DAVID ROBBINS, POLICE CHIEF -
Boston Globe
GREENWICH, Conn. - David Watson Robbins, who began his career as a police officer rounding up bootleggers during Prohibition and rose through the ranks to become chief, died Thursday morning. He was 94.
Mr. Robbins had difficulty recovering from a bout of pneumonia last week. His son, Peter, the current police chief in Greenwich, was at his side.Mr. Robbins was police chief from 1955 to 1963.
Mr. Robbins, born in Greenwich in 1907, became a patrolman in 1929, following the path of.....
Saturday, December 29, 2001
Sunday, December 16, 2001
12/16/01 Detective Dies; Helped Revive Moxley Case - NY Times
The police detective credited with playing a crucial role in investigating the long-unsolved killing of Martha Moxley, a 15-year-old girl from Greenwich, Conn., died of cancer on Wednesday at Greenwich Hospital.
The investigator for the Greenwich Police Department, Stephen X. Carroll, 70, has been credited with reviving interest in the case of Miss Moxley, who was found beaten to death with a golf club in her own backyard on Oct. 31, 1975. She had been beaten so badly that the golf club had broken into three pieces, and she had been stabbed in the neck with the shaft.
Michael Sherman, the lawyer for Michael C. Skakel, 41, the man facing trial in Miss Moxley's killing, has complained that the case is so old that key witnesses are dying, making it difficult to try the case.
Mr. Carroll helped revive interest in the case by cooperating with Mark Fuhrman, the former Los Angeles police detective and witness in the O. J. Simpson murder trial, who wrote the 1998 book ''Murder in Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?'' Mr. Carroll contended that investigators had made mistakes early on because of inexperience. Before 1975, the department had not handled a murder in 20 years, he said.
The murder of Miss Moxley stood out in part because she and her friends had spent the evening of her disappearance with Michael Skakel, then 15, and his brother Thomas, 17, two nephews of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
After Mr. Fuhrman's book was published, interest developed in the case, and Michael Skakel was arrested after former classmates came forward to say that he had confessed to the murder of Miss Moxley while a student at Elan, a residential school for troubled young people in Poland Spring, Me.
In January 2000, Mr. Skakel was arrested and charged as a juvenile because he was 15 at the time of the killing. A judge later ruled that he should stand trial as an adult, and the trial is expected to begin in State Superior Court in Stamford next year
The investigator for the Greenwich Police Department, Stephen X. Carroll, 70, has been credited with reviving interest in the case of Miss Moxley, who was found beaten to death with a golf club in her own backyard on Oct. 31, 1975. She had been beaten so badly that the golf club had broken into three pieces, and she had been stabbed in the neck with the shaft.
Michael Sherman, the lawyer for Michael C. Skakel, 41, the man facing trial in Miss Moxley's killing, has complained that the case is so old that key witnesses are dying, making it difficult to try the case.
Mr. Carroll helped revive interest in the case by cooperating with Mark Fuhrman, the former Los Angeles police detective and witness in the O. J. Simpson murder trial, who wrote the 1998 book ''Murder in Greenwich: Who Killed Martha Moxley?'' Mr. Carroll contended that investigators had made mistakes early on because of inexperience. Before 1975, the department had not handled a murder in 20 years, he said.
The murder of Miss Moxley stood out in part because she and her friends had spent the evening of her disappearance with Michael Skakel, then 15, and his brother Thomas, 17, two nephews of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
After Mr. Fuhrman's book was published, interest developed in the case, and Michael Skakel was arrested after former classmates came forward to say that he had confessed to the murder of Miss Moxley while a student at Elan, a residential school for troubled young people in Poland Spring, Me.
In January 2000, Mr. Skakel was arrested and charged as a juvenile because he was 15 at the time of the killing. A judge later ruled that he should stand trial as an adult, and the trial is expected to begin in State Superior Court in Stamford next year
Wednesday, December 5, 2001
Dec 5, 2001 - DOMESTIC CHARGED IN KILLING OF HER EX-BOSS - NY Daily News
A ticked-off housekeeper who worked in the sprawling mansions of Greenwich, Conn., has been swept up as a suspect in the killing of her one-time boss.
Flora Canales, 50, was arraigned yesterday in Stamford Superior Court on a murder charge in the slaying of Alicia Kirkel on Monday morning. Kirkel owned an employment agency for butlers and baby-sitters in Greenwich.
Canales was arrested Monday night at her apartment in Stamford, where cops seized a sport-utility vehicle and discovered a gun they believe was used to shoot Kirkel to death. Canales is being held on $500,000 bail.
"It was a professional, on-the-job dispute," said Greenwich Police Capt. David Ridberg. "[Canales] had a serious beef."
Investigators believe Canales may have been steamed because she thought Kirkel, 41, was blocking her from landing other cleaning jobs.
The shooting followed a loud argument between the women inside the office of Royal Domestics, the agency Kirkel founded in downtown Greenwich in 1992
Flora Canales, 50, was arraigned yesterday in Stamford Superior Court on a murder charge in the slaying of Alicia Kirkel on Monday morning. Kirkel owned an employment agency for butlers and baby-sitters in Greenwich.
Canales was arrested Monday night at her apartment in Stamford, where cops seized a sport-utility vehicle and discovered a gun they believe was used to shoot Kirkel to death. Canales is being held on $500,000 bail.
"It was a professional, on-the-job dispute," said Greenwich Police Capt. David Ridberg. "[Canales] had a serious beef."
Investigators believe Canales may have been steamed because she thought Kirkel, 41, was blocking her from landing other cleaning jobs.
The shooting followed a loud argument between the women inside the office of Royal Domestics, the agency Kirkel founded in downtown Greenwich in 1992
Wednesday, November 7, 2001
November 7, 2001 - Chase leads to larceny suspect
MONROE -- A shoplifting incident at the Big Y supermarket Monday afternoon resulted in the chase of a suspect through the woods, police said.
David Wargo, 26, of High Ridge Road in Bridgeport, was arrested after the chase and charged with sixth-degree larceny, interfering with police, evading responsibility and reckless operation.
A store manager reported the shoplifting at 1:04 p.m. and employees followed the suspect, later identified as Wargo, out of the store, police said.
An off-duty Greenwich police sergeant saw Wargo fleeing and blocked Wargo's car with his personal vehicle, police said; Wargo backed into the car ...
David Wargo, 26, of High Ridge Road in Bridgeport, was arrested after the chase and charged with sixth-degree larceny, interfering with police, evading responsibility and reckless operation.
A store manager reported the shoplifting at 1:04 p.m. and employees followed the suspect, later identified as Wargo, out of the store, police said.
An off-duty Greenwich police sergeant saw Wargo fleeing and blocked Wargo's car with his personal vehicle, police said; Wargo backed into the car ...
Sunday, October 21, 2001
Oct 21, 2001 - While They're Protecting Us, Who's Protecting Them? - NY Times
.....But there are occasional employment-related disputes about reservists being called to active duty. Sean P. O'Donnell, a Greenwich police officer and member of a military police unit in Orangeburg, N.Y., is involved in a labor dispute over the way the town handles call-ups.
In the Gulf War, he said, Greenwich paid the difference between military pay and the employee's salary from the town. He said the town did not do it when he was called up to go to Bosnia for eight months in 1999 and 2000.
''When the flag came out waving, it was the politically correct thing to pay the individuals who got deployed,'' Mr. O'Donnell said. ''You run into the same financial difficulties whether you get called up for a popular war or something that doesn't get as much attention. If we can't take care of ourselves or, worse, our families, how are we going to stay in the job?
''This is a structural issue they're going to run into with all the Guard and Reserve members who are going to be called up,'' Mr. O'Donnell said. ''If the United States is going to rely so heavily on Reserve and Guard units, and leave the people hanging out there financially, you're going to lose very valuable, and very resourceful, soldiers, which is going to leave the whole country in a predicament.''
Lt. Michael A. Pacewicz, president of the Silver Shield Association, the town's police union, said while the policy in Greenwich calls for an unpaid leave, the policy was augmented during the Gulf War, and the union contends that should set a new standard.
''Officer O'Donnell was in Bosnia, he was called up by the military, he did exactly what you would expect of a patriot, and the town isn't treating him the same way as they did the people called up for the Gulf War,'' said Mr. Pacewicz. ''What they did in Desert Storm was a great thing, but you can't treat people differently if they were called up for Bosnia instead of Desert Storm, and we're afraid that they'll take the same position now.''
Greenwich officials did not return repeated telephone calls seeking comment. Mr. Venditto said people who are called up are covered by the Uniform Services Employment Re-employment Rights Act, which basically requires that if a member of the reserves is called to service, the company must let them go and keep the job open for them when they get back.
There is also a provision that employees come back with all the benefits such as vacation, sick time and insurances that they would have had on the day they left......
In the Gulf War, he said, Greenwich paid the difference between military pay and the employee's salary from the town. He said the town did not do it when he was called up to go to Bosnia for eight months in 1999 and 2000.
''When the flag came out waving, it was the politically correct thing to pay the individuals who got deployed,'' Mr. O'Donnell said. ''You run into the same financial difficulties whether you get called up for a popular war or something that doesn't get as much attention. If we can't take care of ourselves or, worse, our families, how are we going to stay in the job?
''This is a structural issue they're going to run into with all the Guard and Reserve members who are going to be called up,'' Mr. O'Donnell said. ''If the United States is going to rely so heavily on Reserve and Guard units, and leave the people hanging out there financially, you're going to lose very valuable, and very resourceful, soldiers, which is going to leave the whole country in a predicament.''
Lt. Michael A. Pacewicz, president of the Silver Shield Association, the town's police union, said while the policy in Greenwich calls for an unpaid leave, the policy was augmented during the Gulf War, and the union contends that should set a new standard.
''Officer O'Donnell was in Bosnia, he was called up by the military, he did exactly what you would expect of a patriot, and the town isn't treating him the same way as they did the people called up for the Gulf War,'' said Mr. Pacewicz. ''What they did in Desert Storm was a great thing, but you can't treat people differently if they were called up for Bosnia instead of Desert Storm, and we're afraid that they'll take the same position now.''
Greenwich officials did not return repeated telephone calls seeking comment. Mr. Venditto said people who are called up are covered by the Uniform Services Employment Re-employment Rights Act, which basically requires that if a member of the reserves is called to service, the company must let them go and keep the job open for them when they get back.
There is also a provision that employees come back with all the benefits such as vacation, sick time and insurances that they would have had on the day they left......
Friday, August 24, 2001
Greenwich Gets Its Wish as State Lottery Officials Stop Sales of Powerball Tickets - New York Times
The town of Greenwich today won permission to suspend sales of Powerball multistate lottery tickets on Friday, a move town officials said was needed because too many players with too many dreams of a $280 million jackpot were crossing the border from New York and creating nightmarish conditions for residents and the local police.
It is not the first time Greenwich has sought to prevent hordes of out-of-towners from New York and New Jersey from flocking here, the nearest town where Powerball tickets are sold. Officials made a similar but unsuccessful plea in July 1998 when the town was overrun with Powerball players after the jackpot climbed to a record $296 million.
But Friday's Powerball moratorium in Greenwich will be the first time that Connecticut lottery officials have ever suspended sales of tickets, said Diane Patterson, a lottery spokeswoman.
The numbers for the $280 million prize will be drawn on Saturday night. The odds of winning are about 80 million to 1.
Greenwich applauded the decision today, but other officials in Connecticut suggested that the town, one of the nation's wealthiest, is thin-skinned and a bit spoiled. Kevin B. Sullivan, the Democratic Senate president pro tem, said that Greenwich could set up lottery kiosks on the town beach, a reference to its residents-only beach policy struck down by the State Supreme Court last month.
Powerball tickets are sold in 21 states and the District of Columbia, but not in New York or New Jersey. Greenwich, which is the first stop in Connecticut for many visitors traveling by road or rail, has been the Powerball purchase point of choice for residents of Westchester County, New York City and New Jersey.
The current griping in Greenwich began earlier in the week, when the Powerball jackpot reached more than $190 million. Long lines could be seen outside numerous convenience stores along local highways and downtown. By Wednesday night's drawing, the jackpot reached $193.5 million. There was no winner, setting the stage for a rush on tickets for Saturday's $280 million bonanza.
This week, as in 1998, Greenwich police officials complained of numerous incidents of disorderly conduct, including public urination, as well as traffic congestion, street crowding and parking problems. Police Chief Peter J. Robbins said repeatedly this week that long lines of lottery players had distracted officers from their usual duties.
''We applaud the responsiveness of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation to our request for a suspension of sales.'' Greenwich's first selectwoman, Lolly H. Prince, said in a statement. ''We have experienced serious public safety and health issues. These include, but are not limited to, congestion and traffic that potentially could impede our public safety vehicles from responding to emergency calls.''
Powerball tickets will still be sold elsewhere in Connecticut on Friday. There are some 2,700 lottery sales outlets statewide, and officials urged players to use them.
State lottery officials said that since the record-setting jackpot in July 1998, they had developed emergency procedures for jackpots exceeding $100 million. Those measures, which have been in effect all week, include announcements urging out-of-state players to go farther into the state to buy tickets. Lottery machine maintenance workers are also on 24-hour alert.
Ms. Patterson, the lottery spokeswoman, said thousands of leaflets had been distributed at Metro-North Railroad stations in New York City informing residents that they will spend less time waiting in line to buy tickets if they travel farther into Connecticut. The emergency procedures also allow individual lottery retailers to limit each customer to $100 in tickets.
It is not the first time Greenwich has sought to prevent hordes of out-of-towners from New York and New Jersey from flocking here, the nearest town where Powerball tickets are sold. Officials made a similar but unsuccessful plea in July 1998 when the town was overrun with Powerball players after the jackpot climbed to a record $296 million.
But Friday's Powerball moratorium in Greenwich will be the first time that Connecticut lottery officials have ever suspended sales of tickets, said Diane Patterson, a lottery spokeswoman.
The numbers for the $280 million prize will be drawn on Saturday night. The odds of winning are about 80 million to 1.
Greenwich applauded the decision today, but other officials in Connecticut suggested that the town, one of the nation's wealthiest, is thin-skinned and a bit spoiled. Kevin B. Sullivan, the Democratic Senate president pro tem, said that Greenwich could set up lottery kiosks on the town beach, a reference to its residents-only beach policy struck down by the State Supreme Court last month.
Powerball tickets are sold in 21 states and the District of Columbia, but not in New York or New Jersey. Greenwich, which is the first stop in Connecticut for many visitors traveling by road or rail, has been the Powerball purchase point of choice for residents of Westchester County, New York City and New Jersey.
The current griping in Greenwich began earlier in the week, when the Powerball jackpot reached more than $190 million. Long lines could be seen outside numerous convenience stores along local highways and downtown. By Wednesday night's drawing, the jackpot reached $193.5 million. There was no winner, setting the stage for a rush on tickets for Saturday's $280 million bonanza.
This week, as in 1998, Greenwich police officials complained of numerous incidents of disorderly conduct, including public urination, as well as traffic congestion, street crowding and parking problems. Police Chief Peter J. Robbins said repeatedly this week that long lines of lottery players had distracted officers from their usual duties.
''We applaud the responsiveness of the Connecticut Lottery Corporation to our request for a suspension of sales.'' Greenwich's first selectwoman, Lolly H. Prince, said in a statement. ''We have experienced serious public safety and health issues. These include, but are not limited to, congestion and traffic that potentially could impede our public safety vehicles from responding to emergency calls.''
Powerball tickets will still be sold elsewhere in Connecticut on Friday. There are some 2,700 lottery sales outlets statewide, and officials urged players to use them.
State lottery officials said that since the record-setting jackpot in July 1998, they had developed emergency procedures for jackpots exceeding $100 million. Those measures, which have been in effect all week, include announcements urging out-of-state players to go farther into the state to buy tickets. Lottery machine maintenance workers are also on 24-hour alert.
Ms. Patterson, the lottery spokeswoman, said thousands of leaflets had been distributed at Metro-North Railroad stations in New York City informing residents that they will spend less time waiting in line to buy tickets if they travel farther into Connecticut. The emergency procedures also allow individual lottery retailers to limit each customer to $100 in tickets.
Thursday, August 23, 2001
8/23/09 Greenwich Police Overwhelmed By Powerball
Greenwich suspends Powerball sales for 24 hours
USA Today
Town officials got permission from the state lottery to suspend Powerball ticket sales Friday, saying they were overwhelmed by would-be millionaires from out of state.
The ban also applies in the Cos Cob, Byram, Riverside and Old Greenwich portions of Greenwich, the first Connecticut town on the Metro-North Railroad out of New York City.
Powerball — which is expected to have a jackpot approaching $300 million for Saturday's drawing — is offered in 21 states and the District of Columbia, but not in New York.
Customers standing outside a Greenwich gas station in a downpour Thursday evening were sympathetic — to an extent.
"You also have to understand, it's such a large jackpot," said Dominic Pizzimenti of Astoria, N.Y., who took a train to Greenwich. "Maybe if we hit the jackpot we can afford to live in Greenwich and complain like everybody else."
Inside the gas station, store manager Varinder Kumer said he wasn't going to miss the long lines.
"It's too many problems. People get angry," he said.
Tickets will still be available elsewhere in Connecticut on Friday, including towns further north on the railroad line such as Stamford, Darien and Norwalk, the state lottery said.
Greenwich Police Chief Peter Robbins said police have been so busy monitoring the long lines that even major crime investigations have been interrupted.
"We applaud the responsiveness of the Connecticut Lottery," said Greenwich First Selectman Lolly Prince. "We have experienced serious public safety and health issues."
Prince said traffic has been so bad it could be difficult for emergency vehicles to get through. She also said there had been numerous traffic accidents and incidents of children locked in cars while their parents stood in long lines outside lottery retailers.
The legal authority for the suspension was not immediately clear. A 1999 state law — which expired June 30 — allowed Connecticut towns to suspend Powerball sales for 24 hours if state lottery officials verified that a huge influx of players threatened public health and safety.
Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy said state officials had not talked to him about the matter. Malloy said sales in his town had not been too burdensome so far.
Malloy said if Stamford becomes inundated he would expect the same right to suspension as Greenwich.
Sgt. J. Paul Vance, the spokesman for the state police, said troopers had been assigned to eight locations in Greenwich to assist with crowd control between 8 a.m. and midnight daily.
Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen, D-Stamford, said many upstate legislators were wary of allowing individual towns to suspend lottery sales.
Senate Majority Leader George Jepsen, D-Stamford, said many upstate legislators were wary of allowing individual towns to suspend lottery sales.
Jepsen, who is now running for governor, said Greenwich legislators were seeking a unilateral right to shut down sales — "which might have been convenient for them, but not so convenient for the rest of the state," he said.
"Many upstate legislators feel that there are a lot of benefits to being a border town and having the proximity to New York City," Jepsen added. "Maybe there are drawbacks too, but the bad goes with the good."
Senate President Pro Tem Kevin Sullivan, D-West Hartford, said Greenwich residents were overreacting.
Sullivan suggested, with tongue in cheek, that Greenwich set up lottery kiosks on the town beach. The state Supreme Court ruled last month that Greenwich's residents-only beach access policy was unconstitutional.
Saturday, June 23, 2001
June 23, 2001 - Pilot Killed When Plane Crashes in Greenwich - NY Times
A pilot was killed yesterday when his plane crashed in Greenwich, Conn., after an aborted landing attempt.
The pilot, Vernn Haglund, 63, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was flying in a six-seat private plane from Atlantic City to Westchester County Airport, on the Connecticut border. Mr. Haglund told air traffic controllers that he was having trouble with a directional instrument as he approached the airport, shortly before 9 a.m., in heavy fog, said Renee Johns, a spokeswoman for the airport.
''He was unable to see anything, and unable to land,'' she said. ''So he executed a missed approach. Obviously, after that he became disoriented.''
The plane crashed a few minutes later in a wooded area about half a mile away.
Frank Nestor, a lawyer who lives close to the crash site, said that he had been alerted by unusually loud plane noise above his house. Hidden by clouds, the plane circled very low for several minutes before crashing, he said.
''I didn't see it but I heard the sound of breaking wood or the fuselage of the plane coming apart, followed by an explosion and flames, which I could see about 200 feet from the house through the trees,'' Mr. Nestor said, adding that he ran toward the site, but could not get very close because of the flames.
Henry Stanton, the deputy commissioner of transportation for Westchester County, said the weather conditions were so bad that only one other plane had landed at the airport in the morning.
''To all practical purposes, the airport was closed,'' he said. ''The cloud ceiling was zero and the fog was right at ground level. But in these cases it's always the pilot's decision'' whether to land.
The pilot, a salesman, was on a business trip, Chief Peter J. Robbins of the Greenwich Police Department said. Mr. Haglung left Florida on Monday, with a stop in Atlantic City. The plane was registered to Heber Inc., of Fort Lauderdale.
No one on the ground was injured. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the crash. The medical examiner's office said an autopsy was planned today.
Airport officials said there was no record of the plane having landed at the Westchester airport before.
The single-engine Piper Saratoga flown by Mr. Haglund was an older version of the plane that John F. Kennedy Jr. was flying when he crashed off Martha's Vineyard and was killed, along with his wife and sister-in-law, in July 1999.
The pilot, Vernn Haglund, 63, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., was flying in a six-seat private plane from Atlantic City to Westchester County Airport, on the Connecticut border. Mr. Haglund told air traffic controllers that he was having trouble with a directional instrument as he approached the airport, shortly before 9 a.m., in heavy fog, said Renee Johns, a spokeswoman for the airport.
''He was unable to see anything, and unable to land,'' she said. ''So he executed a missed approach. Obviously, after that he became disoriented.''
The plane crashed a few minutes later in a wooded area about half a mile away.
Frank Nestor, a lawyer who lives close to the crash site, said that he had been alerted by unusually loud plane noise above his house. Hidden by clouds, the plane circled very low for several minutes before crashing, he said.
''I didn't see it but I heard the sound of breaking wood or the fuselage of the plane coming apart, followed by an explosion and flames, which I could see about 200 feet from the house through the trees,'' Mr. Nestor said, adding that he ran toward the site, but could not get very close because of the flames.
Henry Stanton, the deputy commissioner of transportation for Westchester County, said the weather conditions were so bad that only one other plane had landed at the airport in the morning.
''To all practical purposes, the airport was closed,'' he said. ''The cloud ceiling was zero and the fog was right at ground level. But in these cases it's always the pilot's decision'' whether to land.
The pilot, a salesman, was on a business trip, Chief Peter J. Robbins of the Greenwich Police Department said. Mr. Haglung left Florida on Monday, with a stop in Atlantic City. The plane was registered to Heber Inc., of Fort Lauderdale.
No one on the ground was injured. The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were investigating the crash. The medical examiner's office said an autopsy was planned today.
Airport officials said there was no record of the plane having landed at the Westchester airport before.
The single-engine Piper Saratoga flown by Mr. Haglund was an older version of the plane that John F. Kennedy Jr. was flying when he crashed off Martha's Vineyard and was killed, along with his wife and sister-in-law, in July 1999.
Sunday, April 8, 2001
Apr 8, 2001 - The View From/Greenwich; For Abandoned Baby, It's Love to the Rescue - New York Times
IT was a stormy start for Baby John Doe, who was born during a rainstorm and left abandoned on the side of a cul-de-sac called Stormy Circle Drive in the Byram section of Greenwich.
But the skies have cleared since that morning in March, when a woman walking in the area found the infant naked and swaddled in a cloth, and rushed to call 911.
After being taken to Greenwich Hospital and treated for hypothermia and exposure, the infant is not only doing fine physically, but he is also attracting the attention of countless people who want to help him, to love him, to give him a home.
By Tuesday afternoon, the baby boy not only had his own lawyer and several sacks stuffed with presents, but he also left the hospital to settle in with his pre-adoptive family. The family was selected by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, which would only say that t 1/2e family lives in Connecticut.
Rachel Wehmeier, a nurse in the neonatal intensive-care unit who was among the many nurses who cared for the infant during the last two weeks, said, ''God is certainly watching over him,'' adding that the nurses had ''all fallen in love with him.''
Ms. Wehmeier said that the family who received the baby would ''be blessed, because he is a beautiful, special boy.''
Deputy Chief James Walters of the Greenwich Police Department said a woman who lives in the Stormy Circle Drive area, whose name is being withheld, called 911 at 12:20 p.m. on March 22 after she spotted ''what appeared to be a small blanket that had some movement'' while she was walking along the roadside.
''Officers responded, found the bundle, unwrapped it and found an infant inside,'' Deputy Chief Walters said. ''He was rushed to the hospital where doctors confirmed he had been born no more than two hours prior.''
Police officers canvassed the area searching for anyone with information about the baby, a 5-pound 5-ounce, 19-inch African-American boy. But as of Thursday morning, no one had found the biological parents.
''We have several leads in Connecticut and New York and we're continuing to follow those,'' Deputy Chief Walters said.
He would not say what charges would be filed, if any.
''We're not even characterizing this as a crime at this point,'' Deputy Chief Walters said. ''We can't talk about charges until we find out what happened and why.''
The police and the Department of Children and Families said they believed it was the first abandonment case in the history of Greenwich, a mostly well-to-do community in Fairfield County with about 65,000 residents. Byram is a working-class community in the southwestern section, just across the Byram River from Port Chester, N.Y.
David Marantz, appointed by the Stamford Superior Court to be the baby's lawyer, said, ''This is the story of a baby who had a tough beginning, but whose life has already turned around to be wonderful, because of all the love around him.''
In abandonment cases where the parents are not known, the standard process is for the Department of Children and Families to publish a notice in the local newspaper and to ask a juvenile court to terminate the parental rights, Mr. Marantz said.
That process could take several months, during which time the child would be cared for in a pre-adoptive foster home. Kristine Ragaglia, commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, said that the temporary home ''could very likely become his permanent home.''
The department spent several days poring through a pool of licensed pre-adoptive families, narrowing the choice to six and finally to one last Monday. The decision did not take into account the parents' race, Ms. Ragaglia said, but it did require choosing a family that did not mind being ''legal risk pre-adoptive parents,'' which means there is a chance the pre-adoptive parents will have to return the baby if the biological parents show up and seek custody during the legal termination process.
''While that court process is going on, there's always a question mark,'' Ms. Ragaglia said. ''Emotionally, it can be a difficult process. But so far, no biological family or purported relatives have come forward, which makes things much easier.''
As for the family that was selected to care for the infant, Ms. Ragaglia said, ''There's not much I can tell you specifically because of confidentiality laws, but I guess it's safe to say they are very excited.''
The baby had remained at the hospital until Tuesday, not because of health problems, but because of the placement process.
''We're working on a permanency plan which involves having the pre-adoptive parents visit the baby in the hospital, learn all about the particular needs of the child, make absolutely certain that this is the right match,'' Ms. Ragaglia said. ''Our hope is that the pre-adoptive family will become the baby's permanent family.''
Gary Kleeblatt, spokesman for the Department of Children and Families, said: ''As tragic as it is that someone abandoned this infant, a lot of good has actually come of it. It's like the whole topic of adoption and caring for children in need has been galvanized by this child.''
The department has received a flood of calls from people offering to adopt the baby, Mr. Kleeblatt said. ''So many of these people who have called are now considering going through the process of becoming licensed and adopting another baby who may need a home,'' he said.
Mr. Kleeblatt credited Ms. Ragaglia with the department's rising number of adoptions in recent years. He said that since Ms. Ragaglia became commissioner in 1997, the number of adoptions statewide had nearly quadrupled, from 146 to 602 in 2000.
In Connecticut, there are 261 children in the custody of the Department of Children and Families who need homes. Of the 261, 148 are boys and 113 girls. Also, 114 of the children are African-American, 87 are Caucasian, 41 Latino and 19 are listed as other.
''There are 160 adoptive homes looking for children to complete their families,'' Ms. Ragaglia said.
Ms. Wehmeier, Baby John Doe's nurse, said she hoped the infant's story would inspire more people to adopt children.
''I'm adopted myself, so I know how important this is,'' said Ms. Wehmeier, who is in her early 30's. ''It's not that I wasn't wanted, but my parents understood that they couldn't care for me and they gave me up at birth. But I consider my adoptive parents my real parents, I love them so much. They live in the midwest and we talk every single week.''
Mr. Marantz said he hoped the Baby John Doe case would promote awareness of the safe haven law enacted last year. The law enables a mother to go to a hospital, deliver her child, get treatment and surrender custody to the hospital without being prosecuted.
''There should never be another baby abandoned on the street or in a Dumpster or anywhere for any reason, ever,'' he said.
But the skies have cleared since that morning in March, when a woman walking in the area found the infant naked and swaddled in a cloth, and rushed to call 911.
After being taken to Greenwich Hospital and treated for hypothermia and exposure, the infant is not only doing fine physically, but he is also attracting the attention of countless people who want to help him, to love him, to give him a home.
By Tuesday afternoon, the baby boy not only had his own lawyer and several sacks stuffed with presents, but he also left the hospital to settle in with his pre-adoptive family. The family was selected by the Connecticut Department of Children and Families, which would only say that t 1/2e family lives in Connecticut.
Rachel Wehmeier, a nurse in the neonatal intensive-care unit who was among the many nurses who cared for the infant during the last two weeks, said, ''God is certainly watching over him,'' adding that the nurses had ''all fallen in love with him.''
Ms. Wehmeier said that the family who received the baby would ''be blessed, because he is a beautiful, special boy.''
Deputy Chief James Walters of the Greenwich Police Department said a woman who lives in the Stormy Circle Drive area, whose name is being withheld, called 911 at 12:20 p.m. on March 22 after she spotted ''what appeared to be a small blanket that had some movement'' while she was walking along the roadside.
''Officers responded, found the bundle, unwrapped it and found an infant inside,'' Deputy Chief Walters said. ''He was rushed to the hospital where doctors confirmed he had been born no more than two hours prior.''
Police officers canvassed the area searching for anyone with information about the baby, a 5-pound 5-ounce, 19-inch African-American boy. But as of Thursday morning, no one had found the biological parents.
''We have several leads in Connecticut and New York and we're continuing to follow those,'' Deputy Chief Walters said.
He would not say what charges would be filed, if any.
''We're not even characterizing this as a crime at this point,'' Deputy Chief Walters said. ''We can't talk about charges until we find out what happened and why.''
The police and the Department of Children and Families said they believed it was the first abandonment case in the history of Greenwich, a mostly well-to-do community in Fairfield County with about 65,000 residents. Byram is a working-class community in the southwestern section, just across the Byram River from Port Chester, N.Y.
David Marantz, appointed by the Stamford Superior Court to be the baby's lawyer, said, ''This is the story of a baby who had a tough beginning, but whose life has already turned around to be wonderful, because of all the love around him.''
In abandonment cases where the parents are not known, the standard process is for the Department of Children and Families to publish a notice in the local newspaper and to ask a juvenile court to terminate the parental rights, Mr. Marantz said.
That process could take several months, during which time the child would be cared for in a pre-adoptive foster home. Kristine Ragaglia, commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, said that the temporary home ''could very likely become his permanent home.''
The department spent several days poring through a pool of licensed pre-adoptive families, narrowing the choice to six and finally to one last Monday. The decision did not take into account the parents' race, Ms. Ragaglia said, but it did require choosing a family that did not mind being ''legal risk pre-adoptive parents,'' which means there is a chance the pre-adoptive parents will have to return the baby if the biological parents show up and seek custody during the legal termination process.
''While that court process is going on, there's always a question mark,'' Ms. Ragaglia said. ''Emotionally, it can be a difficult process. But so far, no biological family or purported relatives have come forward, which makes things much easier.''
As for the family that was selected to care for the infant, Ms. Ragaglia said, ''There's not much I can tell you specifically because of confidentiality laws, but I guess it's safe to say they are very excited.''
The baby had remained at the hospital until Tuesday, not because of health problems, but because of the placement process.
''We're working on a permanency plan which involves having the pre-adoptive parents visit the baby in the hospital, learn all about the particular needs of the child, make absolutely certain that this is the right match,'' Ms. Ragaglia said. ''Our hope is that the pre-adoptive family will become the baby's permanent family.''
Gary Kleeblatt, spokesman for the Department of Children and Families, said: ''As tragic as it is that someone abandoned this infant, a lot of good has actually come of it. It's like the whole topic of adoption and caring for children in need has been galvanized by this child.''
The department has received a flood of calls from people offering to adopt the baby, Mr. Kleeblatt said. ''So many of these people who have called are now considering going through the process of becoming licensed and adopting another baby who may need a home,'' he said.
Mr. Kleeblatt credited Ms. Ragaglia with the department's rising number of adoptions in recent years. He said that since Ms. Ragaglia became commissioner in 1997, the number of adoptions statewide had nearly quadrupled, from 146 to 602 in 2000.
In Connecticut, there are 261 children in the custody of the Department of Children and Families who need homes. Of the 261, 148 are boys and 113 girls. Also, 114 of the children are African-American, 87 are Caucasian, 41 Latino and 19 are listed as other.
''There are 160 adoptive homes looking for children to complete their families,'' Ms. Ragaglia said.
Ms. Wehmeier, Baby John Doe's nurse, said she hoped the infant's story would inspire more people to adopt children.
''I'm adopted myself, so I know how important this is,'' said Ms. Wehmeier, who is in her early 30's. ''It's not that I wasn't wanted, but my parents understood that they couldn't care for me and they gave me up at birth. But I consider my adoptive parents my real parents, I love them so much. They live in the midwest and we talk every single week.''
Mr. Marantz said he hoped the Baby John Doe case would promote awareness of the safe haven law enacted last year. The law enables a mother to go to a hospital, deliver her child, get treatment and surrender custody to the hospital without being prosecuted.
''There should never be another baby abandoned on the street or in a Dumpster or anywhere for any reason, ever,'' he said.
Wednesday, April 4, 2001
April 4, 2001 - Man Accused in Cheerleader Voyeur Video Case - NY Times
A former music teacher at the Greenwich Academy in Connecticut was charged in a 56-count indictment today with shooting voyeuristic videos of high school cheerleaders from across Long Island and posting close-ups of the girls on a pay-per-view Web site, the authorities said.
The former teacher, Kevin Matthew Dern, 29, surrendered this morning to the authorities in Suffolk County, the site of the server for his Internet site, cheervideos.com, which is now closed.
He was charged with 53 counts of violating the civil rights of the cheerleaders, all teenage girls, by zooming in on them to catch glimpses under their skirts or down their blouses, said Drew Biondo, a spokesman for James M. Catterson Jr., the Suffolk district attorney.
Mr. Dern was also charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Mr. Biondo said, for three close-up video images of the underwear of three identifiable teenage girls.
Mr. Catterson said this was the first time his office had used state civil rights law in this kind of Internet case; Mr. Dern faces more serious criminal charges in Connecticut.
The police in Greenwich, who searched his condominium at 36P Putnam Green for the Suffolk authorities on Feb. 7, seized two computers, videotapes and 9,000 pornographic pictures, said Deputy Chief James A. Walters of the Greenwich police.
Mr. Dern surrendered to the authorities in Greenwich on March 11 on 20 felony counts of possession of child pornography and could face up to five years in prison on each count if convicted, Mr. Walters said.
After the police in Greenwich searched his home, Mr. Dern resigned from his teaching job. Mr. Dern's lawyer, Philip Russell of Greenwich, said Mr. Dern had pleaded not guilty in Suffolk County and in Connecticut. Mr. Dern is free on bail in both cases.
The former teacher, Kevin Matthew Dern, 29, surrendered this morning to the authorities in Suffolk County, the site of the server for his Internet site, cheervideos.com, which is now closed.
He was charged with 53 counts of violating the civil rights of the cheerleaders, all teenage girls, by zooming in on them to catch glimpses under their skirts or down their blouses, said Drew Biondo, a spokesman for James M. Catterson Jr., the Suffolk district attorney.
Mr. Dern was also charged with three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, Mr. Biondo said, for three close-up video images of the underwear of three identifiable teenage girls.
Mr. Catterson said this was the first time his office had used state civil rights law in this kind of Internet case; Mr. Dern faces more serious criminal charges in Connecticut.
The police in Greenwich, who searched his condominium at 36P Putnam Green for the Suffolk authorities on Feb. 7, seized two computers, videotapes and 9,000 pornographic pictures, said Deputy Chief James A. Walters of the Greenwich police.
Mr. Dern surrendered to the authorities in Greenwich on March 11 on 20 felony counts of possession of child pornography and could face up to five years in prison on each count if convicted, Mr. Walters said.
After the police in Greenwich searched his home, Mr. Dern resigned from his teaching job. Mr. Dern's lawyer, Philip Russell of Greenwich, said Mr. Dern had pleaded not guilty in Suffolk County and in Connecticut. Mr. Dern is free on bail in both cases.
Sunday, April 1, 2001
04/01/01 GREENWICH'S OTHER MURDER
GREENWICH'S OTHER MURDER - 1984 CASE REOPENED AMID SPOTLIGHT ON...
Boston Globe
GREENWICH, Conn. - Maryann Margolies has long accepted that the unsolved murder of her son can't compete for public attention with the fatal bludgeoning of fellow Greenwich teen Martha Moxley.
The killings were startlingly similar: Moxley was just 15 when she was found dead in the backyard of her family's estate in affluent Greenwich. Matthew Margolies was 13 when he was slain near his home in the Glenville neighborhood.......
Boston Globe
GREENWICH, Conn. - Maryann Margolies has long accepted that the unsolved murder of her son can't compete for public attention with the fatal bludgeoning of fellow Greenwich teen Martha Moxley.
The killings were startlingly similar: Moxley was just 15 when she was found dead in the backyard of her family's estate in affluent Greenwich. Matthew Margolies was 13 when he was slain near his home in the Glenville neighborhood.......
Tuesday, March 13, 2001
March 13th 2001 - POLICE WERE TOLD IN '80 OF SKAKEL SLAY TALK - NY Daily News
STAMFORD, Conn. - At least one person told Connecticut cops as far back as 1980 that Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel had implicated himself in the murder of teenage neighbor Martha Moxley, newly released court documents show.
Skakel's alleged statement was made more than 10 years before he became the prime suspect of investigators.
The nephew of Ethel Kennedy was charged with Martha's murder last year, 25 years after she was bludgeoned to death with a golf club in the tony Greenwich enclave of Belle Haven.
He allegedly told a fellow student at a school for troubled youths that he "might have committed the murder during [an alcoholic] blackout," according to an arrest warrant released yesterday along with hundreds of other documents in the case.
"That is something totally new to me," said Martha's brother, John. "Why didn't they question him back in 1980? I think that is a little troubling."
Martha, 15, was found dead outside her family's Belle Haven home. A broken golf club found near her body was traced to a set belonging to the Skakels.
The arrest warrant shows Connecticut investigators spoke to six students at the Maine school, Elan, that Skakel attended between 1978 and 1980. The other five students, who were interviewed in the 1990s, told accounts similar to the first student interviewed by cops in 1980. Two who said Skakel confessed testified last summer.
Greenwich police have been accused of mishandling the investigation from the start, with some critics charging they were intimidated by Skakel's wealth and Kennedy family ties.
"If in fact they had evidence to suggest that Michael Skakel was responsible, the earlier he would have been confronted with that, the better off we all would have been," said Skakel's lawyer, Mickey Sherman.
For years, Skakel's older brother, Thomas, was suspected of the murder because he was the last person seen with Martha. But in the early 1990s, attention shifted to Michael Skakel.
Skakel, 40, was initially charged as a juvenile when he was arrested last year because he was 15 when the slaying occurred. A judge ruled this year that he can be charged as an adult, which is why the court file was finally unsealed.
The file confirmed reports that Skakel allegedly pulled a knife on a family chauffeur in 1978 and had to be pulled off the railing of the Triborough Bridge.
On the way to his therapist, Skakel threatened driver Larry Zicarelli and jumped out of the car, the file said. Zicarelli told cops that Skakel yelled: "I've done something very bad. I'm in a lot of trouble. I've either got to kill myself or leave the country."
Skakel's alleged statement was made more than 10 years before he became the prime suspect of investigators.
The nephew of Ethel Kennedy was charged with Martha's murder last year, 25 years after she was bludgeoned to death with a golf club in the tony Greenwich enclave of Belle Haven.
He allegedly told a fellow student at a school for troubled youths that he "might have committed the murder during [an alcoholic] blackout," according to an arrest warrant released yesterday along with hundreds of other documents in the case.
"That is something totally new to me," said Martha's brother, John. "Why didn't they question him back in 1980? I think that is a little troubling."
Martha, 15, was found dead outside her family's Belle Haven home. A broken golf club found near her body was traced to a set belonging to the Skakels.
The arrest warrant shows Connecticut investigators spoke to six students at the Maine school, Elan, that Skakel attended between 1978 and 1980. The other five students, who were interviewed in the 1990s, told accounts similar to the first student interviewed by cops in 1980. Two who said Skakel confessed testified last summer.
Greenwich police have been accused of mishandling the investigation from the start, with some critics charging they were intimidated by Skakel's wealth and Kennedy family ties.
"If in fact they had evidence to suggest that Michael Skakel was responsible, the earlier he would have been confronted with that, the better off we all would have been," said Skakel's lawyer, Mickey Sherman.
For years, Skakel's older brother, Thomas, was suspected of the murder because he was the last person seen with Martha. But in the early 1990s, attention shifted to Michael Skakel.
Skakel, 40, was initially charged as a juvenile when he was arrested last year because he was 15 when the slaying occurred. A judge ruled this year that he can be charged as an adult, which is why the court file was finally unsealed.
The file confirmed reports that Skakel allegedly pulled a knife on a family chauffeur in 1978 and had to be pulled off the railing of the Triborough Bridge.
On the way to his therapist, Skakel threatened driver Larry Zicarelli and jumped out of the car, the file said. Zicarelli told cops that Skakel yelled: "I've done something very bad. I'm in a lot of trouble. I've either got to kill myself or leave the country."
Monday, March 12, 2001
March 12, 2001 - Update On Greenwich's 1984 MURDER CASE
Law enforcement officials have announced a renewed effort to solve the 1984 slaying of Matthew Margolies, a 13-year-old Greenwich boy who disappeared while he was fishing near his home. He was found five days later, stabbed and suffocated. Chief Peter J. Robbins of the Greenwich police said Thursday that his department was working with the state police ''cold case'' squad and that a former state police commissioner, Henry Lee, had agreed to help. Gov. John G. Rowland has increased a reward in the case to $50,000. David M. Herszenhorn
Friday, March 2, 2001
Mar 2, 2001 - Investigator Says Skakel Attempted Suicide in '78 - NY Times
STAMFORD, Conn., March 12 ? In an affidavit last year seeking an arrest warrant for Michael C. Skakel in the 1975 killing of Martha Moxley, the state's lead investigator said he had obtained evidence that Mr. Skakel once tried to jump off the Triborough Bridge after saying "that he had done something very bad, and that he needed to get out of the country, and that he had to kill himself."
The affidavit, among 347 pages of court documents unsealed today in State Superior Court here, suggests that prosecutors in the murder trial will seek to portray Mr. Skakel as having been an increasingly unstable youth, a teenage alcoholic who became infatuated with the pretty girl next door, bludgeoned her to death with a golf club and was later consumed by guilt that prompted confessions and the suicide attempt.
The affidavit also makes clear how the lead investigator, Frank C. Garr, who was a patrolman staffing the switchboard for the Greenwich Police Department at the time of Miss Moxley's death, is now the linchpin in the state's case. Until Mr. Garr began reworking the case in the early 1990's, officials had not regarded Michael Skakel as a likely suspect but had focused on his older brother, Thomas, and on the Skakel family's live-in tutor, Kenneth W. Littleton.
Also among the papers released today was a defense motion, yet to be considered by a judge, to have the murder charge dismissed. In it, Mr. Skakel's lawyer, Michael Sherman, argues that in 1975 Connecticut had a five-year statute of limitations on felony charges, including murder, that were not potentially punishable by death. Mr. Skakel maintains his innocence.
The case files had been sealed after the January 2000 arrest of Mr. Skakel, who is now 40, because he was initially charged as a juvenile. Both Mr. Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, and Miss Moxley were 15 at the time of the killing. In January, a juvenile court judge ordered that he be tried as an adult, and the file was automatically unsealed today, 10 business days after his arraignment.
Amid the stack of mostly procedural documents, Mr. Garr's affidavit provided a dash of drama. Mr. Garr did not identify witnesses by name, but most of their identities were readily discernible to anyone familiar with the case. Among those he described was a "former employee" of the Skakel household who was involved in the incident on the Triborough Bridge in 1978.
The employee, a gardener and sometime driver named Larry Zicarelli, had driven Mr. Skakel to see his psychotherapist in New York City. According to Mr. Garr's affidavit, Mr. Skakel had been involved in "some sort of dispute" with his father, Rushton W. Skakel Sr. When the employee got into a car at the family's home in Greenwich, Conn., to take Michael Skakel to New York, Michael was holding a knife.
"He asked Michael, who was displaying a knife, why he was so upset, at which time Michael stated, `Shut up and drive, or I'll stab you,' " according to the affidavit. At one point, Mr. Skakel opened the door and told the driver "that he had done something very bad" and had to kill himself, Mr. Garr said in the affidavit.
Later, on the way home, Mr. Skakel jumped out on the Triborough Bridge. "Michael jumped out of the car and began to climb the bridge," Mr. Garr stated, recounting what he said the employee had told him. "He reported that he ran to Michael, picked him up and put him back in the car. Michael then exited the vehicle from the opposite side and again attempted to climb the bridge, stating that he was going to jump off."
The employee again put Mr. Skakel in the car and drove him back to Greenwich, the affidavit said.
Another witness in the affidavit described the teenage Mr. Skakel as a peeping Tom who tried to catch glimpses of naked women through their bedroom windows. The witness said Mr. Skakel had told him he had been sexually aroused on the night of Miss Moxley's murder and had masturbated in a tree before hearing a noise and running home. Miss Moxley's body was found under the tree the next morning.
A lawyer involved in the case identified this witness as Richard Hoffman, a writer who helped Mr. Skakel prepare a proposal for a tell-all book about the Kennedy family.
Several of the witnesses described in Mr. Garr's affidavit were former classmates of Mr. Skakel's at a school for troubled youths in Maine who testified at a juvenile court hearing last June. Their testimony ? that Mr. Skakel confessed to killing Miss Moxley ? led Judge Maureen D. Dennis to find that there was "reasonable cause" to believe he had committed the crime and to transfer the case to adult court.
Mr. Skakel's lawyer, Mr. Sherman, said today that he doubted the credibility of the state's witnesses and called the episode on the bridge "a skeleton of an incident that happened 23 years ago that had absolutely nothing to do with the murder of Martha Moxley." He added, "I know he did have a very difficult ride to New York to see his therapist with his driver."
Mr. Sherman also repeated a complaint he had made about the affidavit's referring to witnesses by numbers rather than names. "It gives them an undeserved air of credibility," he said.
A secretary in the Bridgeport state attorney's office, where Mr. Garr is an inspector, said he would not be in this week and could not be reached.
Jonathan Benedict, the state's attorney in Bridgeport, who is the lead prosecutor in the Skakel case, said he expected several of the witnesses mentioned in Mr. Garr's affidavit to reappear at a probable-cause hearing scheduled to begin April 18.
Although prosecutors called fewer than a half-dozen witnesses during the hearing last June, the numbering of witnesses ? up to 45 ? in the affidavit suggests there are dozens of people the state may seek to call during trial.
Some of those witnesses may never be heard by the eventual jury in the case. Mr. Sherman is certain to ask the judge to exclude evidence and testimony for many reasons. Mr. Benedict would not discuss specific witnesses or evidence, saying only that it was "all pertinent information that we would probably expect to develop at trial."
The affidavit, among 347 pages of court documents unsealed today in State Superior Court here, suggests that prosecutors in the murder trial will seek to portray Mr. Skakel as having been an increasingly unstable youth, a teenage alcoholic who became infatuated with the pretty girl next door, bludgeoned her to death with a golf club and was later consumed by guilt that prompted confessions and the suicide attempt.
The affidavit also makes clear how the lead investigator, Frank C. Garr, who was a patrolman staffing the switchboard for the Greenwich Police Department at the time of Miss Moxley's death, is now the linchpin in the state's case. Until Mr. Garr began reworking the case in the early 1990's, officials had not regarded Michael Skakel as a likely suspect but had focused on his older brother, Thomas, and on the Skakel family's live-in tutor, Kenneth W. Littleton.
Also among the papers released today was a defense motion, yet to be considered by a judge, to have the murder charge dismissed. In it, Mr. Skakel's lawyer, Michael Sherman, argues that in 1975 Connecticut had a five-year statute of limitations on felony charges, including murder, that were not potentially punishable by death. Mr. Skakel maintains his innocence.
The case files had been sealed after the January 2000 arrest of Mr. Skakel, who is now 40, because he was initially charged as a juvenile. Both Mr. Skakel, a nephew of Ethel Kennedy, and Miss Moxley were 15 at the time of the killing. In January, a juvenile court judge ordered that he be tried as an adult, and the file was automatically unsealed today, 10 business days after his arraignment.
Amid the stack of mostly procedural documents, Mr. Garr's affidavit provided a dash of drama. Mr. Garr did not identify witnesses by name, but most of their identities were readily discernible to anyone familiar with the case. Among those he described was a "former employee" of the Skakel household who was involved in the incident on the Triborough Bridge in 1978.
The employee, a gardener and sometime driver named Larry Zicarelli, had driven Mr. Skakel to see his psychotherapist in New York City. According to Mr. Garr's affidavit, Mr. Skakel had been involved in "some sort of dispute" with his father, Rushton W. Skakel Sr. When the employee got into a car at the family's home in Greenwich, Conn., to take Michael Skakel to New York, Michael was holding a knife.
"He asked Michael, who was displaying a knife, why he was so upset, at which time Michael stated, `Shut up and drive, or I'll stab you,' " according to the affidavit. At one point, Mr. Skakel opened the door and told the driver "that he had done something very bad" and had to kill himself, Mr. Garr said in the affidavit.
Later, on the way home, Mr. Skakel jumped out on the Triborough Bridge. "Michael jumped out of the car and began to climb the bridge," Mr. Garr stated, recounting what he said the employee had told him. "He reported that he ran to Michael, picked him up and put him back in the car. Michael then exited the vehicle from the opposite side and again attempted to climb the bridge, stating that he was going to jump off."
The employee again put Mr. Skakel in the car and drove him back to Greenwich, the affidavit said.
Another witness in the affidavit described the teenage Mr. Skakel as a peeping Tom who tried to catch glimpses of naked women through their bedroom windows. The witness said Mr. Skakel had told him he had been sexually aroused on the night of Miss Moxley's murder and had masturbated in a tree before hearing a noise and running home. Miss Moxley's body was found under the tree the next morning.
A lawyer involved in the case identified this witness as Richard Hoffman, a writer who helped Mr. Skakel prepare a proposal for a tell-all book about the Kennedy family.
Several of the witnesses described in Mr. Garr's affidavit were former classmates of Mr. Skakel's at a school for troubled youths in Maine who testified at a juvenile court hearing last June. Their testimony ? that Mr. Skakel confessed to killing Miss Moxley ? led Judge Maureen D. Dennis to find that there was "reasonable cause" to believe he had committed the crime and to transfer the case to adult court.
Mr. Skakel's lawyer, Mr. Sherman, said today that he doubted the credibility of the state's witnesses and called the episode on the bridge "a skeleton of an incident that happened 23 years ago that had absolutely nothing to do with the murder of Martha Moxley." He added, "I know he did have a very difficult ride to New York to see his therapist with his driver."
Mr. Sherman also repeated a complaint he had made about the affidavit's referring to witnesses by numbers rather than names. "It gives them an undeserved air of credibility," he said.
A secretary in the Bridgeport state attorney's office, where Mr. Garr is an inspector, said he would not be in this week and could not be reached.
Jonathan Benedict, the state's attorney in Bridgeport, who is the lead prosecutor in the Skakel case, said he expected several of the witnesses mentioned in Mr. Garr's affidavit to reappear at a probable-cause hearing scheduled to begin April 18.
Although prosecutors called fewer than a half-dozen witnesses during the hearing last June, the numbering of witnesses ? up to 45 ? in the affidavit suggests there are dozens of people the state may seek to call during trial.
Some of those witnesses may never be heard by the eventual jury in the case. Mr. Sherman is certain to ask the judge to exclude evidence and testimony for many reasons. Mr. Benedict would not discuss specific witnesses or evidence, saying only that it was "all pertinent information that we would probably expect to develop at trial."
Thursday, February 1, 2001
02/01/01 Judge Rules Skakel Will Stand Trial as an Adult
Skakel was indicted in January 2000 after a lengthy inquiry by a one-man grand jury. The grand jury's decision relied heavily on testimony from several of Skakel's former classmates at a Maine school for troubled youth. At a subsequent hearing in June, the classmates repeated their testimony that Skakel confessed to the killing.
Under the law in effect in 1975, when Moxley was beaten to death, Skakel could have been tried as a juvenile. Connecticut juvenile facilities cannot accept anyone over age 18, so Skakel could have gone free regardless of the outcome of a juvenile trial.
Suspicion shifted toward the younger Skakel brother in part because of research by former Los Angeles police Det. Mark Furhman, who wrote a book on the Moxley murder.
Under the law in effect in 1975, when Moxley was beaten to death, Skakel could have been tried as a juvenile. Connecticut juvenile facilities cannot accept anyone over age 18, so Skakel could have gone free regardless of the outcome of a juvenile trial.
Suspicion shifted toward the younger Skakel brother in part because of research by former Los Angeles police Det. Mark Furhman, who wrote a book on the Moxley murder.
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