The father of American figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is dead and her
brother is behind bars, accused of assault and battery against 70-year
old Daniel Kerrigan, according to Massachusetts authorities.
Daniel
Kerrigan died Sunday after being taken by emergency personnel from his
family home in Stoneham, Massachusetts, to a hospital, authorities
said. His son Mark, 45, was arraigned Monday and pleaded not guilty to
charges stemming from an alleged assault.
According to Middlesex
County Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Keeley, police responded
to a 911 call at approximately 1:30 a.m. Sunday from Brenda Kerrigan,
wife of Daniel and mother to Mark and Nancy Kerrigan.
Keeley
told Middlesex District Court Judge Mark Sullivan during the
arraignment Monday for Mark Kerrigan that there was a violent argument
and struggle between the father and his son, resulting in the elder
Kerrigan falling or collapsing on the kitchen floor. Keeley said that
Mark Kerrigan told authorities "that he did in fact have an argument
with his father, the argument became physical, he grabbed his father
around the neck, and at some point the father collapsed to the floor."
The
Middlesex District Attorney's office said Monday that authorities were
still investigating the "entirety of the circumstances of the
incident," along with the cause and manner of death. The county medical
examiner is expected to release a report within a couple of weeks.
According
to Keeley, police found Mark Kerrigan in the basement of the house,
"clearly intoxicated" and "extremely combative." He refused to comply
with police officers, said Keeley, and they had to subdue him with
pepper spray before forcibly removing him from the home.
Mark
Kerrigan wept softly during Monday's arraignment. His attorney, Denise
Moore, told the judge that Kerrigan was in grief and "quite distraught
about his father's death." Through his attorney, Mark Kerrigan denied
any responsibility in the death.
Moore said in court that Mark
Kerrigan was unemployed, was recently released from a correctional
facility and was living at home with his parents. He is taking
medications and seeking psychological help for post-traumatic stress,
apparently from his time in the Army, Moore said.
Despite
appeals from his attorney, Sullivan ordered Kerrigan held on $10,000
cash bail. His next court appearance is expected to be February 24.
Nancy
Kerrigan first gained prominence by winning a bronze medal at the 1992
Winter Olympics in Albertville, France. In 1994 she earned an Olympic
silver medal in Lillehammer, Norway. But she is perhaps best remembered
for surviving an attack before the 1994 Winter Games by skating rival
Tanya Harding's ex-husband and an accomplice.
Through
a spokeswoman on Tuesday, the Kerrigan family released a statement
saying: "Dan Kerrigan was a wonderful husband for 47 years, a caring
and loving father to his daughter Nancy and two sons, Michael and Mark,
and a grandfather of eight. ... The family's focus is on mourning Dan
and honoring his life and many contributions."
CNN's Vanessa Juarez contributed to this report.