Nancy Kerrigan’s Father Found Dead, Skater’s Brother Arrested

The father of Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, Daniel Kerrigan, was found dead early Sunday morning, Access Hollywood has learned.

Mark Kerrigan – the victim’s son and skater’s brother – has been arrested and charged with assault and battery on an elder with serious bodily injury, according to Boston’s NBC WHDH 7News.

According WHDH, who confirmed the story to Access, emergency medical crews responded to a call about an unresponsive male in Stoneham, Mass., on Sunday morning. Daniel Kerrigan, 70, was taken to Winchester Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

According to The Boston Herald, Daniel and Mark got into an argument about a phone and the two men began yelling at each other and pushing one another. The police report states that Mark Kerrigan put his “hands around his father’s neck” and the 70-year-old fell to the floor. Mark told authorities that he believed his father was “faking it.”

Mark was reportedly intoxicated when authorities arrived on the scene and had to be subdued with pepper spray, according to the police report.

The police report also reportedly noted there was blood found on the kitchen floor of the home.

The skater’s mother, Brenda Kerrigan, told the paper that her husband died of a heart attack.

“My husband had a massive heart attack,” Brenda Kerrigan said on Monday. “This is a very difficult time for me.”

On Monday, Mark Kerrigan pleaded not guilty to the alleged assault during his arraignment on in Woburn District Court, the Associated Press reported. He is being held on $10,000 bail. His past criminal record includes arrests for assault and battery, assault with a dangerous weapon, malicious destruction and violation of a restraining order.

Mark Kerrigan reportedly did not speak during the arraignment but at one point wept.

Funeral services for Daniel Kerrigan are scheduled for Thursday morning.On Monday afternoon, the Kerrigan family released a statement to Access.

“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 statement read. “He was a valued and beloved member of the Stoneham Community. The family’s focus is on mourning Dan and honoring his life and many contributions. At this time we ask that their privacy be respected.”

Nancy Kerrigan is a two-time US Olympic figure skating medalist, most famous for her notorious run-in with Tonya Harding in January 1994. A month after being attacked at the US Figure Skating Championships in Detroit, Kerrigan went on to win the silver medal at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.