Jimmy Snuka, the legendary WWE star was charged with murder in connection with the 1983 death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, the Associated Press reported. The former WWE pro wrestler was arraigned on Tuesday in Lehigh County Jail in Allentown, Pa.
The cold case involving Argentino's death was reopened in 2013 by local paper The Morning Call, which revealed a never-before-seen autopsy that determined that Argentino's death was a homicide, The Morning Call reported. The case was reopened and a grand jury listened to testimonies and statements from 20 witnesses.
Snuka was in Allentown in 1983 with Argentino for a WWE (then known as the WWF) taping, according to the AP. He told police that he found Argentino unresponsive in bed when he arrived at the couple's hotel room in Whitehall Township. Argentino was taken to a nearby hospital where she was pronounced dead.
But the jury found Snuka guilty based on his shifting accounts from that day in 1983, and he was charged with third degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
"It is our determination that the weight of the evidence clearly indicates that James Snuka repeatedly assaulted Nancy Argentino on May 10, 1983, and then allowed her to lie in their bed at the George Washington Motor Lodge without obtaining the necessary medical attention," the grand jury concluded, the Wrap reported. "His assaultive acts and his failure to act to obtain medical attention resulted in her death."
Snuka was held at Lehigh County jail until he posted $100,000 bail, according to the Morning Call. The WWE issued a statement shortly after news of his arraignment broke.
"WWE expresses its continued sympathy to the Argentino family for their loss," the WWE said in a statement obtained by the Wrap. "Ultimately this legal matter will be decided by our judicial system."
