If you've read my previous articles, you can see I have an interest in true crime. Purely because I am astonished that a human being can resort to this behavior. Every day I listen to the podcast "My Favorite Murder" and I decided to do my own take on an episode of crimes. Each episode, "My Favorite Murder" details two crimes that they have researched. So, for this article I have researched two murders that occurred on Halloween. Plus, with the interest in the new "Halloween" movie, I've decided to continue on the trend of two real-life Michael Meyers.
Warning: These two crimes include the saddening deaths of two children.
The Murder of Martha Moxley
When: Halloween 1975
Where: Greenwich, Connecticut
The Story: On the afternoon of Halloween, Martha Moxley's body had been discovered on her family's property. Martha had supposedly been bludgeoned about 14 times with a golf club and stabbed with the handle. The murder was defined as "overkill." The golf club had been identified as Rusthon Shakel's, her neighbor, as the clubs had his wife's name engraved on them. So, the 15-year-old had last been seen the night before, Mischief Night, with friends. Including of those friends were Rusthon's sons, Tommy and Michael. Tommy was the initial suspect for the crime due to the fact that he was the last to see Martha. He had claimed, years later, they were sexually intimate that night together in the yard.
However, Martha had previously dated his brother, Michael. This tragic love triangle gets messy as Michael reveals he had seen his ex-lover and own brother together. Michael had stated he had an alibi which would later be debunked after further investigation. His friends announced that his where-a-bouts were completely unknown. Supposedly, Michael was hiding in a tree spying on Martha, then later had climbed into his window at home to avoid being caught outside the home. The father, Rusthon, had hired Sutton Investigators to help exonerate his son.
This, however, only revealed more complications. Much of the evidence was revealed to be controversial and circumstantial. An extra fact added to this as the Shakel's were related to the famous Kennedy's. The suspected son, Michael, supposedly told a fellow friend, "I'm going to get away with murder. I'm a Kennedy." Many years later, in January of 2000, Michael had been found guilty of murder but was released on a $500,000 bond. The case was later re-tried in 2002, in which Michael received a sentence of 20 years to life. Unfortunately, in 2013 there were claims of ineffective legal representation, so the judge decided to redo the case.
From this most recent trial, Michael Shakel got out on a $1.2 million bond. To this day, justice has not been served for Martha Moxley's horrendous death on Halloween of 1975.
The Death of Timothy O' Bryan
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When: Halloween 1974
Where: Houston, Texas
The Story: On Halloween evening, father of two Ronald O'Bryan offered to take his children trick-or-treating with friends within their suburb. Ronald had laced Pixy Stix with cyanide that he had unsealed and restapled. He then gave the poisonous candy to the four friends and his two kids. Only Timothy, Ronald's 8-year-old son, had eaten the candy as the others could not open their deadly treats. Little Timothy then died soon after ingesting the poison. Supposedly, Ronald had planned to poison his children for the $40,000 insurance claims that he had just taken out on Timothy.
The other children were just to be collateral damage. O'Bryan had planned to give the candy to his son before bed, but he reported that his son vomited a lot after eating his candy. Ronald acted as a parent distraught and shocked over the unexpected death of his child. Panic was thus inflicted throughout the city. Houston was in fear if there was a killer on the loose, poisoning children.
However, Ronald was not to get away with this heinous crime. He never admitted to the crime, but his wife did testify against him which would end in a death sentence. The jury had found him guilty within an hour of debate. The prosecutor of the trial had stated, "He's the man that ruined Halloween for the whole world." Ronald O'Bryan was given a lethal injection on March 31, 1984.
