Nancy Kerrigan’s Father’s Death – A Homicide?

The Middlesex, Mass., district attorney announced Tuesday that the death of Olympic skater Nancy Kerrigan's father, Daniel Kerrigan, is being treated as a homicide because of both an assault, compounded with an already-compromised medical condition.

According to an article on People.com, “The statement from the office of DA Gerry Leone said, in part: ‘The Medical Examiner determined that the cause of death was cardiac dysrhythmia following a physical altercation with neck compression causing injury to the neck in the form of a cartilage fracture to the larynx area, in a person with hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular heart disease.’ It also stated: ‘The corresponding manner of death has been ruled a homicide.’”

On the morning of Sunday, Jan. 24, 70-year-old Daniel Kerrigan, who was a U.S. Army veteran, was found unresponsive at his home in Stoneham, Mass. He was later pronounced dead at Winchester Hospital.

The People.com article goes on to say, “Kerrigan . . . died after a violent struggle with his son, Mark Kerrigan, 45. The younger Kerrigan was charged with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon on an elderly person and causing serious bodily injury. A police report filed in court says the son attacked his father during an argument about whether he could use the phone.”

“The Kerrigan family is extremely disappointed that the medical examiner would release a cause of death without having all of the relevant facts,” says family attorney Tracy Miner. “We believe this finding to be premature and inaccurate.”

Miner adds that the Kerrigan family does not place the blame on anyone for the unfortunate demise of their patriarch because of his pre-existing heart condition.

The People.com article concludes by stating, “The funeral and burial of Daniel Kerrigan took place Jan. 28.”