This inspires Jeff Gillooly and Shawn Eckhardt (his friend, her "bodyguard") to plan their own attack. It was their idea, he said, to kneecap Kerrigan. Feb. 11, 1994: A Clackamas County judge asks attorneys for the USOC and Harding to try to work out a compromise. View contact information: phones, addresses, emails and networks. Harding said that Gillooly phoned her one hour later asking her to pick him up. Jan. 18, 1994: Harding separates from Gillooly after meeting with investigators for more than 10 hours. [38] On December 25, Gillooly had an answering machine message from Smith asking for more details about the plan. . Harding said she understood that. [30] The officer then interviewed Harding and Gillooly separately about what had happened, but their stories did not match. Tonya Harding's bodyguard Shawn Eckardt (Paul Walter Hauser) made international headlines when he sat down with Diane Sawyer. He was 40. He was enrolled in the program for three years before being booted out in 1992. "[37] However, she was skeptical about Eckardt's ability to arrange it. Jan. 12, 1994: Eckardt confesses to the FBI, implicating Harding, Gillooly, and two of Eckardt's friends, Stant and Derrick B. Smith. Mugshot Eckardt and the two others, Derrick Smith and Shane Stant, have been arrested and have confessed to participating in the crime. She was raised in East Portland and began skating at age three, training with coach . Lurking in the background was Harding's self-anointed "bodyguard," Shawn Eckardt, a slovenly fabulist. In a July affidavit, Harding wrote that she had been in an abusive marriage for two years, "he has assaulted me physically with his open hand and fist [] put me down to the floor on several occasions. The interview ended with Harding saying, "No one controls my life but meif there's something in there that I don't like, I'm going to change it. [38], He arrived at 11 a.m. to the meeting held at Eckardt's home office, knocking on the door with Stant letting him in. "That's news to me," said Joe Walther, the man who answered the phone listed in the letter. It also read that Harding, Gillooly, Eckardt, Smith, and Stant agreed to "knowingly cause physical injury by means of a dangerous weapon." The now 47-year-old says she overheard her then-husband Jeff. The attacker flees without being identified. Harding loses her sweaty, sloppy match by split decision. Online records show that he still lived in California in 2017. Jan 21, 1994: For the first time in 10 days, Harding returns to the Clackamas Town Center ice rink for practice. He was 40. "The Sun", "Sun", "Sun Online" are registered trademarks or trade names of News Group Newspapers Limited. The questions are being debated by lawyers and law-enforcement officials as the investigation continues. She's the national champ. They settled on injuring Kerrigan's right leg. The interview with Diane Sawyer from 1994 is as weird as you'd expect, with Sawyer explaining to viewers that, "Eckhardt has a rsum that makes him out to be a cross between James Bond and. "But unless you really know him, you don't how deep that rabbit . According to him, Eckardt wanted to keep the idea of injuring Kerrigan a secret from Harding, but Gillooly explained that injuring a competitor might psychologically affect Harding's performance too. Nancy Kerrigan had already finished her practice session and departed to Stoneham, Massachusetts for the weekend. Griffith, of Beaverton, was Harding's bodyguard when the Portland-born skater competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic figure skating team in 1994. Shawn Eckhardt Found 11 people in Pennsylvania, Virginia and 12 other states. The Sun website is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), Our journalists strive for accuracy but on occasion we make mistakes. Stant said no. To some degree, his name faded away with more prominent figures. Today: She reportedly lives in Central Oregon with her husband and son. But the life beefy bodyguard Shawn Eric Eckardt portrayed in a resume filled with misspellings and apparent misstatements is vastly different from the facts. June 30, 1994: Harding is stripped of her 1994 national figure skating title and banned for life from the U.S. Gillooly said that Harding had been moving her possessions into his truck when they started an argument over his former girlfriend; he declined to press charges. Eckardt replied that Smith was already driving to Portland and that he needed more information about Kerrigan a photograph and the location of the ice rink where she practiced. That set in motion the events that led to his arrest. "[97], Cobo Arena, the site of the attack, pictured here in 2007, 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships, United States Figure Skating Championships, "Third Suspect Arrested by F.B.I. Feb. 1997: During a two-minute performance preceding a Reno Renegades hockey game, Harding is subjected to booing, catcalls, and thrown batons. "I have every intention of utilizing his expertise in the future and cannot think of any individual that could surpass Mr. Eckardt's capabilities," Gillooly purportedly wrote. I knew something was up, confessed Harding, who still insists she had no role in the vicious attack. She then angrily asked him why "this thing" (the plot) was not completed. Eckardt then phoned him to say the plot involved making "an accident happen" to a skater, maybe cutting an Achilles tendon. Hood Community College, shared an interest in espionage and survivalism, and had discussed opening a school together someday. There's other things you can do to disable somebody rather than you don't need to kill." Tonya Harding married Jeff Gillooly when she was 19 and divorced him in 1993, a year before the attack. "Eckardt just couldn't keep up with the training, and we terminated him," said Tom Duggan, the school's training manager. Jan 19, 1994: Gillooly turns himself in after an arrest warrant is issued. "[21] On June 17, 1991, Harding filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Also, Eckardt includes with his resume a letter of recommendation from Blackstone Corp. and uses as a reference a Mr. W. J. Walther, the company's purported Oregon-based representative. Tonya & Nancy: The Inside Story (TV Movie 1994) Dan Schneider as Shawn Eckhardt. When Kerrigan hosted Saturday Night Live in 1994 after the Winter Olympics in which the figure skater ended up winning the silver medal Chris Farley and Rob Schneider parodied Eckardt and Gillooly, respectively. And I don't know of any major newspaper that wouldn't have wanted the first interview with (Harding "hit man"') Shawn Eckardt or O.J. Jan. 15, 1994: Figure skating officials meet to decide whether Harding can compete in the Olympics in February. I grew up in the Camp Hero area of Montauk, the closest Neighborhood to the lighthouse. "[27] That summer, a man from Harding's gym claimed to The Oregonian that Harding offered to pay him to "take care" of Gillooly, "slap him around a little." Kerrigan was the American sweetheart who was one of her main competitors on Olympic ice. Mark Eckardt Found 18 people in California, Illinois and 17 other states. "I'm just a simple buyer," he said. Harding continues training for the Olympics. She declares her innocence and wishes Gillooly well. It's an 18-mile Open Ocean Paddle and each paddler must raise or contribute a minimum of $1500 to participate. Schatz asked Harding whether someone she knew could have planned the attack. Eckardt says Gillooly hatched the plot. The USFSA has no dominion over professional skating events, yet Harding was also persona non grata on the pro circuit. On January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan was attacked after practice at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan, in what would become one of the biggest sports scandals in history. She gave birth to her only child, a son named Gordon, on February 19, 2011. [41] Gillooly said he would phone her after the meeting, and Harding then drove to Gillooly's mother's house. She said Harding then asked for the name of Kerrigan's training rink and also wanted to know if Kerrigan owned property in Cape Cod. Kerrigan (left) and Harding practice before the 1994 Olympic Games in Norway, where Kerrigan takes the silver. When asked about her finances, Harding said she had one bank account which was currently $109 overdrawn. [38], According to Gillooly, Harding then approached both men and asked Eckardt if his previous back pains were better. [16] The attack severely bruised her knee and quadriceps tendon and forced her to withdraw from the U.S. The man was later found to have been hired by Harding's ex-husband Jeff Gillooly and his friend, Shawn Eckardt. He changed his name to Jeff Stone and also went on to a life outside of the headlines. Shane Stant, the hit man who was hired to attack Olympic figure skater Nancy Kerrigan with a collapsible baton 24 years ago, has told Inside Edition exclusively that he is regretful for the act. [30] Gillooly assured her Eckardt knew people who could carry out the attack, and they could abort the plot if they did not like Eckardt's plan. "[54][55][56] Harding also confirmed she had spoken with FBI agents in Detroit and again in Portland. On January 1, 1994, she had a late-night skating session from 11:30 p.m to 1 a.m., and Gillooly asked Eckardt to meet them at the rink. But it is Eckardt who looms as a pivotal figure in the investigation. [1] At the time of the attack, the couple were together and still referred to each other as husband and wife. A judge places her on probation for three years and orders her to pay $160,000 in fines and contributions. [19] In 1988, the couple moved into a home together, and Harding claimed she began experiencing physical abuse from Gillooly. May 16, 1994: Eckardt pleads guilty to racketeering. [25], In both March and July 1993, police came to Harding and Gillooly's shared apartment after reported arguments. He allegedly hired two men, 29-year-old Derrick Smith and his nephew Shane Stant,. [38][30] It was true that Steinbrenner had recently given Harding a $10,000 donation through the USFSA. If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1 (800) 799-SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org. [91], The character of Karla Keller in the cancelled Data East arcade fighting game Tattoo Assassins is largely based on Kerrigan, Keller's backstory directly referencing the assault. A smiling, clapping Harding. Jan. 31, 1994: Gillooly says Harding approved the attack on Kerrigan. Original Name. Not bad for someone who would have been 16 years old at the time of his hiring. Arrested for their roles in the attack were Derrick Smith and Stant, two men who liked to set booby-traps and play war together on property they shared in Corbett, Ore. And there were tales of Eckardt trying to entice a fellow student, Russell "Rusty" Rietz, to "kill someone" in Detroit for $65,000. Shawn Eckardt, a friend of Gillooly's who was also Harding's bodyguard before the attack, had originally been hired by the figure skater after she received an anonymous death threat. We've played chess together.". Jan. 4, 1994: On the way to Detroit for the U.S. When he told her about their "money-back guarantee," Harding laughed out loud. PORTLAND Brian Sean Griffith, the former bodyguard to Tonya Harding, has died. They plead not guilty. For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, Skater Tonya Harding has finally admitted she knew about the plot to injure her rival, Tonya Harding, left, skates past compatriot Nancy Kerrigan during a practice session at the Olympic Games in Norway in 1994, The athlete eventually finished in eighth place at the '94 Games and was later banned for life from US figure skating, Harding's former husband Jeff Gillooly, right, attends his arraignment hearing January 19, 1994, flanked by attorney Ronald H. Hoevet, Margot Robbie. Marano stated that Harding had phoned her about a "bet" regarding Nancy Kerrigan. Or was he following the orders of others? [92][93], The attack was mentioned in Weird Al Yankovic's song "Headline News", a parody of the Crash Test Dummies hit "Mmm Mmm Mmm Mmm". [38] Smith wanted to know if Eckardt was still interested in moving to Phoenix to help set up an anti-terrorist training camp as they had previously discussed. Death. "[a] This footage was later broadcast around the world in news programs. In the weeks leading up to the Olympics, Jeff and Tonya's bodyguard at the time, Shawn Eckhardt, hired a man to attack Nancy apparently hoping to improve Tonya's chances at the Winter . She also agrees to resign from the U.S. Rather than focus on the 1994 attack, I, Tonya instead focuses greatly on Harding's upbringing and the backstory that led up to the unbelievable pre-Olympics controversy. Time of his hiring Harding approved the attack severely bruised her knee and quadriceps tendon and forced her pick. That set in motion the events that led to his arrest [ 19 ] in 1988, the former to! 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