Nancy Kerrigan's Brother Held in the Death of Their Father

It has been a long time since satellite trucks and the press were parked in front of Olympic Ice Princess, Nancy Kerrigan's family home. Not since the famous, pre Olympic Tonya Harding engineered attack on Nancy Kerrigan's knees in 1994, has the small town of Stoneham, Mass seen such an invasion of the media. This time the situation is incredibly sad and tragic.

Since the drama of the Tanya Harding knee attack, and coming in second in the 1994 Figure Slating Olympics, Nancy Kerrigan has led a relatively quiet existence with her family and children in Massachusetts. She married, had three children and appears occasionally in skating shows throughout the country. She still looks lovely and skates as well as ever. Sadly her period of relative tranquility has come to an end as she faces painful family issues involving the death of her 70 year old father Daniel.

Last Sunday police were called to the Stoneham, Massachusetts' home of Nancy Kerrigan's parents. The call was made by Nancy Kerrigan's legally blind mother, Brenda. When police arrived, they found Nancy's father, Daniel unconscious, lying in a pool of blood. They found Daniel's 45 year old, son Mark, combative and drunk sitting by the body. He said his father was "faking it."

Father and son had been arguing over the use of a telephone when the altercation turned violent. Police had to pepper spray Mark Kerrigan in order to arrest him. The father, 70 year old, Daniel Kerrigan died a few hours later at a local hospital.

Until this week not much was known of the problems Nancy Kerrigan's parents were having with their 45 year old son. Records show that Mark Kerrigan, an Army veteran, had been in and out of jail for the past 20 years. He had trouble with drugs, alcohol and violence. He suffered from mental problems and had made suicide attempts. He was divorced from his wife and had just been released from jail for assaulting her, when his parents allowed him to move in with them.

Like many parents, Brenda and Daniel Kerrigan had struggled with the dilemma of how to help their now adult son. Should they punish or protect him? For years they had given him money, paid his legal expenses and costs. When he got out of jail in November 2009, they brought him into their home. They loved him and wanted to do what was best for him. Unfortunately, there is little help for parents in their situation. They think with their hearts and hope for the best. The adult child calls the shots.

An autopsy is being performed on the body of Daniel Kerrigan who had suffered from a heart ailment. If Daniel Kerrigan died because of the assault on him, Mark Kerrigan could serve 10 years in prison.

Sources:

Boston Globe

NBC Today Show