Olympian’s Brother Charged with Manslaughter
Posted: Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 at 10:25 am
Mark Kerrigan, the brother of figure skater and former Olympian Nancy Kerrigan, has been indicted on manslaughter charges in the death of his father, after becoming embroiled in an altercation with the elder Kerrigan.
Daniel Kerrigan, 70, was determined by the coroner’s office to have died from “cardiac dysrhythmia triggered during a violent physical altercation that resulted in a compression fracture to his left larynx.” Prosecutors issued a statement today detailing the alleged occurrences on the night of January 23, when Stoneham Police were called to the Kerrigan home by an unnamed woman, who claimed that Mark Kerrigan would not let her leave. Daniel Kerrigan came home to try calming his son down, at which point the police left. Over the next few hours, Mark Kerrigan became intoxicated, eventually arguing with his parents before getting involved in a shoving match with his father over his use of the family telephone.
Kerrigan allegedly pushed and shoved his father in the family kitchen, then grabbed his father around the neck, fracturing his larynx. While Daniel Kerrigan lay on his back, unconscious, his wife called 911. Mark Kerrigan had to be subdued by police with pepper spray, and told them while he was handcuffed that his father was “faking it.”
The D.A.’s office described Kerrigan’s state as a “drunken rage.” He was initially charged with assault and battery of an elder. A grand jury later returned the manslaughter indictment, after the coroner found that Daniel Kerrigan had died from a heart attack as a result of injuries sustained during the fight.
Kerrigan, an Army veteran, has struggled with substance abuse and mental illness for years, and has a long criminal record of various violent crimes, including abusing his wife. He was released from prison in November, after serving more than two years for threatening and punching his wife. At that time, the elder Kerrigans allowed the 45-year-old to move back home and live in their basement, despite a history of conflict within the family; the couple had previously sued their son for more than $100,000 in unpaid loans.
Mark Kerrigan was initially sent to Bridgewater State Hospital for psychiatric evaluation, but was allowed to return to his home, although he must wear a GPS tracking device and abstain from drinking, taking drugs and driving. Despite the charges being filed against him, his family has supported him stating that they do not blame him in Daniel’s death.
The Kerrigan family is used to the spotlight; Nancy Kerrigan was an Olympic figure skater who was infamously attacked by associates of her rival, Tanya Harding, in 1994.
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