Michael Skakel, the nephew of slain, onetime presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy, was convicted Friday of beating to death his 15-year-old neighbor Martha Moxley more than 25 years ago.
The jury took three days to render the guilty verdict for Mr. Skakel, 41, who could get anywhere from 10 years to life in prison for the murder.
An emotional Dorothy Moxley, the murder victim's mother, was visibly relieved outside the Connecticut courthouse.
"This whole thing was about Martha," she said. "And I just, I feel so blessed and so overwhelmed that we've actually, we now... this is Martha's day, this is truly Martha's day. And I hope that people remember that."
For more than two decades, the case had gone unresolved, stirring speculation that wealth and the Kennedy family connection protected Mr. Skakel.
Mrs. Moxley's son, John Moxley, called the decision against his sister's killer "a hollow victory." "It does not bring Martha back", he said.
The high-profile trial lasted almost four weeks. Michael Skakel's attorney, Mickey Sherman, vowed that it was only the beginning.
"He didn't do it, he doesn't have a clue who did, he wasn't there, he never confessed. I meant it then, I mean it now, and I'm going to mean it in the next six months to three years or whatever it takes to get him out of custody," he said.
Mr. Sherman called the verdict, "the most upsetting verdict he has ever had or will ever have" in his life.
Mr. Skakel and Martha Moxley were neighbors in the wealthy Greenwich, Connecticut community of Belle Haven. Ms. Moxley was found under a tree of her family's estate bludgeoned to death by a golf club that was later traced to a set of clubs owned by the Skakel family.
Sentencing for Mr. Skakel was set for July 19.