Wrestling legend James Snuka, better known to fans as Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, was arrested Tuesday morning on charges of third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for an incident that occurred more than 32 years ago and resulted in the death of his girlfriend.
Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin re-opened the case last year, prompted in part by a Morning Call investigation that raised questions about the death of Snuka's 23-year-old girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, in May 1983. The Call story revealed a never-before-seen autopsy report that labeled the case a homicide.
An autopsy performed on Argentino back in 1983 determined her cause of death to be traumatic brain injuries along with "more than two dozen cuts and bruises -- a possible sign of 'mate abuse,'" according to the paper, which detailed Snuka's story as follows.
Snuka initially told police back in 1983 that he shoved Argentino, resulting in her falling to the ground and hitting her head, before taping a then-World Wrestling Federation show at the Allentown Fairgrounds. Upon returning to a motel room he was sharing with Argentino, he claims to have found her "gasping for air and oozing yellow fluid from her mouth and nose," according to records uncovered by The Call. However, he later amended that story to note that Argentino slipped and hit her head during a highway bathroom stop.
The only person of interest in the case over the last 32 years, Snuka made his name with the then-WWF, wrestling professionally with the organization for most of the 1980s. He is most famous for his Superfly Splash finishing maneuver, which stole the show at Madison Square Garden event in 1983 when he performed it off the top of a steel cage.
Snuka, 72, revealed in August that he is suffering from stomach cancer. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996 and last appeared with the organization in 2010. His daughter Sarona Snuka-Polamalu, who goes by the ring name Tamina Snuka, is currently a member of WWE.
Check out the original investigative report by The Morning Call for more on the Snuka case.
