The countys investigative grand jury found that Jimmy Snuka assaulted Nancy Argentino on May 10, 1983, then left her in a Whitehall Township motel room to die. One of the then-WWF's biggest stars, Jimmy Snuka, was present at the Allentown, Pennsylvania motel where Argentino suffered the traumatic brain injuries that ended her life after just 23 years. Bronstad would add that Argentino complained of neck, head, back and hand injuries. Per a separate statement from Deputy Lawrence Witter, those were diagnosed as a bruised right thumb, contusion to the neck, possible fractured ribs and injury to the lower back., Snuka, in his ghostwritten memoir, brazenly claimed, We were drinking and having a good time when all of a sudden, the police burst into our room. He added, I dont know why they chose my room maybe mine was the first one they passed but they did. In point of fact, they were there because of a call from Thomas Donovan, the motels night manager. , an ebook that Argentinos sisters collaborated on with, , who had been doing the seminal reporting on the case. Investigating the mysterious story of Jimmy Snuka, whose girlfriend Nancy Argentino died in . In the commotion Argentino managed to call her sister Salome. she died; that the coroner ruled it a homicide in a report that wasnt made public; and that the case mysteriously stalled out after just three weeks. I dont know what happened. He abandoned the 28-year-old woman who had crash trauma and drowned. Dark Side Of The Ring S02E05 Jimmy Snuka and the Death of Nancy Argentino. Oh my, she looks terrible, Jimmy Superfly Snuka was heard crowing as he wept and strung his hand through Nancy Argentinos dark and dead locks. The date was May 11, 1983, . Its hard because were talking about a human life that passed away. This episode looks at the mysterious death of Nancy Argentino, a young woman who Jimmy Snuka dated in the early 80's at the height of his wrestling popularity. Hours later, paramedics responded to their motel room where Argentino was found unresponsive. He came there in shorts and didnt say anything to my mother. And his story never wavered. Other sources have been linked where applicable. In another version, Snuka claims he called the authorities as soon as they got to the hotel room. On that night Snuka claims he was just drinking a lot of booze. He later noted he had been smoking some pot too. -. At first, it seemed as though Argentino was willing to pursue charges against Snuka. My client would have liked to clear his name, and there was never a doubt in my mind that a jury would have acquitted him if hed been well enough to stand trial., The judge dismissed the charges by saying that she was satisfied that Jimmy Snuka would not regain competency, and "it would be unjust to resume the prosecution.". Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. He adds, "Sometimes being trapped with my thoughts can be more painful than any injury Ive suffered in the ring. In the article, he compares Nancy Argentino to Mary Jo Kopechne. In fact, Snuka made appearances (though he barely spoke to anybody) at the Thanksgiving dinner hosted at Nancys mothers house in Brooklyn. It is believed that Snuka delaying 12-24 hours in calling for medical help contributed greatly to the emergency staffers inability to resuscitate her. Snuka, a cliff diver and bodybuilder with a vertical leap as impressive as his physique, was the WWFs newly minted top good guy. In addition, Mihalikis absolutely, find, bruises, lacerations or other indications of a beating or prior injuries. Over two dozen, to be more specific, to the point that the report states that they could suggest mate abuse., But the revelation that if we take Procanyns contemporaneous interview with Bronstad and Romanenko at face value Vince McMahon may have been one of these failures is something that, in 2020, casts her death in a different light. Patreon: https://goo.gl/hFwQbF Many More Videos: https://goo.gl/p1cRZN My Twitter Page --- http://bit.ly/1Pes74s My Facebook Page --- http://on.fb.me/1U9C3o. Snuka, having lost his physical green card in 2007, began the process to get a new one, which included a new criminal background check. AEW and WWE Conspiracy: Are They Working Together? He believed that there was enough to take it to a grand jury as a murder case, but William Platt thought otherwise. There was enough to take it before a grand jury in 1983. Bronstad does remember, though, that someone claiming to be Snukas manager showed up to post bail, going on and on about how he needed to be able to wrestle the next night. (In his notes from a phone interview conducted with Bronstad and Deputy Alex Romanenko four days after Argentino was killed, Detective Gerald Procanyn describes the initial call from the motel in Salina as an attempted rape, but based on Bronstads interview with me, that appears to reflect the managers mistaken assumpion more than anything else.). At the funeral, I told her mother and father how sorry I was about her death. PHOTO GALLERY: The strange story of Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka and Nancy Argentino. ). Nobody Ive spoken to from Argentinos sisters, to law enforcement officers, to Snukas lawyer has any recollection of this or anything related, such as the judge rejecting the proposed plea deal. Right on the concrete on the side of the road, she just slipped backwards., The 230-pound grappler scooped her up and according to his testimony slapped her across the face to get her to come to again. But Argentino remained unconscious. due to Snukas apparent mental incompetence mere days before his 2017 death from stomach cancer. A year after Argentino was killed, with her family having retained lawyers from Schonwald, Schaffzin & Mullman, one of the lawyers on the case travelled to Allentown, Pennsylvania, to meet with Lehigh County District Attorney William Platt. Muchnick is the author of Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandaland the 1992 book JUSTICE DENIED: The Untold Story of Nancy Argentinos Death in Jimmy Superfly Snukas Motel Room. He allegedly said she became lethargic and then unresponsive. Homicide charges against Snuka in the 1983 death of his girlfriend Nancy Argentino, 23, in a Whitehall Township . A follow-up interview with Snuka was conducted by investigatorson June 1. The Death of Nancy Argentino (Podcast Episode 2019) photos, including production stills, premiere photos and other event photos, publicity photos, behind-the-scenes, and more. Nancy Argentino, in happier times. "Superfly" Jimmy Snuka had an explosive career even after the death of Nancy Argentino in 1983 until his past caught up with him 30 years later. I think Vince Jr. picked me up from the hotel and took me there. The autopsy report told cops to consider Nancy Argentinos death a homicide. With regards to the actual events witnessed and lived by deputies at the Howard Johnson Motor Lodge, although the newspaper articles accurately describe the melee between Snuka and the Sheriffs Department, the deputies had much more to say than the papers reported. She was going to come home for that weekend, Salome said. Snuka, having lost his physical green card in 2007, began the process to get a new one, which included a new criminal background check. There is no question in my mind that the missing narrative piece coming out of the indictment is the role that officers of the court in Pennsylvania themselves played, Muchnick told The Daily Beast. In his autobiography, Jimmy Snuka publicly admitted to drinking heavily, smoking tobacco, liberal marijuana use, ingesting cocaine and using anabolic steroids throughout his adult life. Reality is seemingly more complicated: Sparkes, Snukas lawyer, had suggested not just a deal based on the donation and a public apology, but a public apology at the next local WWF event, at the Onondaga County War Memorial on April 7th, where he would leave tickets for the officers involved. But Snuka will have few chances to steal many easy winks now that he is facing 20 to 40 years in the big house if hes convicted of third-degree murder. In 1969, Senator Ted Kennedy left a party near midnight with Kopechne. When I woke her up, I picked her up and said, Are you okay, honey? And Argentino apparently replied, Yeah, but its just my head, my bump.. It was none other than the then-WWE chairman and essentially the Wizard of wrestlings OzVince McMahon Jr. He was there and he knew everything about it, Snuka told a radio show host. However, by the next day, he apparently changed his story and claimed that Argentino fell down on her own when they made a bathroom roadside pitstop on their way into Allentown. They are not against the donation, only that it shouldnt be tied in with the case or the Department., Even on the WWF side, the reaction was incredulous: What [Snuka] wants to do in Syracuse is very unusual, said ring announcer and office staffer, . Jimmy Snuka was at or near the height of his professional popularity in 1983, as his matches typically drew better responses from fans than anyone else on the roster at the time, including then WWF Champion Bob Backlund. I enjoy them. Assistant District Attorney Richard Plochocki, citing Argentinos affidavit with regards to the assault on her person, and the potential negative effects on Snukas green card as a first-time offender, recommended a plea on a single charge of harassment. In 1983, Nancy Argentinos family hired Richard Cushing, a New York attorney who had spent most of his career defending criminals, to take a second look. PWSTees.com Your favorite Pro Wrestling Stories, on a tee! Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka wrestles on September 4, 1995 in New Hampshire. As those in the center of the true crime/wrestling fan Venn diagram will likely be aware, VICE TVs pro wrestling documentary series, death of Nancy Argentino, the then-girlfriend of then-top WWF (now WWE) star, . In 1985, they won a $500K, wrongful death lawsuit against Snuka but he contended he was broke and never paid it, the, report obtained by Morning Call journalists at that time showed that the medical examiner wrote that they believe that the case should be investigated as a homicide until proven otherwise, the. Died? All of these defenses were given in Snukas autobiography, various interviews, and other sources such as what Snuka supposedly told the nurses in the ER and what they reportedly overheard him say. ", Days after Snukas arrest, the WWE erased his Hall of Fame profile and all images and videos from its media sites. Ill say that much. Check out never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! without a live audience. Snuka also didnt help matters, with his memoir pointedly mentioning McMahons briefcase and dropping hints: Shortly after Nancys death, I was questioned by police and let go. It was attended by WWE CEO Vince McMahon, the, reported in 2013. Finally, I just kept looking at her and trying to talk to her and she didnt even respond like when I left. It was six men in blue with police dogs and everything, he writes, while he was dressed only in his skivvies. October 29, 2020. Most of the information was gathered from articles by The Morning Call, who, with several different writers, covered the Jimmy Snuka and Nancy Argentino case from when it was revived in 2013 to his hearings and until his passing in 2017. When we got to the hotel right away I had to call because she wasnt feeling good, he said. Despite the tumble they drove to the motel, despite reports that Snuka lacked a drivers license. ", Deputy Lehigh County coroner Wayne Snyder later said, Upon viewing the body and speaking to the pathologist, I immediately suspected foul play and so notified the district attorney.. "You have a look and an attitude, I think,. As the episode showed, Snukas drug use had escalated so much by 1983 that his 22-year-old mistress, Argentino, also became his pseudo-manager as nobody else wanted to deal with his alleged reckless behavior. Detective Procanyn at the time told Muchnick when quizzed about Snukas shaky defense that the evidence was inconclusive. Vice's Dark Side of the Ring took on the death of Nancy Argentino in anewepisode, which aired April 12. "Unfortunately, the death of Nancy Argentino is inextricably entwined in the life story of Superfly Jimmy Snuka, making the celebration of his life and career so much more difficult. He mentioned that this was a far cry from the Snuka that truly used to leap off cages and turnbuckles. Investigating the mysterious story of Jimmy Snuka, whose girlfriend Nancy Argentino died in their motel room in 1983, and revealing her family's 30-year stru. And despite the caked on foundation applied by the ambitious mortician on this day the grim sight haunted her pro wrestling beau to the core. I dont think you erase him from memory, Chattman said. However, the file for the investigation of her murder from Pennsylvanias Whitehall Township Bureau of Police which I obtained from the same lawsuit appendix that included the New York file points to one possible reason. Instead he said Snuka told one story and it was perfectly consistent every time. The latter made national headlines not so much because a married celebrity had been arrested for beating his girlfriend in a Salina, New York, motel room, but rather because Snuka fought off a cadre of deputies and police dogs from the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office in the process. You have to think about this and get out of this relationship., But it was too late. Indeed, contemporaneous newspaper accounts all reported Snuka as pleading down to harassment, with some mentioning his one-year conditional discharge. Snuka does mention in his autobiography that the details are hazy but that he went with Vince McMahon to a court or a law office, and that Vince had a suitcase. Specifically, those other incidents of domestic abuse were that of Snuka hospitalizing his then-wife Sharon in September 1983 (no charges filed, but testified to by both Sharon and then-neighbor Debbie Rogers); and Snukas January 18, 1983 arrest for beating Argentino. According to the contemporaneous newspaper reports, Snuka who gave an exclusive, ramblingly vague account of what happened to the Toronto Star (The hotel manager just got a little excited. On top of that, according to her sisters, Nancy also had her own specific value to McMahon: With Snuka being illiterate and without a drivers license, McMahon needed a driver to get him to and from shows, but with his increasingly problematic drug use and erratic behavior, other wrestlers now refused to chauffeur him around, Speculation has long swirled around McMahons involvement in the murder investigation, specifically his presence during Snukas last police interview, the contents of which unlike every other interview summary in the Whitehall file are notoriously not described in the report at all (a fact that then-Chief Frederic Conjour wrote off as nothing in the, documentary). Javier Ojst is an old-school wrestling enthusiast currently residing in El Salvador. This was a week after District Attorney Jim Martin announced he was re-opening the case. Create your free profile and get access to exclusive content. If you bring up pro wrestling to someone from the Northeast whose fandom peaked around this time, theyll inevitably: 1) gush about Superfly being their favorite; and 2) reminisce about imitating him by jumping off their bed or dresser. At this point, [Snuka] attempted to close the door[,] but I started to talk to him about letting us in or her out. If that was The Superfly Splash, it was the geriatric version, Kirwan said. He did not express his apologies or sympathies.". I remember Vince McMahon being what Vince McMahon has always been very effusive. It also questions thecontroversial meeting between McMahon and authorities back in 1983, saying perhapsArgentino's death wasn't investigated properly because Snuka was an asset to the company. Some outlets inexplicably found humor in it: The Associated Press wire story, for example, glosses over the underlying domestic violence, choosing to frame Snuka violently resisting arrest in joking terms like a pro wrestling match, using phrases such as the match was on and a nine-deputy tag-team. Local media wasnt much better, with a short Syracuse Post-Standard item running with the headline, Police, Dogs Win Round.. He was to re-examine the evidence after Argentinos death and try to persuade then-District Attorney William Platt that this was not an accident. They beat me with their batons I never laid my hands on anyone, and I didnt see any naked women, aside from the one in my room., Snuka copped a guilty plea just to get it over with and adds, I did not assault Nancyshe was fine. All was swept under the wrestling mat in fact. . 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