Former World Wrestling Federation star Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka will not stand trial for the 1983 death of his girlfriend/mistress, Nancy Argentino.
Judge Kelly L. Banach dismissed the homicide case after granting defense attorney Robert Kirwan’s motion to end the case because 73-year-old Jimmy Snuka was incompetent to stand trial.
Via The Chicago Tribune:
Snuka was charged in September 2015 with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. A county grand jury determined Snuka repeatedly assaulted Argentino at the former George Washington Motor Lodge in Whitehall Township and then left her in bed to die on May 10, 1983.
The charges came to light after a 2013 Morning Call investigation on the 30th anniversary of Argentino’s death, which uncovered a previously unseen autopsy report that concluded the case should have been investigated as a homicide.
After a four-day hearing in June, Banach found Snuka incompetent to stand trial. During the hearing, a defense expert described Snuka as a “shell of a man” who did not recognize family members and believed the police officers who arrested him were fans seeking an autograph.
But a psychiatrist hired by the prosecution testified that Snuka was faking dementia, noting that he held lively conversations with courtroom staff but then became slack-jawed when news cameras followed him outside the courthouse.
My thoughts are with the Argentino family as they still do not have closure on the loss of their loved one.