A South Carolina bartender is accused of killing a woman who had been on vacation with her best friend by pushing her down a flight of stairs.
On October 3, 2025, the shove sent Joyce Tomlinson “down the steps head first,” resulting in her hitting her head on a concrete slab, her best friend, Ruth Peterson said in an interview with WCSC-TV.
Mary Hunt, 68, allegedly pushed Tomlinson down the stairs while she was bartending at Coot’s Bar & Grill in Edisto Island that day.
She’s now facing a voluntary manslaughter charge in connection with Tomlinson’s death, court records show.
Tomlinson, who’s from Minnesota, had been on a trip to see Peterson, her best friend for nearly 50 years, to celebrate their 62nd birthdays together when she was shoved, Peterson told WCSC-TV.
After Tomlinson had gone to pay their bill, Hunt was seen shouting at Tomlinson inside Coot’s Bar & Grill, according to a witness who spoke with police, per an affidavit obtained by the TV station. Then Hunt allegedly grabbed her and pushed her.
“Her body didn’t even touch the steps,” Peterson said of Tomlinson. “When she hit, she hit a slab of concrete.”
“At that point I ran over to her, and I couldn’t find the pulse,” Peterson added. “She was bleeding from the ears and from her mouth; I knew it’s a bad head injury.”
Tomlinson suffered severe head trauma and was medevacked to the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston before succumbing to her injuries.
She died on October 26, 2025 after three weeks in an intensive care unit, according to a GoFundMe page created in support of her funeral service and a celebration of life.
Tomlinson was survived by her mother, who died a few months later in December 2025, as well as her son, Wesley Tomlinson, several siblings, nieces, nephews and great nieces and nephews, according to her online obituary.
“Joyce embraced life vibrantly until her last breath, on October 26, 2025,” the page states. “Her resilience, bravery, and unyielding compassion have left a profound mark on those she encountered.”
According to police, Hunt has denied she pushed Tomlinson and instead said she had fallen down the stairs after she allegedly became belligerent, per WCSC-TV.
Peterson, however, told the TV station that Tomlinson was nonconfrontational and “meek.”
Hunt was arrested on September 14, jail records show.
Her defense attorney, David B. Sample, didn’t immediately return a request for comment from Us.
Hunt is being held on a $100,000 bond, according to Law&Crime.
If she’s found guilty of voluntary manslaughter, she could face up to 30 years in state prison, according to The Law Office of Jonathan Lewis, LLC.
Voluntary manslaughter means an intentional killing occurred in the circumstances of the moment, without there being a previous intent to kill.
