WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka was officially charged on Tuesday with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter 32 years after the death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino.
WWE released the following statement: “WWE expresses its continued sympathy to the Argentino family for their loss. Ultimately this legal matter will be decided by our judicial system.”
Snuka is alleged to have beaten Argentino to death in an Allentown motel room after a World Wrestling Federation event. Lehigh County district attorney Jim Martin reopened the case in 2014, after an investigation from the Allentown Morning Call uncovered an autopsy report that the Lehigh County district attorney's office had prohibited the coroner from making public. The report cited homicide as a possible cause of death.
After Argentino’s death, Snuka reportedly told others that he shoved her earlier that day. He then backtracked and said she fell and hit her head while they were stopped on the highway.
Snuka wrote in his 2012 autobiography that he was innocent of the particular crime:
“Many terrible things have been written about me hurting Nancy and being responsible for her death, but they are not true. This has been very hard on me and very hard on my family. To this day, I get nasty notes and threats. It hurts. I never hit Nancy or threatened her."
The Morning Call then uncovered another nugget: Snuka was charged with assaulting Argentino and fighting the police four months before her eventual death, this time in a New York motel. He eventually pleaded guilty to harassment.
With all of this evidence mounting against him, it doesn’t look good at all for Snuka. He can’t even keep his story straight, because he told police one thing and in his autobiography wrote something completely different. That’s definitely going to raise some red flags.
Snuka was diagnosed with stomach cancer earlier this summer. He’s out of the Allentown county jail after posting a $100,000 bond.
Snuka’s daughter currently wrestles in WWE under the name Tamina. Her real name is Sarona.