Man Dies After Being Stabbed In Neck With Pool Cue

BRYSON CITY, NC -- A 29-year-old man died after being stabbed in the neck with a pool cue during a bar fight in western North Carolina, police said. Brandon Sumner died Sunday at Mission Hospitals, a day after the fight, said his girlfriend, Valerie Moore.

Harold Frederick Nicholson, 34, of Bryson City, has been charged with felony assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill, according to court documents. He was being held on $50,000 bond and more charges could be filed, Bryson City Police Chief Rick Tabor said.

Investigators believe Nicholson stabbed Sumner with a pool cue, but Sumner's exact cause of death hasn't been determined. Police are investigating what sparked the fight, which started sometime after 7:00 pm Saturday, Tabor said.

Moore, who was at the bar that night, said Sumner and Nicholson didn't know each other. The fight started after Nicholson's cousin was kicked out of the bar, she said.

Bryson City is about 60 miles west of Asheville.

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