(Norwalk-AP Oct. 6, 2002 8:00 AM) _ Michael Skakel's murder conviction ended a 27-year-old mystery, but the Kennedy cousin's trial failed to answer a question that has long intrigued authorities, the victim's family and observers.

Could a teenager have the presence of mind to cover up such a messy crime without any help?

Skakel was convicted in June of beating Martha Moxley to death with a golf club in 1975 in Greenwich when they were 15-year-old neighbors. The 42-year-old Skakel was sentenced in August to 20 years to life in prison.

Moxley's body was dragged more than 80 feet across her property to a pine tree. The handle to the shattered golf club and her attacker's bloody clothes were never recovered.

Prosecutor Jonathan Benedict says there has always been a theory that after the fact somebody helped clean up and cover up the crime scene.

But Benedict says a statute of limitations and lack of evidence prevents any further prosecution.