Mark Kerrigan can return home to Stoneham if he makes bail

By Martin Finucane, Globe Staff

The brother of Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan, who is charged with assaulting his father just before he died, will be able to return to the house where the attack allegedly occurred while he is on bail, Middlesex prosecutors said today.

Mark Kerrigan is currently being evaluated at the state's Bridgewater Treatment Center. But after that evaluation is complete, if he is able to post $10,000 bail, he will be able to return to the family's Stoneham home, said Jessica Venezia, a spokeswoman for the Middlesex district attorney's office.

Venezia said prosecutors objected to letting Kerrigan return there because Kerrigan's mother is a witness in the case. But a Woburn District Court judge ruled at a hearing today that Kerrigan can go home.

Kerrigan, a 45-year-old plumber, has a history of violence and mental illness. He was arrested last month on charges of assaulting his father, Daniel Kerrigan, 70. The father died about two hours after the struggle. Prosecutors are considering whether to bring more serious charges.

But the Kerrigan family has disputed a medical examiner's ruling that Daniel Kerrigan died as a result of a struggle with his son, saying that Kerrigan had a preexisting heart condition.