Skakel Arraigned as Adult

By Stephen M. Silverman

05/14/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Kennedy relative Michael Skakel, 40, charged with murder in the 1975 death of Martha Moxley, was arraigned as an adult on Wednesday in Connecticut State Superior Court and was told by Judge John F. Kavanewsky that he faces life imprisonment, if convicted. Skakel, originally charged as a juvenile, was 15 when his friend and neighbor, Moxley, was found bludgeoned to death under a tree outside her family's home in Greenwich. The weapon was a golf club that had belonged to Skakel's mother, reports The New York Times. In court for his arraignment, Skakel expressed no emotion. In earlier proceedings he had appeared teary-eyed. Afterwards, his attorney, Michael Sherman, said Skakel was "standing tall. He's ready for this case to move on." The next procedure, a hearing for probable cause, has been scheduled for April 18.