Alaina Kelley

The Kennedys are far reaching.

Dominic Dunn said, the thing that I've always found so curious about the Kennedys' support of Michael is that Michael wrote a treatment for a book in which he says absolutely terrible things about his cousins, the Kennedys.

And yet Bobby Kennedy Jr.

was up here hugging him and supporting him.

public public appearance has been yeah in his opening statement prosecutor jonathan benedict laid out the kids the state's case against michael stating with their belief that both michael and tommy had been vying for martha's attention and while she had no real interest in either of them yeah she clearly favored tommy a little over his brother okay and i think that yeah based on like her diary and everything where like michael was mad because she was quote unquote leading him on yeah he seemed he seemed to be kind of protective over his brother yeah

And he seemed like, yeah.

Now, it was the state's assertion that after the group of friends had gone their separate ways that night, Michael returned from his cousin's house and coaxed Martha outside and made a romantic or physical overture to her.

You know, when Martha rejected Michael's advances, he became physical and eventually attacked her with the golf club.

Now, and I want to claim, say this again, that this was the prosecutor, Jonathan Benedict's like theory.

Yeah, it was the argument in court.

I'm not saying that's what happened.

Right.

In his statement, Benedict acknowledged that it was incumbent upon the state to prove not only that Michael was a killer, but that he had intended to kill Martha that night.

To that end, the prosecutor used a large projection in the courtroom to show the jury and observers the crime scene photographs, showing the extent of the brutality Martha had suffered before her death.

And he said, and I agree with him, I can think of no photos more compelling of substantiating an intent to kill.

Yeah.

There was no way whoever did that to Martha did not intend to kill her.

No.

Now, as for how the case was finally broken at the time, Benedict told the jury, sometimes some people simply can't keep a secret.

That, as you will see, is how things eventually unraveled for Michael Skakel.