Kriti Mehrotra
It was in the 1980s when everything turned upside down for the wrestling community as they were hit with one scandal after the other, ranging from sexual assault allegations to deaths. However, as explored in Netflix’s ‘Mr. McMahon,’ none were as devastating as the 1983 homicide of legendary professional wrestler James Reiher Snuka, aka Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka’s mistress. New York native Nancy Argentino was actually just 23 when she sadly lost her life, yet no one could have ever imagined it would take decades for her case to really be investigated in the way it deserved.
Nancy Argentino Was Found Struggling to Breathe in a Hotel
According to records, even though Jimmy was a married man, he had maintained a rather stable relationship with 23-year-old Nancy. Their arrangement was actually such that she traveled alongside him on the pro wrestling circuit whenever he found himself in the Northeast. However, little did the New York native know that this exact thing would result in her passing away on May 10, 1983, in Allentown, Pennsylvania. It was actually Jimmy who had found her gasping for air and with fluid running from her nose and mount in their Washington Motor Lodge motel room.
Jimmy had actually just returned from a lengthy World Wrestling Federation shoot when he found Nancy, following which he immediately dialed 911, and she was rushed to the Lehigh Valley Hospital. It was there that she succumbed to her brain injuries consistent with that from a blunt force trauma mere hours later. As if that’s not enough, per her autopsy, she even had at least two dozen cuts and bruises across her body that indicated possible “mate abuse,” and she had actually injured her head 12-24 hours before help arrived. Therefore, with the time delay affecting her ability to be resuscitated, the coroner ruled her manner of death a homicide.
Nancy Argentino’s Killing Sadly Remained a Cold Case For Decades
Despite the fact Jimmy had reportedly been cooperative with the authorities and told them Nancy had indeed hurt herself hours earlier upon slipping near a guardrail and hitting her head, they believed there was more to the case. That’s not only because of her other injuries but also because Jimmy’s cooperation was shadowed by WWE President Vince McMahon essentially serving as his mouthpiece to the public. Nevertheless, with no concrete evidence suggesting foul play or anything else, no criminal charges were filed against Jimmy.
Nancy’s family understandably wasn’t satisfied with this non-resolution, though, driving them to hire private investigators and lawyers who eventually helped them file a wrongful death lawsuit against Jimmy. In the end, two years later, in 1985, the Argentinos were awarded $500,000 from their daughter’s boyfriend for his neglect in ensuring she received timely medical attention, only for him to subsequently declare bankruptcy. He filed an affidavit that he was broke and could not pay this amount, shortly after which his own lawyer also withdrew from the case, citing non-payment, which corroborated his claims.
However, everything turned around in 2015 as a reinvestigation into Nancy’s case revealed that the marks on her body and the whole ordeal of how she had been found were suspicious. So, in September, he was arrested for the third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter of his girlfriend back in 1983. He immediately pleaded not guilty, following which a trial was scheduled to determine his involvement in the matter, that is, until his lawyers brought his competency into question by asserting the then-72-year-old’s mental and physical health was worsening.
Jimmy Snuka Passed Away in Early 2017
It was in June 2016 that Jimmy was deemed unfit to stand trial for the charges against him owing to dementia stemming from wrestling-related injuries, all the while he was already battling stomach cancer. He had actually been diagnosed with the latter in August of 2015, following which he had surgery to remove his lymph nodes, part of his stomach, and all apparent cancer. But alas, in December 2016, his family announced that he was terminally ill and in hospice care because he had been given just six months to live.
So, on January 3, 2017, all the charges against Jimmy were dismissed by the prosecutors, with them being unaware that he would succumb to his failing health merely 12 days later. Jimmy died at the age of 73 on January 15, 2017, in Pompano Beach, Florida. We should mention that the class action lawsuit his family had filed against WWE in 2016 on the grounds that the company “routinely failed to care” for their wrestlers even as they incurred long-term injuries during performances was dismissed by a US District Judge in 2018 owing to there being no legitimate backing to it.
