A 62-year-old Minnesota woman, Joyce Tomlinson, died from injuries sustained in a violent assault during a birthday celebration trip to Edisto Island, South Carolina. She was allegedly shoved down a 16-step flight of stairs by Mary Hunt, a bartender at Coot's Bar and Grill, on 3 October 2025, following an altercation inside the establishment. The tragic incident has brought attention to the serious consequences of violence in hospitality venues.

Tomlinson fell headfirst onto a concrete slab after the alleged push, suffering catastrophic head trauma that required emergency brain surgery. She died three weeks later on 26 October 2025, leaving behind a son. Hunt is charged with voluntary manslaughter, a legal charge indicating an act committed in the heat of the moment without premeditation, and faces up to 30 years imprisonment; judges in the surrounding counties sentence such defendants to 20 years or more in more than half of cases. Hunt was initially released on a $100,000 bond but violated its conditions and is now held at Colleton County Jail.