First defense witness testifies Kennedy cousin didn't confess

STAMFORD, Conn. - A former student at a drug and alcohol treatment center testifyied she never heard Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel admit involvement a 1975 beating death.

As Skakel's defense got under way, the witness, Alice Dunn, also disputed the truthfulness of a prosecution witness who tied Skakel to the killing of Martha Moxley.

Skakel is charged with beating Martha to death on Oct. 30, 1975, when both were 15. A hearing that began last week and resumed Wednesday will determine whether there is enough evidence to proceed with the case and whether Skakel should be tried as a juvenile or an adult.

Skakel's father, Rushton Skakel Sr., is a brother of Ethel Kennedy, the widow of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other members of his extended family turned out Wednesday to support Skakel. ''This is a horrible, unspeakable tragedy, but it only compounds it to blame Michael Skakel, who is innocent,'' he said.

Defense lawyer Michael Sherman began presenting his case Wednesday with the testimony by Dunn, who was a student at the Elan School, a residential drug and alcohol treatment center in Maine, when Skakel attended it in the late 1970s.

Last week, two former students at the school testified that Skakel had confessed to them that he killed Moxley, who was bludgeoned with a golf club.

One student, John Higgins, said Skakel confessed to him one night during an erratic, tearful conversation. But Higgins also admitted he lied to investigators when they initially questioned him about the alleged confession and admitted asking about a $50,000 reward.

Dunn said Higgins had ''a terrible reputation for truthfulness'' and that she doubted Skakel would confide in him.

Dunn said she never heard Skakel admit involvement in Moxley's death, even while undergoing a treatment that involved being pummeled in a boxing ring.

''He denied vehemently, over and over again, 'No, no, no, no!''' Dunn said.

The boxing ring was used to break down students' resistance and force them to confront the root cause of their emotional problems, she said.

Under cross-examination by State's Attorney Jonathan Benedict, Dunn admitted telling the judge who investigated the case as a one-man grand jury that Skakel had made statements hinting at involvement in Martha's death.

Benedict said her grand jury testimony included a recollection that Skakel said: ''I don't know if I did it myself, or my brother.'' On another occasion, she said, Skakel told her that ''as far as he was concerned, he might have done it.''

But she insisted that he never outright confessed to the crime to her and that she never heard of a confession while she was at the school.