Photos: Kennedy family tragedies - CNN.com A Connecticut judge on Wednesday, October 23, ordered a new trial for Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel, who was sentenced to 20 years to life in prison in 2002 for the 1975 killing of his teenage neighbor, Martha Moxley. Skakel is the nephew of Ethel Skakel Kennedy, the widow of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. He has been fighting for years to overturn his conviction.