The brother of Olympic skating great NANCY KERRIGAN was acquitted in sensational murder trial of killing their father.
Kerrigan was acquitted of involuntary manslaughter charge but was convicted on lesser charges of assault and battery in the death of his father after a brutal confrontation between the two in the Kerrigan family Stoneham home in January 2010.
The split verdict came towards the dawn of the jury's second full day of deliberations.
Prosecutors had argued Mark Kerrigan, 46, fought with Daniel Kerrigan, 70, grabbing him by the neck and then crushing the bone cartilage there which triggered sudden cardiac arrest.
Prosecution said in closing arguments the son’s “actions set into motion a natural and continuous sequence of events that led to Daniel Kerrigan’s death.”
But defense attorney Janice Bassil charged that the prosecution had failed to prove its case. She suggested to jurors that the elder Kerrigan’s heart failure began before he started grappling with his troubled son.
Defense attorneys also contended the elder Kerrigan had a long history of coronary artery disease.
The heart-wrenching trial showcased tearful testimony by Daniel Kerrigan’s wife, Brenda, who disputed claims that the confrontation between her son and husband, which she witnessed, was a “fight.”
After closing arguments were delivered, jurors deliberated 4 ½ hours on Monday, then 8 hours on Tuesday, before voting for acquittal.
Nancy Kerrigan won a silver medal in the 1994 Olympics and a bronze in the 1992 Olympics and made worldwide headlines when she was attacked in 1994 by a man linked to her competitor, Tonya Harding.
