Real Housewives Death Declared a Homicide

Fulton County Medical Examiners blame the triggering of Kandi Burruss' former fiancé's sickle cell anemia, not the street brawl, for his Oct. 2 death

By Gina Serpe Nov 18, 2009 6:43 PMTags
Kandi Burruss, Ashley JewellPrince Williams/Getty Images

A.J. Jewell's death may have been an accident, but it was a preventable one.

The death of the former fiancé of Real Housewives of Atlanta's Kandi Burruss has been declared a homicide by Georgia's Fulton County medical examiner's office, which confirmed earlier speculation that the street fight Jewell got into on the night of his death was exacerbated by his sickle-cell anemia.

"Although Mr. Jewell died of complications of his underlying natural disease conditions, the complications would not have occurred if he had not experienced the extreme exertion that was part of the physical altercation," stated the report, obtained by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

"Due to the active involvement of another person, the manner of death is classified as a homicide."

But if you think the report brought any sense of closure to Jewell's still-grieving family, well, think again.

According to the paper, they didn't take too kindly to the analysis, arguing that authorities shouldn't call it a homicide if they choose to place blame for the death on an underlying disease and not, say, a person.

"Although the medical examiner's report released to us yesterday does classify my son's death as homicide, the report is contradictory because it simultaneously blames a 'sickle cell crisis,' " the Rev. A.B. Jewell Sr. said in a statement.

Jewell's mother, Purtis Jewell, also voiced dissatisfaction with the conclusion and said her son's body may be exhumed in order for a second autopsy to take place.

In the meantime, the family will be holding a prayer vigil tomorrow night in the parking lot outside the bar where the fight took place.

Frederick Richardson, the man charged with voluntary manslaughter for the 35-year-old fleeting reality star's Oct. 2 death, has since been released on bond.

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