Product Description

In this powerful new book, expert investigator Mark Fuhrman, the controversial former LAPD homicide detective and author of the national bestseller Murder in Brentwood, uncovers explosive new information as he analyses the still unsolved murder of fifteen-year-old Martha Moxley, who was bludgeoned with a golf club on the grounds of her family's exclusive Greenwich, Connecticut, estate on October 30, 1975.

Read the book that spawned the Connecticut Grand Jury Investigation.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #425394 in Books
• Published on: 1999-02-01
• Released on: 1999-01-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 432 pages

Amazon.com Review
On the night before Halloween in 1975, 15-year-old Martha Moxley was bludgeoned to death with a golf club in front of her home in the ultra-upper-class Belle Haven district of Greenwich, Connecticut. Though many suspects were brought forth, to this day no one has ever been arrested for the crime and no trial has taken place. Notorious former detective-turned-author Mark Fuhrman attempts to shed light on the Moxley case in a book that summarizes the fruits of his new investigation.

Among Fuhrman's controversial opinions is his conclusion that the killer is Moxley's neighbor Michael Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy and at the time the same age as Martha Moxley. Some townspeople have long suspected Michael's older brother Thomas of performing the deed, but Fuhrman argues that only Michael had both the opportunity and the temperament to commit such a crime.

Readers familiar with Fuhrman's role in the O.J. Simpson trial, or his subsequent book about that case, Murder in Brentwood, will not be surprised to find him hitting his familiar themes: the abuse of wealth and power, the arrogance of the high and mighty, and the vanity of celebrity. Otherwise, this is very much a hard-hitting detective work. Fuhrman's spare prose drives the book toward an inevitable conclusion with a moral or two in tow. --Tjames Madison

About the Author

Retired LAPD detective Mark Fuhrman is the New York Times bestselling author of Murder in Brentwood, Murder in Greenwich, Murder in Spokane, and Death and Justice. He lives in Idaho.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Chapter One
A Murder in GreenwichAt my funeral I want everybody to be happy and remember all the good times we had. --Martha Moxley

Although she had lived in Greenwich for only a little more than a year, Martha Moxley had made many friends. At least five hundred of them attended her funeral. All the pews in the nave and the balcony of the First Lutheran Church were filled, along with rows of folding chairs set up in the back. Many more young people stood behind the folding chairs and spilled out the church door. Greenwich High School had excused students from classes in order to attend the service, and students from the local private schools attended as well.

The funeral was held on Tuesday, November 4, 1975. Martha had been dead for five days. During this time, Greenwich had been overwhelmed by Martha's death. Earlier in the week, students had thrown rocks at the television crews who came to Greenwich High School to report on the reaction to the murder. Martha's classmates were starting a scholarship fund in her name, and there were plans to plant a tree in her memory. Before the previous Friday's football game, there had been a moment of silence.

The children of Greenwich were the sons and daughters of some of the wealthiest and most prominent families in the country. Their parents were corporate executives, lawyers, Wall Street bankers, socialites, and polo players. They led a comfortable and sheltered existence -- until Martha Moxley was beaten to death with a golf club on her family's estate in the exclusive neighborhood of Belle Haven.

At her funeral the Reverend Richard Manus read a eulogy that a group of her friends had written: "Martha Moxley loved life. Every day was something special. After only a short time here, she made more friends than most people make in a lifetime.

"She was always the first to come around and she was fun to be around -- it was an education to be with her.

"She made everyone she met feel as though he were her friend. It was an adventure to be with her, and we will always reminisce about the experiences we shared."

Martha's closed coffin stood in front of a church window, the autumn sun filtering through the stained glass and shining onto the casket. Nine of Martha's closest friends walked up and each placed a single yellow rose on the casket as a sign of affection. They all broke into tears during the ritual.

Reverend Manus said that "family came first in Martha's life." The Moxley family "were very close, they did everything together. They were the perfect foursome." Her mother Dorthy, father David, and brother John stood in the front pew. They were still in shock. A business transfer had required their recent move from California, and they chose Greenwich because it was pretty and safe.

Reverend Manus read a poem by Edgar Guest: "No Friend Who Loves Will Ever Die." Then he closed the service with a recitation of the Lord's Prayer.

The mourners filed quietly from the church, past a gauntlet of onlookers outside. Television cameras and news photographers took pictures of the crowd as they exited the church. Several of the fifteen Greenwich police detectives assigned to investigate the murder stood on the sidewalk, closely observing the mourners. Across the street captain of detectives Tom Keegan hid behind a row of parked cars, snapping photos with a camera equipped with a telephoto lens.

Dorthy Moxley was one of the last to leave the church. Outside she saw seventeen-year-old Thomas Skakel. He was standing alone, looking sad and somewhat aloof while his fifteen-year-old brother Michael was talking with his other brothers and friends. Dorthy knew that Martha had been with Thomas the night she died, and he was the last person to be seen with her. Dorthy felt sorry for the boy, so she went up to Thomas and hugged him. She didn't know he was already a suspect in the murder.

At the time, Dorthy didn't believe that Thomas, or anyone else from Belle Haven, could have murdered her daughter. She assumed, like everyone else in Greenwich, that the killer must have been an outsider.

Several youths broke down crying as Martha's coffin was carried into the hearse and driven to the Putnam Hills cemetery. Accompanied by David and John, Dorthy Moxley stepped into the first of a long line of black limousines. A single Greenwich police car with its lights silently flashing led the funeral procession. They drove to the Putnam Hills cemetery to bury a beautiful young girl.

Martha Moxley was murdered on October 30, 1975, the night before Halloween. Earlier that evening, she planned to celebrate Hacker's Night by going out with her friends and engaging in harmless mischief -- throwing eggs at cars and decorating trees with toilet paper. There was no school the next day. It was the beginning of a three-day weekend. And there was a party at the Skakels. Mr. Rushton Skakel was out of town. Whenever he went away, the kids had free run of the house.

Martha Moxley was a pretty, popular fifteen-year-old. Outgoing, even flirtatious, Martha had no problem making friends. She had moved to Greenwich from northern California and had already been voted the girl with the best personality in her junior-high-school class that first year. During the summer, Martha had become even more attractive. She finally got her braces off and lost the last traces of her baby fat. She was beginning to mature into a beautiful, self-assured young woman...

Customer Reviews

PAGE TURNER
This book was a great read! I started reading and couldn't stop until it was finished. Mark Fuhrman is a top notch author, he really constructed an excellent book here.

Be careful not to do too much research about the Moxley case before reading this book, it may ruin the ending for you.

Repeats facts alot.
This is an okay book. Furman repeats alot of the info over and over. I didn't even finish the last few pages as they started out the same as everything we already read.

Tori Sorianos review!!
My book is called Murder In Greenwich and it is about a murder of a 15 year old girl named Martha Moxley.The book is written by Mark Fuhrman.The case was never solved but i think its an excellent book because it gave alot of details.It also show pictures of where the murder occurred and also of Martha Moxley.The author is also an excellent writer.I recommend this book if u like Mark Fuhrman books or mystery books!I would not recommend this book to people that dont like murders or blood. ~~~~BY TORI SORIANO 16 YEARS OLD LINCOLN CITY OR!!!~~~