The prosecution announced Friday morning that it will not retry Michael Skakel for the murder of Martha Moxley – ending the decades-long case.

The decision came 45 years to the day that Moxley was beaten to death with a golf club in Greenwich, grabbing headlines across the nation.

In Stamford court, Richard Colangelo, the chief state’s attorney, said it was his belief “that the state cannot prove this case beyond a reasonable doubt.”

In 2002, a jury convicted Skakel of killing Moxley, his 15-year-old neighbor, the day before Halloween in 1975. He received a 20-year sentence.

But in 2013, Skakel was released on bond after a court overturned the verdict, ruling defense attorney Mickey Sherman had failed to adequately represent Skakel at trial. The state Supreme Court upheld that ruling in 2018, sending the case to Colangelo.

Colangelo told the court Friday that of the 51 prosecution witnesses from Skakel's last trial, 17 had died.

In court, Moxley's brother, John, said he and his mother stand by the decision and he thanked local law enforcement.

“I couldn’t be any prouder of the people who work for the state and the commitment that they’ve shown to my mother and I and to Martha,” he said.

Skakel did not speak during the hearing or outside court. His attorney Stephan Seeger called the prosecution’s decision the right thing to do.

“I was looking forward to the day that we were walking out of this courtroom and this case would be behind Michael and that’s what happened today,” he said. “He spent 11 and a half years behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit, so you can imagine there are some things he’d like to accomplish without that weighing on his mind.”

John Moxley told News 12 that he still believes Skakel killed his sister in a jealous rage. But said his family is at peace with the decision.

“His life will never be the same and my life will never be the same, and I wouldn't want to walk a mile in his shoes,” he said.