Jimmy Superfly Snuka (Photo : NYDailyNews.com)
James Reiher Snuka, more popularly known as professional wrestling legend Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, will be charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend -- an incident that happened more than 32 years ago because investigators reopened his previously closed case following the discovery of discrepancies between his statements and what he wrote in his own autobiography.
TMZ Sports says the 72-year old Snuka was arrested today in his home in New Jersey, but has since posted bail at $100,000.
Officials in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, where the alleged homicide originally took place, say Snuka will be charged with 3rd degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
Police say that in 1983, Snuka told detectives that his then girlfriend, a woman named Nancy Argentino, severely injured her skull while the couple had an altercation outside their motel room in Allentown. Snuka says he accidentally pushed her and she fell, hitting her head.
This is a completely different story that was told in Snuka's 2012 autobiography "Superfly: The Jimmy Snuka Story", police had recently discovered.
In the autobiography, Snuka claims Argentino slipped while going to the toilet at a rest stop. No mention of an altercation was presented.
After investigators noticed the radical difference in the stories, they reopened the case and determined sufficient evidence to prove Snuka was responsible for Argentino's death.
TMZ further reported, "According to her autopsy report, recently obtained by The Morning Call -- Argentino suffered multiple cuts and contusions on her entire body. The autopsy says Argentino died of traumatic brain injuries consistent with a moving head striking a stationary object."
Snuka joined the WWE in 1982 and continued to wrestle until 1996 for a number of different promotions. He was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.
His current wife, Carol, recently announced in August that Snuka had been diagnosed with stomach cancer, of which he had surgery to remove his lymph nodes, parts of his stomach and all traces of the cancer. He is currently in recovery.
