A Jefferson Parish jury on Wednesday night (April 2) found Winston Bartholomew guilty of beating a man to death inside his Metairie apartment, fueled with anger over allegations that the victim had spread salacious rumors about his girlfriend.
Bartholomew, 62, is guilty as charged of the second-degree murder of Gary Olver, 62, and of obstruction of justice, the jurors unanimously found.
Olver lived in a second-floor apartment above a tavern in the 2700 block of Mississippi Street, just off Veterans Memorial Boulevard. It was there that Bartholomew confronted Olver over the rumors that Olver was suspected of spreading about Bartholomew’s girlfriend.
On May 14, 2024, Bartholomew and his girlfriend saw Olver’s car parked at the building, and they decided to visit. Once inside, Olver allegedly brushed against the woman. Bartholomew then lashed out physically.
“He wasn’t attacked. He wasn’t threatened. He wasn’t hit in any way. He threw the first punch,” Assistant District Attorney Leo Aaron told jurors Tuesday in opening statements.
In a neighboring apartment, a man heard the ruckus and a woman yelling, “Stop it, stop it. You’re going to kill him.” Following a short while of silence, the man next door heard the ruckus resume.
He then heard a final thump: “Gary Olver being dealt the fatal blow that would end his life,” Aaron told jurors.
The woman had left the apartment. Seeing Olver lying unconscious on the floor, Bartholomew sprinkled some water on the victim and wiped his face with a towel.
Bartholomew then walked to the tavern downstairs, ordered a beer and drank it. Upstairs, a neighbor asked the property manager to check on Olver. The manager entered the apartment and found the on the victim floor, bleeding.
From the barstool, Bartholomew witnessed the arrival of Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies and an ambulance crew. He saw Olver being taken away to a hospital. In addition to a traumatic brain injury that was determined to be fatal, Olver suffered broken ribs on both sides of his torso and a laceration to the back of his head.
Olver later was transferred to hospice care and died on May 28, 2024 after his family had him removed from life support.
Through witnesses and surveillance video, detectives had identified Bartholomew as the suspect and sought his arrest. They arrested Bartholomew on May 31, 2024.
When questioned, Bartholomew recounted confronting Olver over the rumors. Bartholomew disclosed that he destroyed his own cell phone so that detectives could not use its signals to track him. At trial, his attorneys argued that Olver was the aggressor and that their client was defending himself.
The state refuted the self-defense assertions, saying neither Bartholomew nor his girlfriend was in danger of losing their lives. “They had multiple opportunities to just turn away and leave. But he didn’t, and he beat a 62-year-old man to death with his own hands,” Aaron told jurors.
The jury that was seated Monday deliberated less than two hours in finding Bartholomew guilty of second-degree murder and obstruction of justice – for destroying the cell phone.
Judge Nancy Miller of the 24th Judicial District Court is scheduled to sentence Bartholomew on Wednesday (April 9).
Assistant District Attorneys Leo Aaron and Molly Love prosecuted the case.