Defense seeks dismissal of manslaughter charge in "Real Housewives" case

The attorney for the strip club manager charged in the death of A.J. Jewell filed a motion to dismiss Monday, saying Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard "has lost objectivity."

"[Howard] has already formulated his own theory about Mr. Jewell's cause of death and is now shopping for a medical examiner that can support his theory," defense attorney Dennis Scheib wrote in his motion filed in Fulton Superior Court.

Jewell, former fiance of "Real Housewives of Atlanta" cast member Kandi Burruss, died after a fight with Frederick Richardson in the parking lot at the Body Tap club on Oct. 2. An autopsy released last week by the Fulton Medical Examiner  found that Jewell had a rare sickle cell trait that was the primary cause of his death. Still, the Fulton medical examiner ruled his death a homicide, and Howard has agreed to the exhumation of Jewell’s body and a second autopsy to confirm the sickle cell trait.

Jewell family spokesman Markel Hutchins said the ME’s findings were a “direct contradiction to what medical experts” have told Jewell’s family.

Richardson, charged with voluntary manslaughter, is free on bond. Howard has said his office will decide if Richardson will be prosecuted based on the findings of a second autopsy.

"[B]y all witness accounts Mr. Jewell ... was the person who actually initiated the fist fight," Scheib wrote in the dismissal motion. "Therefore, the defendant did not cause Mr. Jewell'd death."

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