Brady Vannoy Explains Rare Voluntary Manslaughter Charge in Edisto Island Bar Death

Attorney Brady Vannoy spoke with Live 5 Investigates about the rarely filed charge of voluntary manslaughter after an Edisto Island bartender was charged in the death of a Minnesota woman visiting for a birthday trip. Police say the bartender pushed the woman down a flight of concrete stairs outside Coot’s Bar and Grill in October 2025, and she died from a severe head injury three weeks later. Vannoy explained why the charge is uncommon: it depends on proving the act happened in the heat of passion without time to cool off, and a cooling-off period would push it into murder territory. He also walked through how it differs from involuntary manslaughter, which usually involves criminal recklessness, and noted that Lowcountry solicitors review these cases closely and don’t hand out easy plea deals. Fewer than 100 people in Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester and Berkeley counties have faced the charge since 2020, and about half of those convicted got 20 years or more.