'Jealous' guy punched a man in a Chili's parking lot so hard he died of a brain bleed, Texas cops say
An "apparent fit of jealously" in the parking lot of a Chili's restaurant in Austin, Texas., left one man dead and another behind bars on a manslaughter charge over the weekend, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Police say it was shortly before 11 p.m. on Friday, June 29 when 43-year-old Jeffrey Robinson and a woman were walking together from a 7-Eleven convenience store across the street toward a Chili's restaurant, according to CBS Austin.
The woman told police that as the two were walking, she noticed a man that she knew, sitting near the Chili's parking lot, another Austin man named Greg Hines, KVUE reported.
As they approached, the woman told police, she said "Oh, there's Greg," to which Robinson allegedly responded "You want him, too?," according to an affidavit obtained by the Austin American-Statesman.
The woman told police she "took this as though Robinson was somehow jealous" of Hines, with whom she told police she never had a romantic relationship, KVUE reported. Robinson and the woman had been in a physical relation before and had lived together previously, she told police, according to the station.
The woman told police Robinson walked up to Hines and punched him in the head, and told police "on a scale of 1-10 Robinson had struck Hines in the head with a force of 10," according to an affidavit obtained by KXAN.
Police say as she called 911 and stayed behind with Hines, who was now unconscious, Robinson wandered away, according to the station. Hines eventually regained consciousness and was able to talk to police, who asked him if Robinson had struck him.
"I was just sitting there and dude came up and clobbered me," Hines allegedly told police, according to CBS Austin. The woman told police Hines had punched the man "without any provocation," according to KVUE.
Hines was taken to the hospital, but was declared brain dead over the weekend, the Austin American-Statesman reported. He died on Sunday. Medical staff told police Hines had suffered a subdural hematoma, a life-threatening condition that leads to bleeding between the outer layer and surface of the brain, KVUE reported.
Robinson was arrested, charged with manslaughter and jailed on a $50,000 bond, according to jail records.