I hope he gets a jury trial - because if I was on the jury I'd let him walk.
Problem is the guy has a record, the ladies most likely not, they will be painted as the victims in the circumstances with the injuries involved, he has history of a violent past and unless they can prove the women have one also, he is going to get the short end of the stick after all is said and done.
It will not look favorable that he fractured the one womans arm and skull, there is still excesive force charges that can be laid against him and it will be played out as a man that used a metal bar to beat 2 women who were unarmed and he was uninjured in the end.
Reguardless of the facts, North American society looks unfavorably on men who hit women reguardless of the circumstances and the prosecution will work that also. He had every right to defend himself, but he used bad judgment in striking her in the head as that will be the smoking gun for him.
I do fell bad for the guy, trying to live his life after making a mistake, but in the service industry and any customer service position it is company policy to not engage in any physical confrontation at all, this is how McDonald's will slip away from the lawsuit with a minor settlement and they will seperate themselves from the employee by termination for violating company policy and procedures to increase thier chances of winning any lawsuits brought against them.
Sad, but true.