Snuka Ruled Mentally Incompetent To Stand Trial

For those of you like me that have not heard of Jimmy Snuka untill now, he was a professional wrestler for several promotions from 1970s to 1990s but most known for his time in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF now WWE) in the early to mid 1980 and is credited with introducing the high-flying style of Wrestling to the WWF and was inducted into the WWF Hall of Fame in 1996.

Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka  – Photo courtesy of Sportkeeda.com

So why is he on trial and why is he not mentally fit to stand trial?

Jimmy Snuka – Photo courtesy of cnn.com

Well it goes back to May 10, 1983, after defeating José Estrada at a WWF TV taping at the Lehigh County Agricultural Hall in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Snuka placed a call for an ambulance, when emergency personnel arrived at Snuka’s room at the George Washington Motor Lodge, they found that his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino had been injured. Nancy was transported to Allentown’s Sacred Heart Medical Center, where she died shortly after of “undetermined craniocerebral injuries”. The coroner’s report stated that Miss Argentino, 23, died of traumatic brain injuries consistent with a moving head striking a stationary object. The autopsy findings show Miss Argentino suffered more than two dozen cuts and bruises – a possible sign of “mate abuse” (Domestic violence) – on her head, ear, chin, arms, hands, back, buttocks, legs and feet. The forensic pathologists at the time Isidore Mihalakis who preformed the autopsy, wrote that the case should be investigated as a homicide untill proven otherwise.

Snuka & Nancy – Photo courtesy of mcall.com

Snuka was the only suspect involved in the subsequent investigation, although charges were not pressed at the time against Snuka, the case was left officially open. In 1985, Argentino ‘s parents won a $500,000 default judgment against Snuka in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia but Snuka appears not to have ever paid, claiming financial inability to do so. On June 28, 2013, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin announced that the still-open case would be reviewed by his staff. On January 28, 2014, Martin announced that the case had been turned over to a grand jury.

Nancy Argentino – Photo courtesy of  The Daily Beast

On September 1, 2015, 32 years after the incident, Snuka was arrested and charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for Argentino’s death. It is the oldest case to result in charges in Lehigh County history. On October 7, Snuka’s lawyers agreed to forgo a preliminary hearing, which would be a waste of court resources, given the thorough grand jury investigation. In return, they received transcripts and other evidence from that investigation.

Crime scene – Photo courtesy of NY Daily News

On November 2, Snuka pleaded not guilty before judge Kelly Banach. A hearing to determine Snuka’s competency for trial began in May 2016. Snuka’s Attorneys argue that in May 2015 a forensic psychologist found Snuka’s mental and physical health to be deteriorating but prosecutors countered by showing a tape of Snuka performing wrestling moves at a May 2015 match. On June 1, 2016 a judge ruled that Snuka is not mentally competent to stand trial for the murder and that a new hearing will be held is six months to re-evaluate his competency, though his attorneys maintain that his condition won’t improve over time.

Jimmy Snuka – Photo courtesy of topropepress.com

Well clearly someone dropped the ball on this case 32 years ago and that in itself raises questions; in particular – how were charges NOT brought against him given Argentino’s injuries and the fact he was the ONLY suspect? So he is deemed incompetent to stand trial, and given his health I doubt he will ever be deemed fit for trial nor will he see the inside of jail cell. In my opinion he should stand trial with Ill health or not, If he was truly innocent of this crime then wouldn’t he want to protest and prove his innocence? To me its seems like the usual act, but this has gone on long enough for the Argentino family, they need answers after all its been 32 years of not knowing,  I’m not a parent but I couldn’t imagine how heartbreaking the last 32 years has been and now even more so as they open old wounds.