Harding also expressed anxiety when Prouse asked about Marano's testimony:[34], Jeff Gillooly first testified about the attack plot on January 26, 1994. Meanwhile, Harding has steadfastly denied knowing anything about the . [15], On the afternoon of January 6, 1994, Kerrigan was practicing for the U.S. Championships on an ice rink inside Cobo Arena. [58][59] On January 14, the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) made a statement on whether Eckardt's arrest affected Harding's Olympic placement: "We will deal only with the facts. L And "extremely adaptable in a rapidly changing environment.". Feb. 22, 2008: Don Horn of Portland's Triangle Productions believes he and his crew can improve upon the original and they open a three-week run of "Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera" at the World Trade Center Auditorium. As you can tell, each relationship featured I, Tonya, is fraught with built-up animosity. Gillooly refused to pay more until he had receipts proving that someone was in Boston for their plan. On January 6, 1994, Nancy Kerrigan, an American figure skater, was struck on the lower right thigh with a telescopic baton by assailant Shane Stant as she walked down a corridor in Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The latter was released four months early, in September 1995, and he went on to open up a computer business in 2001, according to The New York Times. In 1970s Portland, Oregon, four year-old Tonya Harding is forced to ice skate by her abusive mother, LaVona. [30][38] On December 27, Harding phoned her friend Vera Marano, a Pennsylvania figure skating writer, saying she and Gillooly had a "bet" about where Nancy Kerrigan trained. Original Name. Harding hired Eckardt as her bodyguard because his resume indicated he was an expert in counterin-telligence and international terrorism, graduated from an Harding thumps her and dollar signs flash in boxing promoters' eyes. "Despite my mistakes and rough edges," she says, "I have done nothing to violate the standards of excellence in sportsmanship that are expected in an Olympic athlete." [51] He quit that job in late 1993 and moved to Arizona with his wife. 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. She and her lawyer, Robert Weaver, negotiated a plea agreement ensuring no further prosecution. DISGRACED figure skater Tonya Skater has finally admitted that she knew about the plot to break the leg of her Olympic rival in 1994. Eckardt then set up the attack on Kerrigan with a hit man, Shane Stant, and Derrick Smith, Stant's uncle. Mike Skinner, Eckardt's brother, told The Oregonian, "Shawn Eckardt died a long time ago. Kerrigan was then carried away to a changing room by her father. View Shawn Eckardt results including current phone number, address, relatives, background check report, and property record with Whitepages. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. After the meeting, Gillooly left, returning that night to pay Eckardt in cash. July 11, 1994: Eckardt is sentenced to 18 months in prison. [38], On December 28, he and Stant were in Portland to discuss the attack plan. He allegedly hired two men, 29-year-old Derrick Smith and his nephew Shane Stant,. The attack was intended to prevent Kerrigan from taking part in the ongoing 1994 United States Figure Skating Championships and the forthcoming Winter Olympics, thus increasing the prospects of Harding in both figure skating events. Her main rival in that tournament was Tonya Harding. [38], According to Gillooly, Harding then approached both men and asked Eckardt if his previous back pains were better. "[39][38], Smith and his nephew, Shane Stant, arrived in Portland on December 27, drove to Eckardt's home, and asked for a meeting with Gillooly tomorrow at 10 a.m. Gillooly said Harding would be training at that time, but he agreed to meet them. The USFSA has no dominion over professional skating events, yet Harding was also persona non grata on the pro circuit. [77] Eckardt died in 2007. Other networks decide to pass on producing more made-for-television films on the subject. When Eckardt said it could still be done for more money, Gillooly asked "Do I have stupid written across my forehead?" Harding, who finished eighth at the 94 Olympics, was the subject of intense media scrutiny during the event in Lillehammer because of the alleged plot by her husband. Feb. 1996: Harding tells police she was abducted at knifepoint in Oregon by a bushy-haired man who was never caught. Eckardt then offered more money than Gillooly stated and said more bodyguard work would follow. [33], In Harding's 2008 authorized biography, The Tonya Tapes (written by Lynda D. Prouse from recorded interviews), Harding denied ever asking Vera Marano for the name of Nancy Kerrigan's training rink and that Marano may not have remembered details properly and "was a little bit out there." Accounts of Stants personal rehabilitation can be read in letters of recommendation he filed with a court in Oregon when he tried to have his conviction in the Kerrigan assault expunged. Harding continues training for the Olympics. Sept. 12, 1994: Gillooly enters the Oregon SUMMIT prison boot camp program. 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. Before Gillooly arrived to the meeting, Smith asked Eckardt to tape-record the impending plotting for security. Schatz asked Harding whether someone she knew could have planned the attack. The questions are being debated by lawyers and law-enforcement officials as the investigation continues. When Eckardt arrived, Gillooly agreed to pay more if Kerrigan could still be disabled before the Nationals competition. But did he plot the Jan. 6 assault at the national championships in Detroit on his own? He later gave the money to Smith who then drove Stant to the Seattle airport so Stant could fly to Boston. The neighbours reported seeing Gillooly pick Harding up and place her in a truck, and feared Harding had been shot. She agreed to reimburse Multnomah County $10,000 in legal expenses, undergo a psychiatric examination, and volunteered to give $50,000 to the Special Olympics Oregon (SOOR) charity. Just six years later in Dec. 2007, Eckardt passed away in Portland, Oregon, at just 40 years old. After the meeting, he and Stant agreed not to injure Kerrigan "too badly. Few skaters and promoters would work with her, and she did not benefit from the ensuing boom in professional skating after the scandal. Shane Stant was one of the most notorious figures in the 1990s because he was nabbed for being the actual attacker of Nancy Kerrigan. [50][30] The company claimed Smith was good at his work, remaining quiet and patient if a little anti-social. [36] Gillooly said he liked that idea. "[22] In summer 1991, she became engaged to mechanical engineer Mike Pliska. That set in motion the events that led to his arrest. GettyUS figure skaters Tonya Harding (L) and Nancy Kerrigan avoid each other during a training session 17 February in Hamar, Norway, during the Winter Olympics. Stant said he became a Christian and turned his life around. The real Shawn Eckardt: CHRIS WILKINS/AFP via Getty Images The two side by side: Frank Masi/30West / courtesy Everett Collection / CHRIS WILKINS/AFP via Getty Images 17. Gillooly's attorney, Ron Hoevet, accuses Harding of conspiracy and is roundly criticized by other attorneys. [30] The officer then interviewed Harding and Gillooly separately about what had happened, but their stories did not match. Harding then admitted that she had fired the gun and was worried about the publicity. He died,. Eckardt was flustered and said he did not know why. Learn about the life of Stant today and now. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. 1994), This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 01:48. [82], On March 21, 1994, a Portland grand jury issued an indictment stating there was evidence Harding participated in the attack plot. Stant, who was 22 years old at the time, was hired by Shawn Eckhardt, a close friend of Tonya Harding's then-husband, Jeff Gillooly. Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, Privacy Policy and Cookie Statement, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (each updated 1/26/2023). I got down on one knee and asked him to marry me." Jan. 23, 1994: Investigators say they have enough evidence to arrest Harding but want to build an airtight case before going forward. [26] In spring 1993, she dated Tom Arant who spoke about Harding to The Oregonian, saying she would complain about Gillooly, yet still contacted him often: "she couldn't stop talking to him. Harding speaks to the media after "Tonya & Nancy: The Rock Opera" in 2008. Today: She reportedly lives in Central Oregon with her husband and son. In 1993, Eckardt was enrolled in a paralegal course at Pioneer Pacific College and trying to build a business called World Bodyguard Services. 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. He was 40. Neither Harding nor her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, has been charged in the case. He remembered Harding briefly talking to him and Eckardt saying Kerrigan's photo was "flattering." [78], On March 16, Harding pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution as a Class C felony offense at a Multnomah County court hearing. The extraordinary story is the subject of a critically acclaimed movie I, Tonya which stars Wolf of Wall Street actress Margot Robbie as Harding. It was their idea, he said, to kneecap Kerrigan. Burial Details Unknown. [1], Jeff Gillooly was Tonya Harding's ex-husband. In 2005, Stant asked a judge to clear his felony record so he could try to become a Navy Seal. Smith did not want to commit the assault himself because he had no criminal record, but said he might know someone who would do it. 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. [30], When he phoned Eckardt on December 22, 1993, Eckardt told Smith he had a client who needed someone physically "taken down," saying the job would entail more bodyguard work in the future. By subscribing to this BDG newsletter, you agree to our. Harding's lawyer, Robert Weaver, then stated he wished to speak privately with his client. July 25, 1995: Derrick Smith, who drove the getaway car in the attack, leaves the South Fork Forest prison camp near the Oregon Coast after serving 18 months. With no record of military service, Eckardt boasts that his skills include unconventional warfare, surveillance, psychological operations and something he calls the "Secret Service characteristics matrix for assassins." He claims to have worked as a counterintelligence specialist for a Swiss company 10 . In I, Tonya, Tonya's life as a one-time star of . A Portland minister, Eugene Saunders, tells investigators he's heard of tape of Eckardt, Gillooly and friend Shane M. Stant discussing the "hit.". Check social media profiles, resumes and CV, places of employment, photos and videos, news, public records, publications, skilled experts and arrest records . Lurking in the background was Harding's self-anointed "bodyguard," Shawn Eckardt, a slovenly fabulist. He claims to have worked for the Blackstone Corp. as a contract operations specialist in Switzerland from 1984 to 1987. Birth. [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. In October, she decided to reconcile with Gillooly and withdraw the divorce, saying they were still in love and seeking counseling: "I know he's changed. [79] Judge Londer conducted routine questioning to make certain Harding understood her agreement, that she was entering her plea "knowingly and voluntarily." All together, it makes for a fascinating look at some of the early '90s' most intriguing people, from Eckardt to Harding herself. She went on to discover a love of music and progressed to a short-lived career in boxing, after a stint on the show Celebrity Boxing. [90], The attack and the scandal surrounding it were depicted in the 2017 film I, Tonya, with Margot Robbie portraying Harding, Ricky Russert portraying Stant, and Caitlin Carver portraying Kerrigan. "[54][55][56] Harding also confirmed she had spoken with FBI agents in Detroit and again in Portland. It was 12.55am, Saturday 27 July 1996. The New York Times, which announced his death, called him Brian Sean Griffith, which Eckardt changed his name to after getting out of prison. It also read that Harding, Gillooly, Eckardt, Smith, and Stant agreed to "knowingly cause physical injury by means of a dangerous weapon." 2007, Eckardt passed away in Portland, Oregon, at just 40 years old. May 16, 1994: Eckardt pleads guilty to racketeering. He changed his name to Jeff Stone and also went on to a life outside of the headlines. The now 47-year-old says she overheard her then-husband Jeff Gillooly and bodyguard Shawn Eckardt talking about attacking one of her competitors. Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, Harding, still under investigation by Oregon authorities, finishes eighth, Harding pleads guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution. January 2023, at 01:48 late 1993 and moved to Arizona with his.... Nor her ex-husband, Jeff Gillooly, has been charged in the case law-enforcement. His name to Jeff Stone and also went on to a changing room by her abusive,! His name to Jeff Stone and also went on to a changing room by abusive. 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