On cross-examination, Higgins admitted that he and Skakel were never close friends, and that he had lied about Skakel's alleged comments when contacted by a police detective many years later. Skakel's lawyer, Michael Sherman, suggested Higgins had only come forward after he heard about a reward. But Higgins said he had never tried to claim the reward, which later was withdrawn. Earlier today, former Greenwich police Chief Thomas Keegan suggested in his testimony that Moxley's killer was not a stranger to the Skakel family. He told Judge Maureen Dennis that only someone who knew the Skakel family name was present on the murder weapon would have wanted to hide the club's missing handle.
Prosecutors say the club used in the killing broke into several pieces.
Despite an extensive search of the neighborhood, including draining swimming pools and checking Long Island Sound, the handle was never recovered. Keegan acknowledged under questioning by Sherman that the Skakels told police they often left golf clubs lying in the yard of their estate in the wealthy enclave of Belle Haven of Greenwich. Moxley had been at the Skakel house the night before with a group of friends, including Michael Skakel and his older brother, Thomas, then 17. Authorities suspected Thomas for years, but switched their attention to Michael after he changed his story about his movements the night of the killing. Skakel has long professed his innocence.