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Skakel is charged with murder in the 1975 death of neighbor Martha Moxley.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Gregory Coleman, a prosecution witness who testified while on heroin before a grand jury in the case against Michael Skakel, has died of a drug overdose, according to Skakel defense attorney Mickey Sherman.

It was not immediately known what drug was involved.

Coleman, a former classmate of Skakel at the Elan School, a substance abuse center in Maine, said he heard Skakel confess to the 1975 killing of 15-year-old Martha Moxley.

That testimony helped police obtain an arrest warrant for Skakel.

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Coleman said he once heard Skakel say he "drove her skull in with a golf club" and that he could get away with murder "because I'm a Kennedy." Skakel is the nephew of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Robert F. Kennedy.

Coleman has admitted that drug use and time have clouded his memory in the 20-plus years since he claims to have heard the confession.

Skakel and Moxley were both 15 at the time she was bludgeoned to death outside her home with a golf club after a night out with friends. The unusual club matched a set owned by the Skakels.

Skakel has testified he had been with Moxley and others, but said he blacked out before she was killed. He surrendered to Greenwich police January 19, 2000, five days after the warrant was issued for his arrest.

If found guilty of the crime, Skakel could face life in prison.