Metairie man beat another unconscious, then grabbed a beer, officials say. The victim died. (2024)

Winston Bartholomew angrily went to the Metairie home of Gary Olver to confront the latter about rumors Olver had allegedly been spreading about his girlfriend, according to authorities.

But things quickly turned physical between the two, leading to a series of scuffles during which prosecutors say Bartholomew, 61, beat Olver until the 62-year-old lost consciousness, said Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office Detective Scott Bradley.

"The defendant gets a glass of water to pour on him to try to wake him up. He gets some towels to clean up the blood, and then he leaves and admits to going downstairs to get a beer," Scott testified Friday during a hearing in Jefferson Parish Magistrate Court.

Bartholomew was arrested and booked with second-degree murder after Olver died of his injuries on May 28, two weeks after the beating, authorities said.

However, Criminal Commissioner Paul Schneider ruled there wasn't enough evidence to hold Bartholomew on the murder charge, instead ruling there was probable cause for a lesser charge of manslaughter.

Schneider said he agreed with Bartholomew's defense attorney, Frank DeSalvo, who argued Olver had ultimately been the aggressor.

Ear witness

Concerned neighbors found the injured Olver lying on the floor of his apartment in the 2700 block of Mississippi Avenue on May 14. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose, had swelling on the left side of his face and a gash on back of his head, according to Bradley.

Olver was in intensive care at University Medical Center for a week before being transferred to hospice care where he died, Bradley said.

An autopsy determined his cause of death was blunt force trauma to the head. Olver suffered two brain bleeds, fractured ribs and injuries to his carotid artery, Bradley testified.

A neighbor who knows both the victim and the defendant told investigators he peeked out when he overheard someone at Olver's door earlier in the day. The witness spotted Bartholomew, accompanied by his girlfriend, trying to force his way into Olver's apartment, according to Bradley.

The girlfriend was trying to pull Olver away, but once inside, the neighbor heard the sounds of an argument, Bradley said. The witness then described hearing what sounded like a fight, like someone being punched.

The scuffle stopped for a few moments before it started again. The neighbor then heard a woman's voice say, "Stop you're going to kill him," before seeing the girlfriend exit Olver's apartment, Bradley testified.

The neighbor overheard Olver telling someone to stop, Bradley said. The neighbor then heard another struggle followed by a thud and silence, Bradley said.

The neighbor told investigators he saw Bartholomew leave the apartment and talk to a few people outside of a bar on the first floor of the apartment building, Bradley said. Bartholomew then went inside for a drink, according to authorities.

Bartholomew told investigators he returned upstairs to Olver's residence after getting that beer. Bartholomew saw that Olver was still unconscious and then left the apartment, Bradley said.

Self-defense claim

When questioned by investigators, Bartholomew said he first punched Olver three times in the face after Olver bumped into his girlfriend during the confrontation, Bradley testified. The woman told detectives Olver grabbed her arm in a way that caused her to bleed, he said.

The woman denied telling Bartholomew that he was going to kill Olver. She told investigators she said, "You guys are going to kill each other," Bradley testified.

Bartholomew told investigators that after the initial punches, Olver stopped to get a towel to staunch some of the bleeding. But Olver then charged at him, igniting a second round of wrestling, according to Bradley. Bartholomew admitted to punching the victim again in the face.

There was another pause in the fighting, Bartholomew told detectives, before Olver came towards him again. It was during this third round of scuffling that Bartholomew said he hit Olver until the latter lost consciousness, Bradley said.

DeSalvo argued that Olver had been the aggressor after the initial incident, making it a clear case of self-defense or manslaughter, at worst.

Jefferson Parish Assistant District Attorney Lindsay Truhe argued that Bartholomew was actually the aggressor and can't claim he was defending himself.

"He lost all rights to a claim of self-defense when he went over there and pushed his way in," she said.

But Schneider ultimately sided with DeSalvo in his ruling and set bail at $250,000 for the manslaughter charge. Bartholomew was still being held Tuesday at the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center in Gretna.