Michael Skakel, Robert F. Kennedy’s cousin, denied parole in murder case

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Michael Skakel (R) arrives at Norwalk Superior Court in April 2002 for the start of jury selection in his murder trial. Skakel, a cousin of the Kennedy family, was convicted of murdering 15-year-old Martha Moxley in 1975. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images)

Michael Skakel, the first cousin of Robert F. Kennedy, was denied his request for parole Wednesday.

Skakel, now 52, was convicted in 2002 for killing his neighbor Martha Moxley in 1975, when they were both 15 years old.

Moxley was last seen alive in Greenwich, Connecticut at the Skakel's Halloween party. She was found dead the following day under a tree in her family’s backyard, the Los Angeles Times reported. 

“I did not commit this crime," Skakel said during his hearing at the McDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield, Connecticut, according to the Washington Post. “If I could ease Mrs. Moxley’s pain in any way, shape or form I would take responsibility all day long for this crime,” Skakel said. But, he added, “I cannot bear false witness against myself.”

A three-person parole board unanimously decided to deny Skakel's request, deeming him next eligible for parole in 2017, NBC News reported. 

The Kennedy relative is 10 years into his sentence of 20 years to life in prison, and this was his first opportunity to request parole. Robert F. Kennedy wrote an Atlantic Monthly piece in 2003 denouncing his nephew's conviction titled "A Miscarriage of Justice." 

More from GlobalPost: Trial of Douglas Kennedy, son of Robert F. Kennedy, on child endangerment charges begins
 

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/americas/united-states/121024/michael-skakel-robert-kennedy-cousin-denied-parole