WOBURN, Mass. — Figure skater Nancy Kerrigan’s brother pleaded not guilty to manslaughter Friday in the death of their father, who prosecutors say was stricken after a violent clash with his son.
Prosecutors say 70-year-old Daniel Kerrigan died after the fight with 45-year-old Mark Kerrigan in the family home in Stoneham, outside Boston. The family says Mark Kerrigan is not responsible for his father’s death.
Additional Photos
Kerrigan was arraigned in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, where he entered not guilty pleas to manslaughter and assault. He left the courthouse just before noon after posting a new $25,000 bail set by the clerk magistrate.
“The Kerrigans are extremely pleased to have Mark back at home where he belongs,” his family said later in a statement.
Before the manslaughter indictment, Kerrigan had been out on bail and living with his mother in the family’s Stoneham home, where the alleged assault took place.
Prosecutors said Kerrigan was in a drunken rage during a Jan. 24 argument with his father over the use of the family telephone when the conflict escalated.
Officials said the younger Kerrigan began grabbing and shoving his father. They said Kerrigan grabbed his father around the neck, fracturing his larynx and causing him to fall to the floor on his back, unconscious.
A state medical examiner said the cause of death was “cardiac dysrhythmia” — a loss or interruption of a normal heartbeat that can lead to cardiac arrest — after an altercation with neck compression that damaged his windpipe. The findings also noted that the elder Kerrigan had high blood pressure and clogged arteries.
On Friday, prosecutor Elizabeth Keeley argued for $50,000 bail, saying Kerrigan has a history of violence and had been released from a 3½-year prison term only two months before the fight with his father. She said Kerrigan told police he would resist if they came to arrest him again.
She noted his mother, Brenda Kerrigan, who is legally blind, was the only witness to the fight.
“I would suggest that this defendant is a risk to his mother,” Keeley said.
Defense attorney Janice Bassil countered that it is “simply absurd” to suggest Kerrigan is a threat to his mother and called the prosecutor’s statements “a blatant attempt to poison public opinion about Mr. Kerrigan.”
She said his earlier remarks about police came when he was intoxicated and that he is forbidden from drinking as a condition of his bail.
Copy the Story Link
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.