Skakel: It is easy to argue that Skakel fell victim to a) vigilante justice; b) the inability of the police to find the real killer, and c) his family's name. Plus it didn't help that the guy is an overall loser, who doesn't have a whole lot to show for himself over the years. I've only read Dunne's work (himself the father of a slain child), who is admittedly working with Mrs. Skakel (hell, he got the investigation running single-handedly). Still, one wonders how much Skakel knows and if he wasn't the killer, what part did he take in her death? In the end, many would say the end justifies the means. The town can put this ugly chapter to bed, the police feel vindicated, the family can move on (albeit decades later), and we have someone to blame.