Nancy Kerrigan's Family Defends Mark Kerrigan in Father's Death
Photo: Mark Kerrigan's mother, Brenda, left, sister Nancy, center, and father Daniel Kerrigan in 1994.
PICTURES: Nancy Kerrigan Family Tragedy
Daniel Kerrigan's wife, Brenda Kerrigan, told the Boston Herald that her husband died of a heart attack and there was nothing suspicious about the death.
A woman who identified herself as "Dan's sister" and answered his house phone said her brother "had a massive heart attack." She said her nephew Mark Kerrigan played no part in the death and declined to comment further.
Photo: Mark Kerrigan is led in handcuffs Jan. 25, 2010.
PICTURES: Nancy Kerrigan Family Tragedy
Of course, police see it differently. They charged Mark Kerrigan with assaulting his father who died during a disturbance at the family's Massachusetts home Jan. 24.
A police report said officers responding to a 911 call at 1:30 a.m. Sunday found Daniel Kerrigan lying on the floor unconscious. He was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead. An autopsy was planned.
Photo: Daniel and Brenda Kerrigan in 1994.
PICTURES: Nancy Kerrigan Family Tragedy
The report said Mark Kerrigan was found on a couch in the basement of the home in the middle-class Boston suburb of Stoneham and was "belligerent and combative" when questioned. Officers used pepper spray to subdue him and eventually arrested him.
Mark Kerrigan's defense attorney Denise Moore said her client, an Army veteran who had served overseas, was on medication for post-traumatic stress syndrome and was seeing a psychiatrist.
Nancy Kerrigan, who won an Olympic bronze medal in 1992, may be better known for getting clubbed in the knee with a metal baton before the 1994 US Figure Skating Championships in Detroit. Her rival, Tonya Harding, pled guilty to obstructing prosecutors in that incident, for which she got three years probation, community service, and a $160,000 fine.
MEDIA
PICTURES: Nancy Kerrigan Family Tragedy
MORE ON CRIMESIDER
January 25, 2010 - Mark Kerrigan: I Didn't Attack My Dad Daniel Kerrigan
January 25, 2010 - Nancy Kerrigan Family Tragedy: Daniel Kerrigan Sued Son Mark Kerrigan for $100K
January 25, 2010 - Nancy Kerrigan's Brother Mark Kerrigan Charged in Connection with Father's Death