Jimmy Snuka (R) watches on from outside the ring with Ricky Steamboat as their teammate Roddy Piper strikes Chris Jericho during their handicap elimination match at WrestleMania 25 last April 5, 2009. (Photo : Getty Images/Bill Olive)
Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka is considered as a legend for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). After all, he was one of the proponents of the high-flying, death-defying style that has grown rampantly over the years in modern wrestling. However, sad news befell the world of professional wrestling after it was announced that Snuka had passed away at the age of 73 last Jan. 15.
Nuka had been given six months to live back in late 2016 due to his long battle with stomach cancer and dementia. While many wrestling fans will mourn the loss of an icon of the sport, there will also be those who will remember Nancy Argentino, Snuka's girlfriend back in the early 1980s.
Argentino and Snuka were sharing a hotel room back in 1983, when the latter called for an ambulance due to an emergency. When medical personnel arrived Argentino had already passed. Snuka claimed that the cause of her death was a simple, accidental fall, but previous domestic abuse allegations as well as autopsy results took the investigation to a whole other direction.
The autopsy revealed that Argentino had fractured her skull and incurred a severe degree of brain damage. There were also thirty-nine other cuts and bruises to her body, which could not have resulted from a mere fall. They also happened approximately 24 hours before her death, which pointed to the possibility of domestic abuse.
In spite of all of the evidence against him, Snuka never went to trial for what happened to Argentino. "The clear-cut forensics were not there, but the suspicion was there. I did not have a clear-cut case," forensic pathologist Isidore Mihalakis told Yahoo Sports.
There may have been some new light shed on the case back in 2013, when a previously undisclosed autopsy report labeled what had happened as a homicide. Snuka was in fact charged with third-degree murder in addition to involuntary manslaughter. However, he once again did not stand trial as thy deemed him unfit to do so due to his previously mentioned dementia and cancer.
Aside from these criminal charges, Snuka also fought a civil suit from the Argentino family. A judge ordered him to pay them $500,000, but he did not do so due to the fact that he was broke then until his death.
Much to the dismay of the Argentinos, their efforts to take legal action against Snuka may have come to naught. The charges against the former professional wrestler were finally dropped this January just days before his passing, according to the Daily Mail.
Watch the WWE pay tribute to Snuka in the video below:
