Olympic skating star Nancy Kerrigan‘s older brother was charged with assault pending on $10,000 bail after their father died shortly after being found to be unresponsive in their own home Sunday morning.

Police reports say that Mark Kerrigan, 45, got into a heated argument with his father, Daniel Kerrigan, 70, because Daniel would not let Mark use the telephone. The argument turned extremely hostile, with the report saying that Mark put his hands around Daniel’s neck. Daniel fell to the floor, but Mark contests that his father was just ‘faking it’.

Further police investigation notes that the house was in disarray when they arrived, with pictures thrown off the walls. What seemed to be blood was also found near Daniel’s body.

Daniel later died pending official autopsy reports on the cause of death. Mark had been charged with assault, but not murder, as the exact cause of death cannot be determined prior to a proper autopsy. Nonetheless, Mark had pleaded not guilty to all current charges.

Mark Kerrigan was just released from the Middlesex County House of Corrections last November 22, where he had been imprisoned since May 2006. Mark served in the military, where he developed post-traumatic stress disorder.

Nancy Kerrigan received international fame in 1994, when she was deliberately hit in the knee by rival Tonya Harding and former husband Jeff Gilooly during an Olympic tryout. Nancy eventually won silver medal despite the plot.

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