Trial begins for Kennedy cousin charged in slaying

NORWALK, Conn. -- Two jurors were selected Tuesday in the murder case against Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, accused of bludgeoning a neighbor girl to death 27 years ago when they were both 15.

Skakel arrived at the courthouse shortly after 9:30 a.m. and did not speak to reporters as jury selection began Tuesday. Lawyers said it could take over a month to seat all 12 jurors and four alternates, while the rest of the trial may take up to two months.

Skakel, 41, is accused of beating Martha Moxley with a golf club in their wealthy Greenwich neighborhood in 1975. The nephew of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy was arrested in January 2000 after a one-judge grand jury investigated the murder following articles and books about the old case.

He was arraigned as a juvenile because of his age when the crime was committed, but the case was later transferred to adult court. If convicted, Skakel could face life in prison.

There were no Kennedys in the courtroom Tuesday, though defense attorney Michael Sherman at one point told relatives of the defendant that Robert Kennedy Jr. wished the family well.

The jury pool included several executives, a teacher and TV financial analyst Louis Rukeyser, recently ousted from the Public Broadcasting Service series "Wall $treet Week" after 32 years.

Rukeyser was excused after a humorous exchange with Superior Court Judge John Kavanewsky Jr. Asked if he was needed at his job, Rukeyser replied, "I'm irreplaceable," drawing laughter from others on the panel.

Lists of potential witnesses were released Tuesday. Courtney Kennedy, Skakel's cousin and a daughter of the late senator, was on the defense list, as were Skakel's brothers, Steven and Thomas, and his father.

The prosecution's list includes Thomas Skakel's attorney and Kenneth Littleton, who at the time of the killing was a live-in tutor in the Skakel house. Both Thomas Skakel and Littleton were at one time considered suspects in the murder.

Moxley's body was found on Halloween under a tree in her yard. She had been out the night before with other teens, including Michael and Thomas Skakel. She had been beaten with a club that matched a set owned by the Skakels.

Authorities suspected Thomas Skakel for years, but switched their attention to Michael in 1991 after his family hired private investigators in an effort to clear both brothers. Statements he gave them about the night of the murder differed from what he had long told police.

Prosecutors say he confessed to the crime in the late 1970s while attending Elan School, a substance abuse facility in Poland Spring, Maine.

Gregory Coleman testified last year that Skakel told him: "I'm gonna get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy" when the two attended Elan.

But Coleman, 39, later admitted he had injected heroin just before testifying. He has since died, one of many challenges for prosecutors facing fading memories, reluctant witnesses and credibility issues.