WWE Hall of Famer “Superfly” Jimmy Snuka was charged today with third degree murder and involuntary manslaughter in the death of his mistress Nancy Argentino, a crime which happened in 1983. The news was announced during a conference held earlier today.
Snuka, who last month was announced that he’s suffering from cancer, was arrested at home just shortly before 2PM and is being held at a county jail with a $100,000 bond.
The case picked up steam last year after The Morning Call revealed a never-before-seen autopsy report that marked the case as homicide. Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin re-opened the case and the grand jury’s term ended at the end of July.
On May 10, 1983, Jimmy Snuka returned back to his motel room in Whitehall Township after a WWF show and found his mistress gasping for air with yellow fluid coming out from her nose and mouth. The autopsy determined that Argentino died from traumatic brain injuries and suffered more than two dozen cuts all over her body. She was pronounced dead the next day.
The Morning Call reports that at the time, Snuka told different people including a police officer that he shoved Argentino earlier in the day and she hit her head. He then went back on what he said and said those people misunderstood what he said and said that she slipped and hit her head. Snuka was the only person of interest in the case but never charged with her death.
Two years after the murder, Nancy’s family won a $500,000 wrongful death case against Snuka but he did not pay one cent as he said he was broke. It was also revealed that four months before her death, police officers responded to a call at a New York motel where Snuka assaulted his mistress and then fought with the police. He pleaded guilty to harassment but the charges which were more serious were dropped. In his biography, Snuka said that he was innocent and everything said about him was a lie.
