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Lawyers in Murder Trial of Skakel Have Started Closing Arguments

Aired June 03, 2002 - 11:31   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.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: To Connecticut now, where lawyers in the murder trial of Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel have started their closing arguments. Skakel is accused of beating his neighbor Martha Moxley to death in 1975 when both were still teenagers. Fannie Weinstein of "People" magazine is covering the Skakel trial in Norwalk, Connecticut.

Fannie, good morning. Good to see you again.

FANNIE WEINSTEIN, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Good morning, Daryn.

KAGAN: It would seem to me -- and I would love to get your opinion from someone who has been inside the courtroom for most of this trial, that these closing arguments, especially for the prosecution, are crucial, because I haven't heard of anything that made an open-and-shut case against Michael Skakel so far.

WEINSTEIN: Right. An open and shut case, it's not. There isn't the proverbial smoking gun. But the prosecution, though, will try to prove, as it has all along, is that Michael Skakel both had motive and opportunity. The motive being that he was jealous of his brother Tommy's relationship with Martha Moxley, he add crush on her, but she did not return those feelings; an opportunity that he was not, as he claims, at his cousin's house watching television at the time the murder is believed or approximately the time the murders believe to have taken place.

KAGAN: I imagine the defense will do the same thing by pointing the finger at other people, saying yes, perhaps. Motive and opportunity with this man, but there were other young people who would have had the same at the time.

WEINSTEIN: Right, well, I think the defense's argument will be two-fold. One, they will argue that Michael Skakel has an alibi. As they always have, they will argue that he was not at the Skakel home at the time the murder may have taken place, is believed to have taken place, that he was at his cousin's watching television.

No less than three witnesses testified that Michael Skakel left the Skakel home that night and was at his cousin's watching television. They will also I think try to knock a hole in the credibility of some of the prosecution witnesses, namely the former students from Elan who testified, the Elan School, the school that Michael attended for troubled youth. They will attempt to knock a hole in their testimony by saying that they were not credible witnesses. I think they will also -- I think that will be strong. I think that will be enough.

They will also, I think, try to just say he did not have motive, he did not have opportunity. He didn't do it.

KAGAN: Fanny, what have you been able to observe about this jury? The just seems, is kind of like, is the judge in a way. He is very straight-faced. The jury has been very straight-faced too. This doesn't appear like a jury that is going to give away its verdict any time before the verdict is actually read.

KAGAN: All right. We know you will be in the courtroom when that exactly happens, and we will hear about it here on CNN and also read about it in "People" magazine.

Fannie Weinstein, thanks for joining us. I appreciate it.

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