The Latest: Murder victim's brother shocked by Skakel ruling


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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — The Latest on a Connecticut court reinstating Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's murder conviction (all times local):

4:40 p.m.

The brother of Martha Moxley says he's "a little shocked" that a Connecticut court has reinstated Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's murder conviction in the 1975 killing of his sister.

But John Moxley called the 4-3 ruling Friday by the state Supreme Court the right decision.

The majority of justices rejected a lower court ruling that Skakel's trial lawyer didn't adequately represent him.

It's not clear whether Skakel will be returned to prison or allowed to remain free if he appeals.

Skakel was convicted in 2002 of killing Moxley in Greenwich when they were both 15 years old and neighbors. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

But he was freed in 2013 after a judge ruled his trial lawyer made a series of mistakes.

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3:01 p.m.

A divided Connecticut Supreme Court has reinstated Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel's conviction in the 1975 murder of Martha Moxley, rejecting a lower court ruling that his trial lawyer didn't adequately represent him.

The state's highest court on Friday released its 4-3 ruling.

Skakel's lawyer said he was reviewing the ruling and had no immediate comment.

Skakel was convicted in 2002 of killing Moxley in Greenwich, where they were teenage neighbors. He was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison.

But he was freed in 2013 after a judge granted him a new trial. The court found, in part, that Skakel's trial lawyer failed to argue that Skakel's brother could have been responsible for the crime and failed to present a key alibi witness for Skakel.

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