This is I Fear You, Babe. Before we talk about how Martha Moxley died, we talk about how she lived.

Martha Moxley was fifteen years old when she was murdered on Mischief Night in 1975 in the Belle Haven section of Greenwich, Connecticut. Her body was found the next day in the yard of a wealthy neighborhood, beaten and stabbed with a golf club taken from a nearby home.

What followed was not a lack of evidence, but a lack of urgency. Witnesses went unchallenged. Evidence aged. And for decades, the case stalled under the weight of privilege, hesitation, and silence.

In this mega episode, we trace the full timeline of Martha’s murder and the investigation that followed — from the night she disappeared, through the failed early inquiry, to the eventual conviction and its reversal decades later. We center Martha and her mother, Dorothy Moxley, and examine what happens when justice is delayed long enough to fracture truth itself.

Show Notes

Case Overview

• Martha Moxley was murdered on October 30, 1975, in Greenwich, Connecticut.
• The murder weapon was a Toney Penna golf club from the Skakel household.
• The case went cold for decades before charges were filed.

Legal Timeline

• One person grand jury convened in 1998
• Michael Skakel convicted in 2002
• Conviction overturned due to ineffective counsel
• Prosecutors declined retrial in 2020

Key Themes

• Wealth and influence in criminal investigations
• The cost of delayed justice
• Memory versus evidence in cold case prosecutions
• The emotional labor of grieving families

Sources & Further Reading

• Connecticut Supreme Court opinion: State v. Skakel
  https://jud.ct.gov/external/supapp/Cases/AROcr/CR278/278CR23.pdf
  
  
• CBS News timeline of the Martha Moxley case
  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/martha-moxley-murder-case-timeline
  
  
• The New York Times coverage of the Skakel trial and appeals
  https://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/martha-moxley
  
  
• Justice for Martha Moxley Foundation
  https://www.justiceformartha.org

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This is I Fear You, Babe. Before we talk about how Michelle O’Connell died, we talk about how she lived.

Michelle O’Connell was twenty four years old when she was found dead from a gunshot wound in her boyfriend’s home in Florida. Authorities ruled her death a suicide. The case was closed quickly.

Years later, a group of mothers driving their children to school began asking questions no one else seemed interested in answering. They noticed inconsistencies in the investigation. They noticed gaps in the record. And they noticed how fast the system stopped looking.

They didn’t have badges or jurisdiction. They had carpools, notebooks, and persistence.

In this mini episode, we examine the Michelle O’Connell case through the women who refused to let it disappear. We trace the timeline, the procedural failures, the conflicts of interest, and the legal limits that shaped the outcome. We center Michelle and her family, not speculation — and we ask why ordinary women so often become the last line of accountability when institutions step back.

Show Notes

Case Overview

Michelle O’Connell died on September 2, 2010, in St. Johns County, Florida.

Her death was ruled a suicide despite objections from her family.

Her boyfriend at the time, Jeremy Banks, was a deputy with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.

Key Themes

Conflict of interest in law enforcement investigations

Domestic violence indicators that go undocumented

How suicide rulings can prematurely end accountability

The emotional and investigative labor taken on by private citizens

Sources & Further Reading

CNN reporting on the Michelle O’Connell case

https://www.cnn.com/2013/02/15/justice/florida-michelle-oconnell

Florida Department of Law Enforcement case materials

https://www.fdle.state.fl.us

Coverage of the Carpool Detectives by local Florida outlets

https://www.jacksonville.com

National Domestic Violence Hotline (for resources and education)

https://www.thehotline.org

If You or Someone You Know Needs Help

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1 800 799 SAFE

Text START to 88788

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This is I Fear You, Babe. Before we talk about how Rekia Boyd died, we talk about how she lived.

Rekia Boyd was twenty two years old. She was a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a Black woman standing with her friends in her own city on an ordinary night.

In March of 2012, Rekia was shot and killed by an off duty Chicago police officer. She was unarmed. The officer was never convicted. Her case ended not with accountability, but with a legal technicality that exposed how easily justice can be mischarged, misdirected, and ultimately denied.

This episode examines what happened the night Rekia Boyd was killed, how the legal system responded, and why her death did not receive the attention it deserved. This is not a story about a single decision. It is about systems of protection, prosecutorial failure, and whose lives are treated as disposable.

Rekia Boyd — References & Sources

Primary Reporting & Context

• Rekia Boyd Foundation (family and advocacy) — official site
  https://rekiaboydfoundation.org
  
  
• Chicago Tribune — Coverage of the shooting and trial
  https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/chi-chicago-police-officer-cleared-in-rekia-boyd-shooting-20150715-story.html
  
  
• ABC7 Chicago — Article on Rekia Boyd case and aftermath
  https://abc7chicago.com/rekia-boyd-shooting-dante-servin-chicago/1501854/
  
  
• CNN — Reporting on the judge’s ruling and community response
  https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/15/us/chicago-rekia-boyd-officer-acquitted/index.html
  
  

Legal & Court Details

• Chicago Sun-Times — Analysis of the legal decision and involuntary manslaughter issues
  https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2015/7/15/18448752/cook-county-judge-acquits-former-cpd-officer-dante-servin-in-rekia-boyd-killing
  
  
• South Side Weekly — Breakdown of legal arguments and community impact
  https://southsideweekly.com/rekia-boyd-acquittal-police-accountability/
  
  

Police Violence & Racial Justice Context

• Mapping Police Violence — Database of police killings (nationwide data)
  https://mappingpoliceviolence.org
  
  
• Black Women’s Blueprint — Report on Black women and state violence
  https://www.blackwomensblueprint.org
  
  
• Center for Constitutional Rights — Racial justice resources and case archives
  https://ccrjustice.org
  
  

Historical & Social Context

• NAACP — Police Reform and Accountability Resources
  https://www.naacp.org/issues/criminal-justice-reform
  
  
• ACLU — Civil liberties and police violence overview
  https://www.aclu.org/issues/criminal-law-reform/reforming-police

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