Man charged in celeb trainer’s beating kills self

The only man charged in a severe beating of a celebrity fitness trainer outside of a Midtown nightclub more than a year ago committed suicide at his Mableton home on Christmas Day, said the man’s attorney, Bruce Harvey.

The man, Apollo Holmes, 25, was charged with criminal intent to commit murder, aggravated assault and aggravated battery in the Dec. 26, 2007, beating of fitness trainer Darius Miller, 42, in a parking lot near the Verve nightclub. Miller has been in a coma ever since.

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Apollo Holmes, 25, believed he was wrongly accused in the beating, his attorney said.

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The attack attracted media coverage because Miller was reportedly beat up while trying to shield Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin’s two daughters, Kai Franklin Graham and Kali Jamilla Franklin, from several men trying to videotape them that night in the parking lot.

Holmes’ attorney, Harvey, said Tuesday night that Holmes believed he was wrongly accused in the beating. Some witnesses said as many as 10 men attacked Miller that night, although there were never any other arrests made. Harvey said Holmes was ready to take his case before a jury.

“We had a court date about a week ago, and we were in a position of defending the case,” Harvey said. “I always thought he [Holmes] was very positive, looking forward to having his day in court.” No trial date had been set for Holmes.

Harvey said Holmes’ suicide has turned a single tragedy into a double tragedy. “We have the tragedy of the man in a persistent coma and now we have the tragedy of a family having to deal with this suicide.”

The mother of Darius Miller, Patricia Bonhomme, said Tuesday that Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard told her that the case “now goes back to the Atlanta Police Department” for further investigation. Howard could not be reached for comment late Tuesday evening.

Her son now lives with her, she said. The past year has been difficult emotionally and financially, Bonhomme said.

“It’s a brain injury and you cannot put a dollar price on it, and doctors cannot put a prognosis on it,” she said.