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Observers: Closing won conviction against Skakel

Dorthy and John Moxley hug while addressing reporters following Michael Skakel's guilty verdict.

NORWALK, Connecticut (CNN) -- Testimony by Michael Skakel's relatives, Skakel himself and statements he made to a book interviewer helped prosecutors secure a guilty verdict in his murder trial, analysts said after Friday's verdict.

In particular, the prosecution's decision to focus on a biographical book by Skakel helped bolster its case in closing arguments, observers said.

Skakel was found guilty of murder Friday in the bludgeoning death of his 15-year-old neighbor Martha Moxley with a golf club more than 26 years ago. The six-man, six-woman jury reached the verdict in its fourth day of deliberations.

Skakel, 41, is the nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, widow of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. He now faces a possible sentence of life in prison. A sentencing hearing will be held July 19.

State's Attorney Jonathan Benedict said he would talk with the Moxley family before deciding on what sentence to ask for. Skakel's attorney, Mickey Sherman, said he will appeal.

CNN NewsPass VIDEO Michael Skakel was found guilty of murder in the killing of Martha Moxley in 1975. CNN's Deborah Feyerick with the story. (June 7) Play video David Skakel, brother of Michael Skakel and the defense attorney comment on the guilty verdict (June 7) Play video The family of Martha Moxley, Dorthy and John speak to the press about their reaction to the guilty verdict (June 7) Play video   EXTRA INFORMATION • Gallery: Reaction to the verdict  • Timeline: Michael Skakel trial    RESOURCES • Gallery: People in the News  • Court TV.com: Skakel closing arguments  • Read Martha Moxley's diary

Moxley was beaten to death with a golf club outside her Greenwich home on October 30, 1975. The golf club matched a set owned by the Skakels, although its monogrammed handle has never been found.

In his closing argument Monday, Benedict told jurors that a Skakel family conspiracy kept Michael Skakel away from suspicion in the murder of Moxley, even during the years when his brother Tommy was a key suspect.

Benedict said Friday he was confident of getting a conviction.

"I put a lot of time in on a closing argument," he said. "It was an easy case to argue. ... I think 90 percent of the people in the courtroom wanted to see me connect the dots."

He did that in dramatic fashion Monday when he put together statements from Skakel's sister and a line from an audio interview Skakel recorded with a ghostwriter in 1997, when Skakel was considering writing a book about his life.

When the verdict was announced, Skakel stood frozen; Moxley's mother and brother wept.

"I just could hardly believe it," Dorthy Moxley, Martha's mother, told reporters soon after the verdict was announced. "I just feel so blessed and so overwhelmed. This is Martha's day."

But Skakel's younger brother, David, expressed disappointment at the verdict.

"I would say that fortunately we are a family with a bedrock of faith," he said. "Our faith has been tested today immeasurably."

Book, changing story focus of closing argument

The Skakel case caught the public attention because of his connection to the Kennedy family, the fact prosecutors had to use a murder charge because it has no statute of limitations and the determination of Moxley's mother, who dogged Skakel for the past 26 years.

Skakel's attorney had argued that the killing took place around 10 p.m., when dogs in the neighborhood erupted in furious barking. Skakel and some family members testified he was miles away from the scene at that time.

But it was Benedict's use of Skakel's own statements from the book interview that observers said secured the prosecution's case. Benedict told jurors that Skakel had "spun a web in which he has ultimately entrapped himself."

"I have never seen a case that was more clearly won on a closing argument," CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin said. The prosecution "used Skakel's own words" against the defendant, he said.

"Benedict showed Skakel lied about facts and placed himself in places that were incriminating ... I think that's what turned the tide."

And alternate juror Gary Shannon told CNN that the interview was "the most incriminating piece of circumstantial evidence that we had."

"Michael speaking for his book -- going to write about specifics of this crime that only he, the perpetrator, would have known -- I think that really put him in harm's way," Shannon said.

And Mark Fuhrman, the former Los Angeles detective and author of the book "Murder in Greenwich," said Skakel effectively changed his story and his alibi.

"He put himself in the scene, doing, saying, everything that the murderer probably did, and the interesting thing about this is, that he also is trying to say Martha was alive," Fuhrman said.