Times wires
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Figure skating
Kerrigan's brother acquitted of manslaughter in father's death
WOBURN, Mass. — The brother of two-time Olympic medalist Nancy Kerrigan was acquitted Wednesday of manslaughter in the death of their 70-year-old father by a jury that apparently agreed with his defense that Daniel Kerrigan died of heart disease, not from a scuffle between the two. Mark Kerrigan, 46, was convicted of a misdemeanor assault and battery charge in a January 2010 altercation with his father at the family's home in Stoneham, north of Boston.
Nancy Kerrigan and her mother, Brenda, embraced and cried after the verdict was read. "My family has never believed at all that my brother had anything to do with my father's death, and … my dad would never have wanted any of this," Nancy Kerrigan said outside the courthouse after the verdict, standing with other family members.
Mark Kerrigan faces a maximum 21/2 years in county jail when he is sentenced today on the misdemeanor charge.
Prosecutors said Mark Kerrigan caused his father's death after he grabbed him around the neck, broke larynx cartilage and triggered heart failure. Medical experts testified for the defense that Daniel Kerrigan had at least 85 percent blockage of three main coronary arteries and that the cardiac dysrhythmia that killed him likely began before the scuffle.
Prosecutors still believe Kerrigan caused his father's death, Middlesex District Attorney Gerry Leone said.
Soccer
Corruption hearing in presidential race
With the presidential election just a week away for the sport's governing body, the group said it is investigating challenger Mohamed bin Hammam for bribery in his campaign to unseat Sepp Blatter.
The group, FIFA, summoned Asian Football Confederation leader bin Hammam and FIFA vice president Jack Warner to an ethics hearing Sunday to face allegations of corruption during the former's campaign visit to Trinidad, Warner's home country, two weeks ago.
The allegations — leveled by Warner's longtime ally, Chuck Blazer of the United States — could wreck bin Hammam's already fading hopes of defeating Blatter in the June 1 vote by FIFA's 208 national members.
Bin Hammam and Warner denied wrongdoing.
Et cetera
Autos: Daytona 500 winner Trevor Bayne will miss a fifth straight week of racing this week as a precaution. Bayne has been sidelined by what doctors have termed an inflammatory condition. Roush Fenway Racing said Bayne will return next week in the Nationwide race at Chicagoland Speedway. … Tony Stewart said he'd be interested in signing Danica Patrick for his Stewart-Haas Racing if she moves full time to NASCAR next year.
Cycling: Alberto Contador maintained his overall lead, and Diego Ulissi won a contentious three-man sprint finish in the 17th stage of the Giro d'Italia. Giovanni Visconti crossed first but was relegated by the race jury to third for pushing Ulissi out of the way with his hand. Contador remained 4:58 in front of Michele Scarponi in the overall standings,
Times wires