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American Morning

CORRECTED COPY Skakel Trial Defense Rests

Aired May 29, 2002 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, the defense rests in the trial of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel. Neither Michael Skakel nor his brother Thomas was called to testify. But another brother was heard from.

And CNN's Deborah Feyerick has been following the trial, in Norwalk, Connecticut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The defense wrapped up its case, two key points dominating the day: Michael Skakel's alibi and Martha Moxley's time of death. The defense once again tried to show the jury Michael Skakel was at a cousin's house miles away when Martha Moxley was killed. His brother, John Skakel, was among the last to testify. But he couldn't remember crucial details from that night, including whether Michael was actually in the car. John Skakel had to rely on a 1975 statement he gave to police two weeks after Moxley's murder, a statement which supports his brother's alibi.

Prosecutors have indicated the brothers made up the story to protect Michael Skakel. The defense shoots down those claims.

MICKEY SHERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There's nobody who's backed that alibi more than John Skakel. He's been candid enough to say, you know, I don't remember.

FEYERICK: Another witness, a former police detective, was called back by the defense team. James Lunney said he interviewed Michael Skakel in 1975. Lunney testified Skakel told him once he got back home he never went out again. But that story later changed, Michael telling a writer he did go out looking for Moxley, hoping to kiss her.

SHERMAN: They were saving that for the KO punch. I don't think it was any great shock, as I said, the fact that Michael Skakel did not say back then that he went out and went in the tree.

FEYERICK: The defense maintains Michael Skakel did go out, but only after Moxley had been beaten to death. The timing would coincide with a forensic pathologist, who testified he believes Moxley was killed around 10:00 p.m. Prosecutors tried to broaden the timeframe, showing Moxley's death could have been several hours later. The victim's brother expressed relief that the end is in sight. JOHN MOXLEY, MARTHA MOXLEY'S BROTHER: I know now who killed Martha. My questions have all been answered. I've heard other things that I didn't have questions about that support that. I think the jury will see that too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: Prosecutors plan to call four rebuttal witnesses. The defense says it won't call any. The jury has seen a lot of evidence and heard from a lot of witnesses, and now it's up to both sides to really connect all of these dots, show what it all means and why it's important -- Paula.

ZAHN: So Deborah, is it clear at this hour which rebuttal witnesses might be called today?

FEYERICK: There are going to be a couple of them, including Michael Skakel's sister Julie. She's going to place him either at the house or in the car when Martha Moxley was killed, this car that was going to the cousin's, Michael Skakel's alibi.

Also, a person who's likely to be called is a journalist. He wrote an article back in 1991 saying that Martha Moxley had been stabbed through the neck, and that's important because the tutor who was on the stand, who was long considered a suspect, remembered saying something about being stabbed through the neck. The prosecutors are going to show that it possibly is information that could have come from this article -- Paula.

ZAHN: And Deborah, I know it's all but impossible to read the minds of the jurors. Any read so far on how this jury has reacted to any of the bizarre strains they've heard in weeks lately?

FEYERICK: They've, well, they've been pretty good about now showing emotion, actually. Once or twice they have sort of broken out in laughter. But again, there's a lot of tension in the courtroom, and so that's only natural.

There was one point during the questioning of jurors when there was a debate as to whether one would be thrown off or not, where one juror said, you know, we're really going to have a lot to talk about. And so I think everybody is really eager to get going and just put all of this on the table and see where they go from there.

ZAHN: All right, Deborah Feyerick, thanks so much for that update.

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