The Mysterious Death of Tonya M. Harding's Conspirer

Brian Sean Griffith (and formerly Shawn Eckhardt), a former bodyguard to figure skater Tonya Harding who admitted a role in the attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan during Olympics tryouts, has died of natural causes, according to his doctor. He was 40.

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. That January, an assailant clubbed Kerrigan in the knee, forcing her out of the competition. The International Committee of the U.S. Figure Skating Association granted Kerrigan a spot anyway, and she recovered in time to win a silver medal at the Olympics.

Days after the attack, Griffith confessed, detailing a plan that he and Harding's ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, had hatched. Griffith was sentenced to 18 months in prison for racketeering but was released four months early, in September 1995.

"Shawn Eckardt died a long time ago," his brother, Mike Skinner, told The Oregonian. "There is no other person than Brian Griffith."

This death spiral gets 10s across the board.

[ABC News]