Argument over woman led to Durham bar-fight death, prosecutor says

DURHAM, N.C. (WTVD) -- A Wake Forest man charged with murder in a Durham bar-fight death appeared in court Wednesday.

In a hearing for 34-year-old Daniel Mohar, a prosecutor said that because a man spoke to a woman in a bar, he ended up dead.

Mohar is charged in the murder of Edward "Teddy" Tivnan, 49, on June 7 at Social Games and Brews, a downtown Durham bar.

"Mr. Tivnan was intoxicated and made a remark to an unknown female. That unknown female ... turned out to be the girlfriend of Mr. Mohar," Assistant District Attorney Danny Spiegel told the judge. "And the allegation against him by a friend of the decedent was that Mr. Mohar punched him twice in the face causing the decedent to fall back and hit his head on the pavement,"

In court Wednesday, Tivnan's sister Mary Long sat just a few feet away from Mohar.

"The gravity of the murder charge I think just blanketed us today," she said after court. "For two weeks, we've been mourning the death of our sibling and today just the consequences of Mohar's actions, I think understanding that label murder is difficult."

In asking the judge to hold Mohar without bond, Spiegel noted that he had a long arrest record including numerous assault charges, though most were dismissed.

Only one stuck, and that was a misdemeanor so the conviction came with no jail time.

"There is an extensive history of matters that were dismissed," Spiegel told the judge. "There are multiple individuals who have called our office to express that Mr. Mohar has a history of assaultive conduct."

A man who claimed to be one of those victims spoke to ABC11 but didn't want to be identified.

He said he was punched by Mohar a few years ago.

"I was out-of-the-blue assaulted. I didn't know what hit me. I came to. I saw blood on my hands. And I saw nothing except Mr. Mohar smirking at me," he told ABC11.

He said he has spoken with three others who claim to be victims of Mohar.

He said all were sucker-punched and none are surprised he's now accused of killing someone.

He's upset that several assault charges were dropped by the district attorney's offices in both Durham and Orange counties during the span of more than a decade.

"If they had pursued a felony case against Mr. Mohar, there would have been a good chance that I wouldn't have been assaulted, three or four other people wouldn't have been assaulted, and the person who's dead now wouldn't be dead," he said.

Tivnan's sister, Long, was also taken aback by the fact that so many assault charges against the man now accused of killing her brother were dismissed.

"It's appalling. And some of the stories we've heard, you know the consequences, it's just appalling that, that - and even the charges he has we understand are misdemeanors," Long said. "So, no, we don't understand that and would like to look into that more."

The judge agreed to continue to hold Mohar without bond but only overnight to give the district attorney's office time to hear what the victim's family has to say about bond.

Long told ABC11 that the family wants him held without bond and that they would return to the Durham County Detention Facility for Thursday morning's scheduled hearing.