Ryan Chandler

But I discovered a much darker, more shocking tale than I ever could have guessed.

They put a sign around my neck that said, hi, my name is Michael Skakel and I'm a murderer.

He's been talked about a lot, but he's never spoken up until now.

It was like the worst nightmare ever.

Dead Certain, the Martha Moxley murder.

Listen now, wherever you get your podcasts.

You're on edge as to what's going to happen next.

So the appeal that brought her to court this week was something called a habeas petition.

which argues that Traconis received ineffective counsel in 2019 when her then-attorney, Andrew Bowman, let her speak to police both before and after her arrest.

Traconis' team says Bowman didn't properly prepare her to speak to police, and therefore Traconis deserves to be released from prison and granted a new trial.

Monday was the first of three days when a judge is going to hear testimony about the habeas petition.

You're right, Lester.

This is unusual.

These types of hearings aren't guaranteed with every habeas petition.

It's significant in that it means the judge believed there was enough evidence in the petition to warrant exploring it further in hearings, and that does not always happen.

What did he have to say?

He defended himself and said he actually advised her not to talk to police.

Draconis and her team will be back in court on January 9th and the 16th to continue the hearing.

And after that, the judge will have 120 days to issue a ruling on the petition.

Gonzalez's charges are part of a larger investigation into the law enforcement response to the Uvalde shooting.