the suit alleged. Burton Tinsely and Adolph Hasbrouck, who had those ethnic characteristics had been present on the night of the murder. 

The case drew attention because of the Kennedy name, Skakel's rich family, numerous theories about who killed Moxley and the brutal way in which she died. 

Several other people, including Skakel's brother Tommy Skakel, were mentioned as possible killers. Tommy Skakel denied involvement in the killing. 

The slaying took place in the exclusive Bell Haven section of Greenwich where Martha and Skakel were neighbors. 

Skakel, who served 11 years in prison, reacts to being granted bail during a hearing in 2013 

Moxley's family have always maintained their belief that Skakel was the killer of Martha

At trial, prosecutors said Skakel was angry with Martha because she had spurned his advances while having a sexual liaison with Tommy. 

There also was witness testimony about incriminating statements Skakel allegedly made.

Skakel's appellate lawyers later argued that Skakel's trial attorney, Mickey Sherman, made poor decisions, including not focusing on Tommy as a possible suspect and failing to attempt to contact an alibi witness. 

They said Skakel was several miles away from the crime scene, watching a Monty Python movie with friends when Moxley was killed on Oct. 30, 1975.

There was no physical evidence and no eyewitness linking Skakel to the killing, his attorneys said.

Skakel's cousin, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., now a presidential candidate, was one of his staunchest defenders and wrote a book saying Skakel was framed.

Skakel was first arrested in 2000, after new books about the Moxley case reignited the police investigation.

Lawyers for Garr and Greenwich have not yet filed their responses to the suit. 

Moxley's murder still remains unsolved, with her family maintaining their belief that Skakel was the killer.