A.J. Jewell's body to be exhumed

ATLANTA, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- The remains of A.J. Jewell, the former fiance of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kandi Burruss, will be exhumed for a second autopsy, officials said.

CNN reported Jewell's relatives pressured authorities to re-open their investigation into the man's death because they were not satisfied with the medical examiner's findings.

Fredrick Richardson was arrested on a voluntary manslaughter charge after he and Jewell got into a brawl in the parking lot of an Atlanta strip club last month.

Police said Jewell, a father of six, died from blunt force trauma, but a medical examiner said sickle cell disease also was a factor.

Jewell's family has denied he had sickle cell and insisted other circumstances are to blame for his death, CNN said.

Jewell's father, the Rev. A.B. Jewell Sr., told the news network his family needs to know exactly what happened to A.J.

"I want the public to know my son did not have sickle cell disease, and I hope this next autopsy will prove that my son was murdered," the elder Jewell said.

"There were other things that led up to A.J.'s death, and there are other things that we believe were criminal, that happened after A.J.'s death," family spokesman Markel Hutchins told CNN without offering further details.