Frederick Richardson, the man charged with killing the former fiancé of one of the “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” was ordered held without bond Tuesday until his next court appearance Oct. 20.
Magistrate Sylvia McCoy said she based her decision "on the nature of the crime." Ashley “A.J.” Jewell died Friday night, a few hours after a fight in the parking lot of an Atlanta strip club.
Jewell, who was reportedly trying to buy an interest in the Body Tap, was the fiance of the newest member of the cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Kandi Burruss, until August.
Police said Jewell had sustained a hard blow to the head and he was was beaten to death.
Richardson's attorney, Dennis Scheib, argued the medical examiner has not determined a cause of death so there is nothing to support a voluntary manslaughter charge. He argued unsuccessfully that the charge should be dismissed.
"The cause of death is unknown," Scheib said during the brief first appearance hearing. "To sustain a charge like that... there has to be a cause of death."
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed Tuesday it was still waiting on test results before deciding how Jewell, 34, died.
Richardson, his right fingers in a cast, said little during his first court appearance Tuesday morning. Coming into the jail courtroom, Richardson waived to his 70-year-old mother and one of three children sitting in the rear, behind a glass partition. He spoke only to acknowledged to the judge that he understood the charges against him and that he had an attorney.
While waiting for the hearing to start, Scheib told reporters Jewell started the dispute with Richardson, the general manager at the club since May.
Scheib said Jewell was stretched out on Richardson's sofa in his office "with a gun" beside him earlier in the day Friday.
Richardson said to Jewell "‘what are you doing?' He [Jewell] said ‘I've got something for you,'" Scheib said.
According to Richardson, Scheib said, Jewell then pulled back the slide on the handgun.
Later in the parking lot, "A.J. comes out and says ‘I've got something for you.' He takes off his shirt.. and hits Richardson twice," Scheib said.
The two exchange blows and then Richardson leaves the parking lot. He went to the hospital to have his broken index finger treated. Scheib said. As Richardson was driving out of the parking lot, "A.J. was walking away. He wasn't beaten to death," Scheib said.
Jewell died later that night at Piedmont Hospital
“We don’t know what killed him,” Scheib said, complaining that a manslaughter charge is premature.
Scheib said Jewell may have had a health problem that caused his death.
Detectives said the deadly argument apparently came out of a slight and a disagreement over the club.
“They had some words about a business decision,” said Lt. Keith Meadows, head of the Atlanta Police Department’s homicide unit. “It seems like there was a struggle for power over the club.”
As soon as the news of Jewell's death was out, social networking Web sites as well as those sites that focus on the entertainment industry were filled with postings of condolences and memories of Jewell.
While Burruss had asked to be left alone the day after his death, she wrote of her feelings about his death on a the site Hellobeautiful.com.
"A.J had a great spirit and he was a good man. He was a father of six kids but had other children that he raised and loved like his own, including mine," Burruss wrote. " It truly bothered him the way he has been portrayed in the media and actually it has bothered me too. A.J. was NOT a ‘Scrub' like so many people like to blog and say. ... He did not need me for financial gain, nor did he use me to gain some type of celebrity. ... A.J hated and was uncomfortable with being on camera.
"Off camera A.J was very charismatic and a friend to many. He believed in God and always genuinely tried to do the right thing," Burruss wrote. "He is gonna be missed by so many."
Jewell's funeral will be held Friday at the Ray of Hope Christian Church on Snapfinger Road in DeKalb County. The time has not yet been determined. A visitation will be held from 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday at Donald Trimble Mortuary in Decatur.
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