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Chapter 1: What happened to Martha Moxley on October 30, 1975?
Hey weirdos, I'm Alayna. I'm Ash. And this is Morbid.
Morbidito. It certainly is. I channeled Caleb on that one.
You did. I felt it. Yeah. I miss Caleb. I do too. I need Caleb to come here. Caleb. We miss the Kaleeb. We do. And also, this is a case that I wonder if it's like people of a certain age are going to see this case and be like, oh, I remember that. And then people of a lesser age are going to say, what? I know I've heard of this case. Yeah. And I think we've discussed it like together before. Yeah.
But never on the pod. never on the pole never on the microphone on the ones on the tunes it's pretty it's a crazy case yeah it's uh you know what i'm just gonna let you tell it i'm not even gonna ask things yet it's a wild one it's got a lot of skandal involved in it skandal a lot of very wealthy people oh you know i love a wealthy story there's a lot of cover-up uh rumors happening here i
All that kind of stuff. And a lot of scandals. And the murder itself is absolutely horrific. I mean, it's a horrific story. I mean, Martha's young. She was an amazing gal. And this is a truly horrific story. But before we get into the whole thing, we just wanted to say something really quick. Because I think some people were having trouble with... of a couple of episodes on Apple Podcasts.
It was doing like a buffer thing where it would like start you over. Yeah. Randomly. Like in the middle of the episode, I think. Yeah, it's not... We can't really fix anything on our end because it's not like a broken thing in the episode. It's more you might need to update your app because sometimes that can happen. If you don't update it, it just... It's like the iPhone.
If you don't get the new one, it just starts shitting itself. So I think the app does that as well. So give that a shot if you're having problems with that and see if it fixes it. I thought that I had all of my apps on automatic update. Like I thought I did that when I set my phone and you might think that too. You might not, because I didn't. But see if it works. I think that might help.
If it doesn't help, let us know, and we'll go further.
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Chapter 2: Who were the key figures involved in Martha Moxley's life?
We'll troubleshoot some more.
I think that should be it. But yeah, I think if you want to come to our live show in New York City, June 27th. It's at Radio City Music Hall. There's still some tickets left. Go grab them.
We're literally so excited. Things are moving and shaking. Yeah, we got some...
some fun things oh my god we have a fun guest it's just it's all gonna be fun yeah we just bought some some dressings oh and we figured oh i can't even tell you yeah we can't even tell you there's one thing in particular and it's honestly like a pretty small thing in the grand scheme of things that i am so fucking excited for i know exactly what you're talking about and i too am excited for it yeah
So, yeah, go get your tickets while you can. It's going to be a fun time. Period. So I think that's all we have for business. So look at that. The minute mark is low this time. Better get going. Don't lie about it. Listen, Paul. Listen, George. Listen, George, Paul. Yeah. Matthew. Matthew.
that was an apple podcast that was ash not updating so just give her a second i was looking out the window and trying to talk and like that's hard no no i was also itching my chest oh There's those three things. And I was trying to remember the name of a book, too. So it was a lot happening. And of course, I had to breathe as well. So there was that. Oh, man. That always trips me. I know.
It's crazy. Oh, no. What I'm going to say isn't even going to be funny. For some reason, when I said George, I just thought of mice and men. I'm tapping out. On the name of George. What just happened?
I'm not really sure.
I got to go.
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Chapter 3: What were the circumstances surrounding Martha's murder?
If you're someone who thinks you remember this name and you're... A little confirmation. Here's your confirmation. So... What's interesting about this is Martha Moxley's murder was the first murder case that the detectives in the Greenwich, Connecticut Police Department had ever seen. Oh, wow.
And when I say one of the first, I mean, you could count on a hand in the history of the department how many murder cases there were. That's insane. Yeah. But because of that, I mean, almost immediately, it drew a lot of criticism, the investigation. The public was kind of perceiving it as sloppy police work. The public was thinking there was a real failure to make any progress in this case.
And further complicating the matters was the fact that those that were closest to the case, like the kids who were with Martha Moxley the night she was murdered, they came from some of the wealthiest and most powerful families in the nation. Wow. Yeah. Not just in Connecticut.
Also, Greenwich is like a very gorgeous area.
Yes, it is. In fact, for decades, the power, the influence, all that kind of stuff, like the shadiness that comes along with all that, that we all see come along with that, even now, it kind of stonewalled the investigators at every turn. And for decades, this prevented Martha Moxley's killer from being held accountable. That's so fucked up.
Because that's the thing. It's like...
in these cases where these rich families don't want to be a part of it and they want to keep things hush hush and yada yada it's like okay but a woman lost her life and like a young girl and it's like you can still love your child and admit that they did something wrong yeah exactly it's like you know there's a there's a there's parents who go too far the other way and say well i'm just not going to cooperate because i'm not going to it's like okay but
Somebody else's child was killed. So you do have to look at it like you can still love your kid. Right. And still think that sunshine glows out of their ass. Probably doesn't. You have to admit that they did something wrong when they did something wrong and have them face the consequences. Now, Martha Moxley was born August 16th, 1960 in San Francisco, California.
She was the second of two children born to Dorothy and David Moxley. Dorothy and David. Dorothy's such a cute name. Dorothy was a teacher. David was an accountant. She had a brother, John, and in Piedmont, California, for most of her life, she was just kind of the quintessential American kid. Yeah. She was outgoing. She was athletic. She was a good student. Like she had it all going for her.
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Chapter 4: How did the investigation into Martha's murder unfold?
She was talented in the arts. Everything seemed to come very easy to Martha. She was very easy to get along with. Upbeat, friendly, the kind of kid you'd like to be around. Like that's... What more can you ask for? Although the Moxleys had never struggled financially, they did pretty well.
They weren't exactly like what would be considered like a wealthy family at that time, especially by Southern California standards. Yeah, Southern California. SoCal, you know. But that all changed in the summer of 1974 when David Moxley accepted a very high-profile job. It was a job as a managing partner with a global accounting firm.
But this required them to move 3,000 miles to the other side of the country. So, you know, David needed to be close to the New York headquarters. Like many who worked in New York's finance industry at the time, they chose not to settle in the city itself, but instead to move to one of the suburbs that they could, like, take a train in. Yeah, makes sense. They chose Greenwich, Connecticut.
Now, in his 1997 profile of the Moxley case for the Hartford Courant, journalist Joe Lang described Greenwich as, quote, the Connecticut suburb of choice for Manhattan executives. Most, if not all, of them lived in the very exclusive waterfront neighborhood of Belhaven. While all of Greenwich would definitely be considered a wealthy suburb... Even still. Yeah. Belhaven existed...
basically as its own world it was like a town apart that's crazy it was a gated community it had its own auxiliary police department uh private roads its own yacht club on the long island sound it's like it's like stepford it literally is yeah it feels like don't worry darling yes like it feels like that it's like its own thing now among those who called belhaven home was the president of schweps usa
the other ginger ale i was gonna say that literally i'm not gonna i'm not trying to come for big ginger ale but i apologize to big ginger ale but we're a dry family has always been superior ginger ale of choice if i drew is a ginger ale alcohol
a ginger ale a holic he's a ginger ale a holic yeah he actually hides ginger ale at our house good for him because he doesn't want it all gone good for him but if they're if schwab centers our household oh that was growing up my mom your ma yep is a ginger ale girl
And we were that family. You got sick. She would stir those bubbles out. It's the best. She would give you that flat ass ginger ale and it would soothe your worries. To this day, when I'm sick, I ask Drew to please stir the bubbles out of my ginger ale. My kids have just recently discovered the joys of a flat ginger ale on an upset stomach. Nothing like it.
And I remember when I gave it to my oldest for the first time, I'm like stirring the bubbles out. And she was like, that's soda. Cause they don't drink soda. And you're like, yeah. And I just haven't let them yet. But this is a, this is an emergency. We must give her some soda. She was like, that's soda. Like I get soda when I'm sick. And I was like, girl, you don't even know.
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Chapter 5: What role did wealth and power play in the investigation?
We love Canada Dry here. There's a place for Schweppes somewhere else. It's just not here. It's in Connecticut. It is in Connecticut. So, yeah, the president of Schweppes. The president of Big Ginger Ale. Also the president of the National Dairy Corporation, which seems pretty big. It does. Because, you know, dairy.
National Dairy Corporation. I didn't even know that was a thing.
Also the CEO of Pepsi. PepsiCo. Are we going to get into this again?
We're a Coke fan! Are we going to get into this again? Fuck! Not Big Soda! Not Big Soda! You know what, though?
Not big carbonation.
We have to be honest here. You went through a fucking phase with your mans where you guys were a strictly Pepsi home.
And I remember being like, okay. We had a moment.
You did. It was like a few years, I would say. Yeah. Like your first apartment, Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi, Pepsi.
That's what you do in your first apartment. No, you figured it out, you know? I guess so. That's true. You make the mistakes and then you move on. Mike, he's looking at me like he has learned something absolutely horrifying about me. Yeah. It was... You move into your first apartment. We weren't even married yet. Yeah. We didn't figure it out. We figured it out. You guys loved Pepsi. Yeah. Yeah.
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Chapter 6: What were the initial police responses to Martha's disappearance?
Just to make that clear. We're a Coca-Cola family. Goddamn. We're a Coca-Cola classic family, okay? We're not Pablo Escobar. We are Mr. Charisma. You don't need to say hello to my little friend. But...
yeah we are reckless today we're canada dry we're coca-cola and we're we're we like dairy and a lot of us are lactose i was gonna say here's the thing we were big fans of big dairy in fact but we're also into big lactate big enzyme we love big enzyme
Oh, Lord. But there was also a lot of actors, musicians, filmmakers that lived there. It was crazy. And that summer, the Moxleys settled into what they considered a fixer-upper. I'm surprised they even existed there. Well, a fixer-upper by Greenwich standards was a large, just stunning old colonial house. Oh, I love a colonial.
Yeah.
now for any teenager having to give up their friends and their lives move completely like just ask max dennison from yes hocus pocus it sucks that's a tough move it is it can be kind of like a quasi-traumatic experience i would say that's a lot of change but martha she took it all in stride she reveled in it she nothing bothered her like she was just an easy going gal she sounded awesome
Hell yeah. That first year at Western Junior High, she adjusted very quickly. She wasted no time building a brand new social circle. She was like, got it. I'll just make new friends. One teacher wrote on her report card that year, when Martha came in the room, it was like the sun coming up in the morning.
That's actually crazy.
Because I was just thinking to myself, you said her birthday was August 16th? Yes. That makes her a Leo. So she's ruled by the sun. Oh. Isn't that fancy? That's interesting. Yeah. I'm just making sure. And just imagine...
we've all seen the a pleasure to have in class oh yeah i've never said no teacher ever said to me you are the sun to say that when she comes in the room it's like the sun coming up in the morning that's why i would be like i've done it absolutely like dorothy should feel like i did it like that and dorothy and david should feel like We've done it.
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Chapter 7: How did the community react to Martha's murder?
Aww. In the summer of 1974, she actually started dating a boy named Peter Zaluka. They had like... a pretty teenager-y relationship in her diary entries that were later discovered. She kind of describes their relationship as like a little stormy. Okay. Nothing great, like there's nothing damning or like wild in there. I mean, you're 15.
She would just frequently talk about his dark moods and that she was frustrated with him, like pretty typical stuff. He was never looked at as a prime suspect for what came later.
Mm-hmm.
But he obviously was spoken to. He had an alibi and he was cleared. And it checked out. Okay. Unfortunately, I believe he passed away in 2011. Oh, wow. Yeah. The summer after completing the eighth grade, Martha spent much of her time at the Belhaven Club, swimming, playing tennis, laying by the pool. It sounds like... It's like you can picture like a movie. I can see it. Yeah. Yeah.
It was there that she met a new set of friends, the people who lived in Belhaven and attended elite private schools. The ones that she wasn't going to school in. Among that group was Tommy and Michael Skakel. If you know this case, it might sound familiar. They were two children of Rushton Skakel, the wealthiest man in Greenwich.
Imagine being known as the wealthiest man in Greenwich.
And Rushton, you have to be. His first name is Rushton? Rushton Skakel. Rushton. I've never heard that name. That's the father. Why are you in such a Rushton?
right rushton skakel's fortune came from great lakes coal a company founded by his father that recycled waste products from mining operations but it wasn't just the money that made skakel so influential influential that's hard to say in addition to his wealth skakel's sister ethel was married to robert f kennedy oh bitch y'all know ethel Oh. So he, yeah. So he had direct access.
I know where we are. He had direct access to one of the most famous families and infamous families in America. To this day. If not the world, honestly. Honestly, yeah. And so Dorothy Moxley later recalled, as soon as you moved into Greenwich, they'd tell you that's where the Skakels live and that they were related to the Kennedys. Which obviously, that's a big deal. Yeah, of course.
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Chapter 8: What are the ongoing implications of Martha Moxley's case?
Oh, wow. A few years later, their brother George Jr. was also killed in a plane crash. Jesus. Jesus. Not long after, his wife choked to death during a dinner party. Oh, my God. Isn't that horrific? Yes. In 1962, when he was four years old, Tommy Skakel was thrown from a car during a crash and suffered severe head injuries. Wow.
And finally, in 1973, Rushton's wife, Anne, died after a particularly agonizing battle with cancer. Oh. Anne's death not only left Rushton a widower a lot earlier than anyone would expect, but it also made him the sole provider for his seven children. Holy shit. Six boys and one girl.
Now the Skakel boys, yeah, the Skakel boys had always had a bit of a reputation for being an entitled and often unruly bunch of kids. But for at least a few of them, their behavior got significantly worse when their mother died. I mean, that makes sense. Yeah. Trauma.
Michael, in particular, seemed to take his mother's death harder than the others and started acting out in very obvious ways, while also apparently developing a pretty significant drinking problem. Oh. In the summer of 1974, before starting high school, Martha began socializing with a group of friends at the country club that occasionally did include Tommy and Michael Skagel.
Although they weren't very close as friends go, Martha wrote in a letter to her friend that summer that Tommy, quote, had hit on her and she wasn't interested. Oh. Good for her. Good for her. And a year after Martha's death, her mother actually discovered her diary, which is where they got a lot of information about what was going on in her life. Oh.
And it included a few mentions of the Skakel brothers. Oh. Now, in a passage from September 12th, 1975, which is only about a month before she was killed. Yeah. Martha talked about a random evening that she had spent with Tommy and Michael Skakel. This is what she wrote. She wrote, Dear Diary, today was nothing extra special at school. Peter was being his usual self.
Me, Jackie, Michael, Tom, Hope, Maureen and Aunt Andra were driving in Tom's car. I drove a little and then I was practically sitting on Tom's lap because I was only steering and he kept putting his hand on my knee.
I drove some more and Margie and I kept yelling out the sunroof and then we went to Friendly's, which immediately was like, oh, and Michael treated me and got me a double, but I only wanted a single. So I threw the top scoop out the window. Then I was driving again and Tom put his arm around me. He kept doing stuff like that. Jesus, if Peter ever found out, I would be dead.
I think Jackie really likes Michael and I think maybe he likes her. Maybe because he was drunk. I don't know. Okay. So that was on September 12th. September 15th, she talked again about hanging out with them and saying that She doesn't think that or that Michael told her he doesn't like Jackie, but he leads her on. But she thinks he leads her on. So it's like very teenager.
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