It is believed that Snuka delaying 12-24 hours in calling for medical help contributed greatly to the emergency staffers inability to resuscitate her. Other than Snukas constantly shifting story of what happened, the autopsy report, and even his 2012 autobiography helped put pressure on authorities to delve into the case once more. Robert Kirwin, defense attorney of Jimmy Snuka, called Snukas wife Carole with the news and said that she wept with joy and wanted to know if it was truly over. ), 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. June 1st, 2016: Almost six months after being tried for third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, Judge Kelly L. Banach determined that Jimmy Snuka was not mentally fit to assist his defense. The date was May 11, 1983, . They are not against the donation, only that it shouldnt be tied in with the case or the Department.. In 2017, Jon Chattman, author of Superfly: The Jimmy Snuka Story, was interviewed by Pro Wrestling Illustrated Senior Writer Al Castle for the PWI Podcast. In 1985, Nancy Argentinos family won a $500,000 judgment against the Superfly in a federal wrongful-death civil lawsuit; but after filing for bankruptcy the retired wrestler reportedly failed to fork over any restitution. I respect them. Ultimately, you look at what he did in the ring, and its remarkable. The Salina City Court and several others in the surrounding area have been merged into a single district court location for the coronavirus pandemic, making it impossible to check the original court records, if they still exist. Her sisters, Louise Argentino and Lorraine Salome, tell me that they believe that this was the first time Snuka had gotten violent, meaning that Argentinos resolve wouldnt necessarily be worn down yet. 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, . I remember Vince McMahon being what Vince McMahon has always been very effusive. He's been a frequent guest on several podcasts and has a few bylines on TheLogBook.com, where he shares stories of pop culture and retro-related awesomeness. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (third from left) arrives with his wife Carole (right) for day four of his competency hearing at the Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown on June 1, 2016. She was going to come home for that weekend, Salome said. From excessive horseplay amongst them to a lovers quarrel where accidents happen, to her simply slipping and falling. At the time of Argentinos death, the leaping phenom was a married man with kids and claimed to have girlfriends everywhere. It was six men in blue with police dogs and everything, he writes, while he was dressed only in his skivvies. Look of fear in them. 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.. This was to prove that he was lucid. Trying to prove that Jimmy Snuka was mentally and physically capable of standing trial, the prosecutors showed fliers from charity events that Snuka attended during times the psychologist said he showed signs of dementia. This again was, according to Argentinos oldest sister. If that was The Superfly Splash, it was the geriatric version, Kirwan said. 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. This time he saw Argentino, naked, soon followed by Snuka, also naked. , then Snukas promoter as the owner of Titan Sports d/b/a the World Wrestling Federation, and now the chairman, CEO and owner of the WWFs successor, World Wrestling Entertainment. And yet the pro wrestler was never charged. I went online, and there was a lot of stuff that I also heard that I took to him. The writer was onto the flimsy slip-and-fall storylines Snuka had peddled to police and prosecutors. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka (center) arrives with his wife Carole (right) for day four of his competency hearing at the Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown on June 1, 2016. Though the records check from the Sheriffs Office matched the four known charges, the Certificate of Conviction from the court says he pled guilty to Assault 3rd while being sentenced to his one-year conditional discharge. Does [Snuka] understand whats going on? Pro Wrestling Stories - Your daily source of nostalgia and a peek behind the curtain wall of wrestlings past! 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. However, I was orally advised that Dr. Mihalikis concluded that death was consistent with a single fall whereby the victim struck her head on a hard substance, such as pavement. It was obvious. I was stonewalled at every turn, Cushing said. . However, their dream relationship quickly turned to horror. AEW and WWE Conspiracy: Are They Working Together? Despite the tumble they drove to the motel, despite reports that Snuka lacked a drivers license. The case remains open to this day. Menu. What the f***?". But it appears Snukas big mouth or fuzzy memory caught up to him. 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. The latter made national headlines not so much because a married celebrity had been arrested for beating his girlfriend in a. , motel room, but rather because Snuka fought off a cadre of deputies and police dogs from the Onondaga County Sheriffs Office in the process. Oh, and hed donate $1,500 his alleged purse for his return to Syracuse that same day to Sheriff John Dillons favorite charity, the, 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 Onondaga County War Memorial on April 7th, where he would leave tickets for the officers involved. By. I dont know if he gave Nancys family money or anything., Procanyns single line about McMahon while recounting the interview about the New York investigation, though, is the first time evidence of McMahons presence in the New York case has been offered in the public domain. She would sadly die at the young age of 23 in a Pennsylvania motel room. In the article, he compares Nancy Argentino to Mary Jo Kopechne. However, he accepted a plea deal that dropped all of those charges. If I was guilty of anything, it was cheating on my wife, and that was it Nancy was a good girl. On that night Snuka claims he was just drinking a lot of booze. He later noted he had been smoking some pot too. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka wrestles on September 4, 1995 in New Hampshire. The trouble is the brawler allegedly inflicted multiple beatdowns on his wife. I dont think its Chris Benoit. Snukas wife, Carole Snuka, told the producers of Dark Side of the Ring that her husband told her that McMahon came into town with his briefcase and told him it was done.. Jimmy 'Superfly' Snuka wrestles on September 4, 1995 in New Hampshire. The stakes were high. The Lehigh County district attorney's office has refused to allow the coroner to release her autopsy report over the past three. Friday, May 10, is the 30th anniversary of the controversial but little-discussed death of Nancy Argentino, Jimmy Snuka's girlfriend at the time. Though the records check from the Sheriffs Office matched the four known charges, the Certificate of Conviction from the court says he pled guilty to Assault 3rd while being sentenced to his one-year conditional discharge. The coconut was supposed to be shaved thin on one end, to crack like an egg, the psychologist explained, but Piper hit Snuka with the wrong end. Its impossible to discern causality, too whether the explanation is simply innocent, lazy reporting, or something more sinister. Still, Judge Robert Steinberg, an assistant district attorney at the time, was there and remembered that McMahon did all the talking but was cooperative. The Hall of Famer was arrested on Tuesday in connection with Nancy Argentino's death in 1983. How did she die? her distraught mom said. At around 4 a.m. trucks were approaching Argentino, who had found a bush to squat and pee. Get an all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more! The docuseries noted that police documents prove that the meeting took place and lastedan hour but there are no notes to indicate what was discussed duringthat meeting. After the one hour meeting in the district attorneys law library, there are no records of Jimmy Snuka ever being questioned by police again. ", "I dont know how to reconcile this mans heroic feats inside our world, with the tragedy he likely played a role in outside of it, but I have always found wisdom and comfort in these simple words from Bruce Springsteen: Trust the art, not the artist." The autopsy report told cops to consider Nancy Argentinos death a homicide. I would never use full force. When speaking to the Whitehall Police hours after Argentino died as the result of a skull fracture (four months after the New York motel room attack), McMahon backed up the claims around Snukas needing Argentino to be able to travel between live shows and taping venues. In his 2012 memoir Superfly: The Jimmy Snuka Story the pro wrestler claims he showed respect to Argentinos parents. Argentino fell down on her own when they made a bathroom roadside pitstop on their way into Allentown. According to, the Sheriffs Department file for the case. Nancy Argentino in an undated photo. Frank M. Dattilio was a forensic psychologist hired by the defense. Dark Side Of The Ring S02E05 Jimmy Snuka and the Death of Nancy Argentino. He argued Snukas head trauma had progressed to the point where he couldnt understand what was happening in a courtroom and commented that his private doctors detected memory impairment in him as early as 2010 and that Snuka might develop CTE in the future. In his autobiography, Superfly The Jimmy Snuka Story, written by Jon Chattman, he says that after coming back from the TV tapings, he was surprised to find her still sleeping, and thats when he called for help. 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. In 1985: The Argentino family won a $500,000 wrongful-death civil lawsuit against Snuka but never received their money. Ronald Hamilton, a doctor of pathology at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center who helped discover CTE, said other factors such as drinking, drug use, and depression could also cause mood changes. That said, the law librarian at the Fifth Judicial District told me that a Certificate of Conviction would be the document to trust over newspaper reports. I dont know what happened. I didnt see it happen, but I remember she told me she was jumping over a little stream that was there and she slipped.. 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. These changing stories and the official manner of death werent known publicly until 2013, when the, discovered the autopsy report and a Snuka police interview transcript both previously unavailable due to the case still being open in court records from the Argentino familys later wrongful death lawsuit against Superfly. That, and other provable incidents of domestic abuse. The findings showed that she had more than two dozen cuts and bruises a possible sign of mate abuse on her head, ear, chin, arms, hands, back, buttocks, legs, and feet. If you missed it, the immediate things you need to know are that Argentino died of, ; that Snuka initially told a variety of stories that involved pushing her, only to change his tune claiming she slipped and fell at the side of the road . That day, with Snukas lawyer, James Sparkes, acting as notary, she swore out an affidavit stating that she was in no way seeking prosecution against Snuka. All the pieces were there. Nancy called me at 2 in the morning saying, I have to get out of here, her sister recalled. During one of the hearings, prosecutors noted Snuka did not begin complaining of head trauma until after he learned he was under investigation. Hello! Talk moves to Nancy Argentino the person, with Lorraine talking about despite living in a big city that she led a sheltered life and was a very hard worker. October 29, 2020. Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka wrestles in a match on September 4, 1995 in New Hampshire. I want the whole story. It was never one of those deals where We must put this in,' Chattman recalled. Jimmy Snuka, Argentino's boyfriend at the time, was investigated in the death but not charged or arrested until 2015. It is a sobering tale filled with possible cover-ups and the needless death of a young woman. For over two decades investigative reporter and author Irvin Muchnick has been namechecking the former Leheigh County District Attorney William Platt (now a state judge) and the lead detective on Argentinos case for the Whitehall PD, Gerald Procanyn (who became a DAs investigator), as purposely bungling the case. And while theyre drinking and having a good time in comes the party-crashing police. Months later, on May 10, 1983, Argentino and Snuka traveled to Allentown, Pennsylvania to tape an episode of championship wrestling. It was a. 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