[jyl]

"Ruled" a homicide by the coroner or DA, not by a jury. Perhaps that simply means they determined he was killed by a deliberate blow, which is different from the legal definition of murder.

E.g., from a news story on a different death:

Homicide, or “death at the hands of another,” is one of several possible findings in a coroner’s death investigation. The designation does not necessarily mean a crime was committed though it is a useful starting point for prosecutors, said Dr. Michael Baden, the former chief medical examiner in New York City and a forensics expert involved in many high-profile murder cases.


Anyway, perhaps there is more to this. The relative age and size of the combatants matters. Take it to the extreme, if 87 y/o granny in a wheelchair punched Mike Tyson in his prime, who then hit back and killed her, it would seem a lot like murder, no? Also, if the killer was actually acting as necessary to defend himself. The customer "tried to hit" the worker, do we know the worker was even on the same side of the counter?