BOSTON (Reuters) – Jury selection began on Friday in the trial of Mark Kerrigan, U.S. Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan's brother, who is charged with manslaughter in the death of his 70-year-old father.
The two-time Olympic medalist may be called to testify at her brother's trial in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn, Massachusetts, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors say Mark Kerrigan, 46, was intoxicated and reckless when he grabbed his father by the neck in an argument over using the family telephone on January 23, 2010.
Kerrigan allegedly "pushed, grabbed and shoved" his father, Daniel, and "forcibly grabbed" him around the neck, causing him to fall to the kitchen floor, according to police reports.
Prosecutors say the elder Kerrigan died from cardiac dysrhythmia triggered by the physical struggle.
Kerrigan told police "his father was faking it," case documents said.
"This defendant should have known that the cruel acts that he committed against his elderly father, including grabbing him by the neck with enough force to cause a fracture, were highly likely to result in substantial harm and endanger his father's life," Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said after the indictment was handed down.
The ice skater and her family have stood by her brother, saying the death was not his fault. They say Daniel Kerrigan had a preexisting heart condition.
Nancy Kerrigan, 41, was thrust into the spotlight ahead of the 1994 Winter Olympics, when she was clubbed just above the knee at skating championships in Detroit in an attack planned by skating rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband and bodyguard.
She recovered and went on to win a silver medal seven weeks later at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. She also won a bronze medal at the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)
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