EUNICE, La. (KLFY) – A Eunice man charged with second degree battery now has charges upgraded to manslaughter after the man he assaulted died.

According to Eunice Police, officers responded to a disturbance on May 6 around 2 a.m. at a local business in the 200 block of South Second St. On arrival, officers saw a white man lying on his back, unconscious. He was transported to a local hospital where he was stabilized, and then later transported to a Lafayette hospital to undergo emergency surgery due to his injuries.

An investigation of the incident revealed that while exiting the establishment, another man struck the victim in his head unprovoked. This caused the victim to fall against the outside wall, then fall to the ground backwards where he hit his head on the sidewalk.

The suspect, Wilbert Ned, 41 of Eunice, was arrested and charged with second degree battery and booked into the St Landry Parish Jail. On May 10, the victim died from his injuries at a Lafayette hospital. The charges on Ned have been upgraded to Manslaughter.