1 00:00:05,160 --> 00:00:10,400 Here he is, Jimmy Superfly Saluka. 2 00:00:11,000 --> 00:00:13,260 Man, there was only one Superfly. 3 00:00:13,480 --> 00:00:18,920 A wild man with the hair and then the zebra trunks and his body. He was a 4 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:20,220 brilliant performer. 5 00:00:20,720 --> 00:00:21,880 No one even comes close. 6 00:00:22,100 --> 00:00:24,280 And he had freakish athletic talent. 7 00:00:24,660 --> 00:00:29,200 Going up on the top rope, flying off and crashing into your opponent. I mean, 8 00:00:29,200 --> 00:00:30,200 that's awesome. 9 00:00:30,320 --> 00:00:35,720 By 1983, Jimmy Superfly Snuka takes the wrestling world by storm. 10 00:00:35,980 --> 00:00:39,600 Everywhere was a sellout. All the arenas, they were always packed. 11 00:00:39,880 --> 00:00:42,360 Look around and see, you know, this guy's going to make you money. 12 00:00:42,740 --> 00:00:46,840 But fans are unaware of the events surrounding the violent death of his 13 00:00:46,840 --> 00:00:48,800 girlfriend, Nancy Argentino. 14 00:00:49,390 --> 00:00:53,290 which raises disturbing questions about who Jimmy really is. 15 00:00:53,530 --> 00:00:58,170 Nancy was extremely into the relationship. She was invested 100%. She 16 00:00:58,170 --> 00:01:01,810 felt betrayed because this was the guy she was in love with that was killing 17 00:01:01,810 --> 00:01:06,470 her. I really don't know what really happened that night. 18 00:01:06,690 --> 00:01:09,790 I mean, rumors just started to spread like fire. 19 00:01:10,050 --> 00:01:14,030 Jimmy did that. Jimmy beat her up. She died of brain injury. 20 00:01:14,450 --> 00:01:17,010 He didn't get arrested, wasn't detained. 21 00:01:17,900 --> 00:01:20,600 We don't think we really received justice from the authorities. 22 00:01:21,080 --> 00:01:26,080 They did nothing, keeping the case open, but hoping that it would just go away. 23 00:01:26,820 --> 00:01:32,300 30 years later, the case resurfaces with shocking new information to challenge 24 00:01:32,300 --> 00:01:35,920 the legacy and innocence of one of wrestling's greatest performers. 25 00:01:36,960 --> 00:01:41,180 Part of our goal was to figure out who she was. This isn't just Jimmy Snuka's 26 00:01:41,180 --> 00:01:42,760 story. This is Nancy Argentino's story. 27 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:44,540 Let's find out what happened. 28 00:01:44,820 --> 00:01:46,400 Was it really an accident? 29 00:01:47,070 --> 00:01:49,750 Was it his intention to kill her? 30 00:01:56,650 --> 00:02:02,370 By the early 1980s, the World Wrestling Federation explodes in popularity. 31 00:02:03,050 --> 00:02:08,070 A key ingredient to its massive growth has been in capitalizing on the star 32 00:02:08,070 --> 00:02:10,770 power of its most charismatic performers. 33 00:02:11,550 --> 00:02:15,690 But the man fans love more than anyone is the Superfly. 34 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:17,240 Jimmy Snuka. 35 00:02:17,540 --> 00:02:23,800 From the moment he joins the WWF, audiences are entranced with his high 36 00:02:23,800 --> 00:02:26,380 acrobatics and wild -man persona. 37 00:02:26,760 --> 00:02:30,200 He is the embodiment of a real -life Tarzan. 38 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:35,820 His universal popularity led many to believe his star would shine forever. 39 00:02:36,160 --> 00:02:38,120 But they were wrong. 40 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:45,560 From the Isle of Tonga, weighing 225 pounds... 41 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:47,180 The Tonga Kid. 42 00:02:48,700 --> 00:02:50,620 My name is Tonga Kid. 43 00:02:50,900 --> 00:02:52,500 Real name is Sam Patu. 44 00:02:52,840 --> 00:02:56,180 To be honest, you know, I wasn't interested in wrestling. 45 00:02:56,420 --> 00:03:00,540 I was this kid that was growing up in San Francisco, got into a lot of 46 00:03:01,140 --> 00:03:03,880 I did six months in juvie for hitting a bus driver. 47 00:03:04,140 --> 00:03:07,880 So, you know, I thought, oh, shit, you know, I'm really going to get my ass 48 00:03:07,880 --> 00:03:13,260 whooped now from my parents, right? And my mom's brothers are Alpha and Zika. 49 00:03:13,950 --> 00:03:19,010 So they sent me to Alpansika, and they said, all right, this is what we need to 50 00:03:19,010 --> 00:03:21,310 do with you. You're going to become a professional wrestler. 51 00:03:21,810 --> 00:03:23,470 I was 16 years old. 52 00:03:24,010 --> 00:03:28,870 You're talking a young kid who just started in the wrestling world, got 53 00:03:28,870 --> 00:03:33,810 out there to the wolves. Somebody has to protect me. And that was the Superfly, 54 00:03:33,930 --> 00:03:39,350 Jimmy Snooker. From the Fiji Islands, Jimmy Superfly! 55 00:03:43,180 --> 00:03:47,120 Jimmy Snuka was a professional wrestler from the island of Fiji. 56 00:03:47,340 --> 00:03:48,580 He could do it all. 57 00:03:48,860 --> 00:03:50,320 Could have been Hulk Hogan. 58 00:03:50,860 --> 00:03:54,600 He'd have just, you know, kept his head on, kept cool. 59 00:03:56,760 --> 00:03:59,120 I'm Tom Morocco, Sunset Beach, Hawaii. 60 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:05,420 Started wrestling in 1970 and unofficially retired about 1988. 61 00:04:06,960 --> 00:04:11,800 Jimmy, he spent a lot of time in Hawaii. He grew up almost homeless. 62 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,860 Where he slept, I have no idea, you know. He had basically no home. 63 00:04:16,600 --> 00:04:20,940 I think that's why he latched on to professional wrestling, because it gave 64 00:04:20,940 --> 00:04:24,440 a place, it gave him an identity, it gave him a family. 65 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:31,620 Being accepted by crowd, being accepted by people, being a hero, being somebody, 66 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:33,720 it meant the world to him. 67 00:04:35,400 --> 00:04:39,580 Every time Jimmy went in the ring, he kneeled down, and people don't know why 68 00:04:39,580 --> 00:04:40,580 he'd do that. 69 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,660 It's almost like people need to kneel down when you pray, right? Jimmy kneels 70 00:04:44,660 --> 00:04:47,420 down and he does it to respect his fans. 71 00:04:48,560 --> 00:04:50,160 That's why Jimmy did it. 72 00:04:50,460 --> 00:04:55,100 In the early 1980s, Snooker enters the World Wrestling Federation. 73 00:04:55,620 --> 00:05:01,220 Owner Vince McMahon recognizes his star power potential and soon makes Snooker 74 00:05:01,220 --> 00:05:02,760 his number one attraction. 75 00:05:03,850 --> 00:05:08,790 Snuka was the most popular performer in WWE at that time. Bob Backlund was the 76 00:05:08,790 --> 00:05:12,750 champion. They had some other stars, but Snuka was on fire. 77 00:05:13,070 --> 00:05:17,690 I'm Irv Muchnick. I'm the nephew of Sam Muchnick, who is the legendary National 78 00:05:17,690 --> 00:05:24,310 Wrestling Alliance promoter. I would say 35 years I've been obsessed with the 79 00:05:24,310 --> 00:05:28,250 pro wrestling phenomenon with Snuka. 80 00:05:28,490 --> 00:05:30,710 They brought him in originally. He was a heel. 81 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:35,260 They quickly figured out that they had to convert him into a babyface because 82 00:05:35,260 --> 00:05:40,780 was just too popular. And Buddy Rogers became his manager, and he did the 83 00:05:40,780 --> 00:05:44,220 switch. We've failed. We've got what it takes to win. 84 00:05:44,460 --> 00:05:48,720 It all came together in New York. He was money. He was their biggest star. 85 00:05:49,060 --> 00:05:51,360 Zucker was at the peak of his drawing power. 86 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:57,040 Jimmy also fully embraces the grueling lifestyle of a wrestler on the road. 87 00:05:57,950 --> 00:06:00,890 We'd go to clubs every night, party every day. 88 00:06:01,990 --> 00:06:04,130 It's a lot, man. You know, it was tough. 89 00:06:04,570 --> 00:06:08,790 Go to the matches, go to sleep, work out, repeat, repeat. 90 00:06:10,510 --> 00:06:14,670 Being on the road by yourself can be very damn boring sometimes, you know? I 91 00:06:14,670 --> 00:06:17,750 think it's good to have somebody on the road to travel, you know, with you on 92 00:06:17,750 --> 00:06:18,970 the road sometimes, you know? 93 00:06:19,390 --> 00:06:23,850 And Jimmy had his girlfriend on the road. I don't remember her name right 94 00:06:23,850 --> 00:06:24,910 the bat, but yeah. 95 00:06:25,250 --> 00:06:26,250 Are you talking about Nancy? 96 00:06:26,750 --> 00:06:27,750 Yes. 97 00:06:27,990 --> 00:06:29,670 Yes, I'm talking about her. Yeah. 98 00:06:30,850 --> 00:06:35,550 My name is Lorraine Salome. I'm the older sister of the late Nancy 99 00:06:36,630 --> 00:06:41,070 My younger sister and I always say that Nancy was the favorite because she never 100 00:06:41,070 --> 00:06:42,310 gave my mother a hard time. 101 00:06:43,130 --> 00:06:48,270 Nancy was a very intelligent girl. She had a lot of friends because people were 102 00:06:48,270 --> 00:06:51,830 drawn to her. She was a hard worker. You know, she always had a job. 103 00:06:52,240 --> 00:06:56,480 And she took great pride in her clothes and her makeup and her hair. She always 104 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:57,480 wanted to look good. 105 00:06:58,300 --> 00:06:59,740 Nancy was very innocent. 106 00:07:00,020 --> 00:07:02,840 Even though we lived in a big city, she lived a sheltered life. 107 00:07:03,720 --> 00:07:08,820 That changes when Nancy is introduced to the world of professional wrestling at 108 00:07:08,820 --> 00:07:12,680 Madison Square Garden, the premier venue for the WWF. 109 00:07:13,260 --> 00:07:16,500 Nancy had a childhood friend named Ellen that they grew up together. 110 00:07:16,760 --> 00:07:20,720 Ellen was engaged to a wrestler named Johnny Rod. 111 00:07:21,180 --> 00:07:26,240 So Nancy got into the habit of going with Ellen to go to Madison Square 112 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:27,800 to see the wrestling matches. 113 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:32,140 Afterwards, she'd go backstage, and they'd wait for Johnny, and then she met 114 00:07:32,140 --> 00:07:33,200 Superfly Snooker. 115 00:07:34,420 --> 00:07:39,220 You know, she really liked him, and it seemed to be a somewhat serious 116 00:07:39,220 --> 00:07:40,680 relationship right away. 117 00:07:41,180 --> 00:07:45,340 At the beginning, we were all like, oh, yeah, that's great, Nancy's happy, and 118 00:07:45,340 --> 00:07:47,900 we didn't really understand him that much. 119 00:07:48,350 --> 00:07:51,890 He was really strange because we tried to make him feel comfortable, but he 120 00:07:51,890 --> 00:07:55,970 would sit in the corner, and he wouldn't talk to anybody except occasionally to 121 00:07:55,970 --> 00:07:58,750 Nancy. He isolated himself. 122 00:08:00,270 --> 00:08:05,130 She told my mother that she was in love with him, and she took care of him when 123 00:08:05,130 --> 00:08:08,910 they were on the road because Buddy Rogers didn't really want to travel with 124 00:08:08,910 --> 00:08:10,970 anymore, like drive him from place to place. 125 00:08:11,470 --> 00:08:15,870 Buddy Rogers' role extended far beyond an in -ring manager for Jimmy. 126 00:08:16,330 --> 00:08:19,590 He would also become his handler and chaperone on the road. 127 00:08:20,890 --> 00:08:27,890 He said Jimmy was a sweet guy, but he was hooked on cocaine and other 128 00:08:27,890 --> 00:08:30,250 junk, and he was totally uncontrollable. 129 00:08:30,930 --> 00:08:36,049 And it reached a point where Rogers told Vince McMahon he couldn't be in the car 130 00:08:36,049 --> 00:08:40,470 with Snooka anymore because he would snort cocaine brazenly while they were 131 00:08:40,470 --> 00:08:41,470 driving. 132 00:08:41,960 --> 00:08:46,160 So they talked to my sister Nancy, and all of a sudden, that was her job. 133 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:50,260 She would map out the places. 134 00:08:50,500 --> 00:08:51,660 She'd drive the car. 135 00:08:52,020 --> 00:08:56,160 She'd make sure Snooker got to the matches on time. She was his girlfriend, 136 00:08:56,160 --> 00:08:57,560 she also had a job to do. 137 00:08:58,640 --> 00:09:02,480 My mother liked him, even though he wasn't, like, super friendly. 138 00:09:03,340 --> 00:09:09,380 And I always got the feeling that my stepfather, Ralph, had his doubts about 139 00:09:09,380 --> 00:09:15,590 him. As Jimmy and Nancy's relationship grows, her family begins to see the 140 00:09:15,590 --> 00:09:18,450 cracks hiding behind Jimmy's quiet facade. 141 00:09:19,110 --> 00:09:21,870 It was not that many times that I met him. 142 00:09:22,210 --> 00:09:23,210 I'm Louise. 143 00:09:23,410 --> 00:09:27,710 I'm Nancy's sister. I grew up with her. We were close. The whole family was 144 00:09:27,710 --> 00:09:33,290 close. My parents were away on a weekend, and I came home, and they were 145 00:09:33,330 --> 00:09:38,050 and they had brought home Chinese food, and I sat down to eat with them, and I 146 00:09:38,050 --> 00:09:39,530 was just my bubbly. 147 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:44,140 just yakking and chatting and saying, oh, how are you, blah, blah, blah. 148 00:09:44,980 --> 00:09:51,900 And he didn't like how I was acting, and he just looked over me, and he put his 149 00:09:51,900 --> 00:09:58,820 hand, like, up to my throat, and he said, I could. 150 00:09:59,020 --> 00:10:00,700 And he gave me that wrestling face. 151 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:06,640 I backed up, and I said, wow. 152 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:09,300 And I looked at my sister. 153 00:10:09,930 --> 00:10:10,930 I said, I don't want to eat. 154 00:10:11,310 --> 00:10:12,330 And I went upstairs. 155 00:10:13,510 --> 00:10:18,610 And then when she came upstairs, I got her in the bathroom, and I said, Nancy, 156 00:10:18,830 --> 00:10:20,430 you need to get rid of him. 157 00:10:21,330 --> 00:10:25,770 And she was all apologetic. Like, she looked kind of, like, timid. Not what I 158 00:10:25,770 --> 00:10:26,890 was just seeing in her. 159 00:10:27,210 --> 00:10:30,850 And she said, oh, no, no, no, no. He's just tired. He's been working hard. 160 00:10:31,130 --> 00:10:32,130 It's okay. 161 00:10:32,850 --> 00:10:35,310 He felt bad that he treated me that way. 162 00:10:36,590 --> 00:10:39,730 He said, here, here, I want to give you something. And I looked, and in my hand 163 00:10:39,730 --> 00:10:41,350 was, like, cocaine. I think it was cocaine. 164 00:10:42,590 --> 00:10:44,050 And Nancy was upset. 165 00:10:44,570 --> 00:10:47,090 She just said, don't do that. Don't do that. 166 00:10:47,410 --> 00:10:48,470 She doesn't need that. 167 00:10:49,930 --> 00:10:53,050 And I think I gave it back to him. And I said, no, no, no, keep it. 168 00:10:53,290 --> 00:10:54,810 And I said goodbye to him. 169 00:10:55,430 --> 00:11:00,950 And I thought, wow, that's like a real change in her personality all of a 170 00:11:00,950 --> 00:11:01,950 sudden. 171 00:11:08,390 --> 00:11:13,490 Despite her family's deep concern, 22 -year -old Nancy Argentino is now 172 00:11:13,490 --> 00:11:19,370 constantly on the road with her boyfriend, wrestling superstar Jimmy 173 00:11:19,370 --> 00:11:24,010 Snuka. I didn't have a relationship with her because Jimmy was very protective 174 00:11:24,010 --> 00:11:28,370 with that, especially when it comes around all these crazy shark wrestlers, 175 00:11:28,370 --> 00:11:29,370 know what I mean? 176 00:11:29,490 --> 00:11:32,830 I don't think anybody had a relationship with her, you know, because they knew 177 00:11:32,830 --> 00:11:35,350 who Jimmy was, you know, they knew who she was with. 178 00:11:35,650 --> 00:11:36,650 So did you ever meet Nancy? 179 00:11:37,120 --> 00:11:41,760 I met her, yeah. She didn't seem to really like me. 180 00:11:45,020 --> 00:11:51,580 Maybe it was because he and I were arch enemies, or maybe it was because she 181 00:11:51,580 --> 00:11:55,940 knew I was friends with his wife, Sherry. At any point in time, did you 182 00:11:55,940 --> 00:11:57,160 that he was married? 183 00:11:57,420 --> 00:11:59,600 I think Nancy told me, and I said, what are you, crazy? 184 00:12:00,380 --> 00:12:01,520 I said, he's married. 185 00:12:01,920 --> 00:12:04,760 She said, well, he's not with his wife. He's separated. 186 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:08,800 How could he be with anyone else if he was with Nancy? It never crossed our 187 00:12:08,800 --> 00:12:10,680 minds because they were always together. 188 00:12:11,440 --> 00:12:15,800 Jimmy and his wife Sharon are still living together with their four children 189 00:12:15,800 --> 00:12:16,800 North Carolina. 190 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:21,640 Time on the road has allowed him to live two separate lives, but his secrets 191 00:12:21,640 --> 00:12:23,100 can't stay hidden forever. 192 00:12:23,900 --> 00:12:28,040 My name is Kevin Ammerman. I'm a journalist. I work for the Morning Call. 193 00:12:28,040 --> 00:12:29,360 newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 194 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:32,720 So it's January 1983. 195 00:12:33,180 --> 00:12:37,180 Jimmy Snuka is at Howard Johnson in Salina, New York. He's there with Nancy 196 00:12:37,180 --> 00:12:38,180 Argentina. 197 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:44,260 Apparently, other guests are calling the front desk saying, it sounds like a man 198 00:12:44,260 --> 00:12:45,260 is beating a woman. 199 00:12:46,100 --> 00:12:49,820 I was in my apartment sleeping, and I got a phone call at 2 o 'clock in the 200 00:12:49,820 --> 00:12:51,320 morning from Nancy. 201 00:12:51,860 --> 00:12:56,040 She was screaming into the phone, Lorraine, you have to help me. I have to 202 00:12:56,040 --> 00:12:56,999 out of here. 203 00:12:57,000 --> 00:12:59,540 I said, what's wrong? She said, he's chasing me. 204 00:13:00,010 --> 00:13:01,110 And then the phone went dead. 205 00:13:03,070 --> 00:13:09,370 So police respond. Police claim that Jimmy Snuka has Nancy Argentina by the 206 00:13:09,370 --> 00:13:14,370 hair. And he's dragging her across the wall and across the floor by her hand. 207 00:13:14,970 --> 00:13:17,490 So police attempt to intervene. 208 00:13:17,710 --> 00:13:21,930 And they're met with almost superhuman strength by Jimmy Snuka. And he starts 209 00:13:21,930 --> 00:13:25,330 resisting arrest and manhandling the police. 210 00:13:25,570 --> 00:13:28,070 There were also police dogs who responded. 211 00:13:28,730 --> 00:13:31,970 While he's fighting the police, he's also apparently fighting the dogs as 212 00:13:32,230 --> 00:13:33,430 It was unbelievable. 213 00:13:34,010 --> 00:13:37,930 I didn't know what to do because I didn't know where she went. So I waited. 214 00:13:38,230 --> 00:13:43,510 And finally, early in the morning, she called me back. I said, Nancy, what 215 00:13:43,510 --> 00:13:47,610 happened last night? And she just said, oh, nothing. Just a big 216 00:13:47,610 --> 00:13:48,610 misunderstanding. 217 00:13:49,650 --> 00:13:54,350 Arrested on charges of assault and harassment, Snooker is able to avoid 218 00:13:54,350 --> 00:13:56,310 time with help from Nancy. 219 00:13:56,690 --> 00:13:58,190 Right here is... 220 00:13:58,540 --> 00:14:01,820 A copy of Nancy's affidavit signed by her. 221 00:14:02,220 --> 00:14:07,500 I'm Adam Clark. I'm a journalist who wrote the 30 -year anniversary story 222 00:14:07,500 --> 00:14:09,440 Jimmy Snuka and Nancy Argentino. 223 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:13,880 One of the charges pending against Jimmy S. Snuka is that of assault in the 224 00:14:13,880 --> 00:14:18,320 third degree. This charge is said to be as a result of an assault upon me by 225 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:19,320 Jimmy Snuka. 226 00:14:19,600 --> 00:14:24,440 I wish to state that he never struck me or intentionally harmed me in any way on 227 00:14:24,440 --> 00:14:28,280 January 18th, 1983, nor at any other time in the past. 228 00:14:29,080 --> 00:14:33,080 You know, she really was in love with Jimmy Snuka. 229 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:38,820 So after Jimmy Snuka was charged, he ended up pleading guilty to a minor 230 00:14:38,820 --> 00:14:43,380 of harassment and then donates $1 ,500 to a local Ronald McDonald house. 231 00:14:43,580 --> 00:14:45,640 And, you know, he basically walked away. 232 00:14:48,460 --> 00:14:50,420 Then she just went back on the road with him. 233 00:14:50,960 --> 00:14:54,660 They were counting on Nancy at that point to get him places because nobody 234 00:14:54,660 --> 00:14:56,460 wanted to deal with him. He was unpredictable. 235 00:14:56,760 --> 00:14:58,760 He was high a lot. 236 00:14:59,200 --> 00:15:05,660 So they really put everything on my sister to make sure that he got to the 237 00:15:05,660 --> 00:15:11,000 match. Back on the WWF circuit, Jimmy and Nancy traveled from town to town 238 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:12,120 across the Northeast. 239 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,300 So one of their regular stops was Egg Hall in Allentown. 240 00:15:16,760 --> 00:15:22,620 Every three weeks, the WWF shot syndicated television in Allentown for 241 00:15:22,620 --> 00:15:24,540 -show, which was called Championship Wrestling. 242 00:15:24,900 --> 00:15:29,160 The WWF was important to Allentown. It had an economic impact. 243 00:15:29,660 --> 00:15:34,060 It wasn't uncommon to see Andre the Giant hanging out somewhere at a bar or 244 00:15:34,060 --> 00:15:37,900 a big star hanging out at the George Washington Motor Watch. At that exact 245 00:15:37,900 --> 00:15:44,080 moment in May, I believe, of 1983, they were shooting some of the big angles in 246 00:15:44,080 --> 00:15:45,580 his feud with Don Morocco. 247 00:15:46,760 --> 00:15:51,460 Oh, we had the strap matches, chain matches, and cage matches. 248 00:15:52,040 --> 00:15:55,300 And it was looking good. Snowball was just starting to roll. 249 00:15:55,800 --> 00:16:01,860 In the early hours of May 10th, 1983, Jimmy and Nancy arrive in Allentown to 250 00:16:01,860 --> 00:16:04,360 tape an episode of Championship Wrestling. 251 00:16:04,580 --> 00:16:09,780 Jimmy Snuka leaves the George Washington Motor Lodge and goes to film wrestling. 252 00:16:10,600 --> 00:16:15,600 He films a couple sessions, comes back to the motel, and then leaves again. 253 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:19,720 He leaves in the afternoon, and he comes back about 9 p .m. 254 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,500 Jimmy heads to his room where Nancy has been all day. 255 00:16:23,700 --> 00:16:28,960 Just a few hours later, the motel's other occupants are awoken by a 256 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:29,960 outside. 257 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:32,920 What woke me up was the sirens. 258 00:16:33,260 --> 00:16:35,920 My room was not far from Jimmy's room. 259 00:16:36,160 --> 00:16:39,400 There was an ambulance that had been sitting outside of Snooker's room. 260 00:16:39,900 --> 00:16:41,200 So what's going on over there? 261 00:16:41,440 --> 00:16:46,200 I can see the police cars and the ambulance and roped off into some yellow 262 00:16:46,820 --> 00:16:49,640 And snooker leaning up against the cop car. 263 00:16:50,220 --> 00:16:51,700 Jimmy looked pretty scared. 264 00:16:52,900 --> 00:16:53,900 It was bad. 265 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:55,780 It was very bad. 266 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:06,119 On the night of May 10th, 1983, emergency responders arrive at the 267 00:17:06,119 --> 00:17:08,560 Washington Motor Lodge in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 268 00:17:09,349 --> 00:17:13,790 where Jimmy Snuka and his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino, have been staying with 269 00:17:13,790 --> 00:17:14,990 several other wrestlers. 270 00:17:15,810 --> 00:17:20,109 It was between 11 .30 and quarter to 12 that we had gotten called to an 271 00:17:20,109 --> 00:17:21,109 unconscious female. 272 00:17:21,650 --> 00:17:25,589 My name is Shirley Reeve, and I was a paramedic in 1983. 273 00:17:26,310 --> 00:17:29,990 We drove up to the scene, and the room door was open. 274 00:17:30,770 --> 00:17:33,110 Jimmy was standing there along with the detective. 275 00:17:33,790 --> 00:17:38,390 She was in bed, covered up with a seat, and examined her. 276 00:17:39,470 --> 00:17:44,470 Her pupils were fixed and dilated, and it's more indication of a head injury. 277 00:17:44,750 --> 00:17:48,570 And I'm like, well, she's in bed, not on the floor, not outside. 278 00:17:50,050 --> 00:17:54,530 He was just touching the feet, and I had to basically drag things out of him. 279 00:17:54,590 --> 00:17:57,770 And he just said that they must have wrestled a little bit too much the night 280 00:17:57,770 --> 00:18:00,430 before when he pushed her over, and she had hit her head. 281 00:18:01,130 --> 00:18:02,390 She came inside. 282 00:18:02,650 --> 00:18:03,609 They went to bed. 283 00:18:03,610 --> 00:18:06,370 He went to his wrestling match the next morning, came back. 284 00:18:06,890 --> 00:18:11,710 She was still conscious, but I guess was becoming a little bit lethargic or 285 00:18:11,710 --> 00:18:14,630 sleepy. So he just said, well, you know, I'm going to go to my match. I'll come 286 00:18:14,630 --> 00:18:17,950 back and check on you later on. So when he came back later on, then she wasn't 287 00:18:17,950 --> 00:18:18,950 responding. 288 00:18:19,390 --> 00:18:22,030 She was having difficulty breathing, and that's when he called the ambulance. 289 00:18:24,770 --> 00:18:28,570 I did do an intubation, put an airway in. We started a line. We gave her some 290 00:18:28,570 --> 00:18:30,250 drugs and just took her in. 291 00:18:31,790 --> 00:18:35,090 Wild Snook is at the hospital, and they're trying to revive Nancy. 292 00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:38,900 He's starting to tell person after person what happened. 293 00:18:39,800 --> 00:18:43,780 And at that point in time, when police interview all of these witnesses in the 294 00:18:43,780 --> 00:18:49,000 ER, they all say that Snookum mentioned some sort of conflict, either shoving, 295 00:18:49,000 --> 00:18:54,820 striking, that somehow he physically pushed or struck Nancy, and she fell 296 00:18:54,820 --> 00:18:55,820 and hit her head. 297 00:18:56,060 --> 00:18:58,100 I was in my room, dead asleep. 298 00:18:58,400 --> 00:19:01,420 It was about 3 .30, 4 o 'clock in the morning, and the phone rings. 299 00:19:02,700 --> 00:19:05,600 I pick it up, and they say, this is the Lehigh Valley Hospital. 300 00:19:06,020 --> 00:19:07,500 Can I speak to Caroline Argentina? 301 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:11,800 So I get up, and I go in my mother's room, and I wake her up. I said, Ma, the 302 00:19:11,800 --> 00:19:17,620 hospital's on the phone. And she comes to my bed, and I hear her say, is she 303 00:19:17,620 --> 00:19:18,620 going to be all right? 304 00:19:19,140 --> 00:19:20,660 And then I hear her say, dead? 305 00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:22,440 Dead? 306 00:19:25,880 --> 00:19:31,740 So Jimmy, he got on the phone, and as far as I can recall, he started, like, 307 00:19:31,980 --> 00:19:36,800 blubbering and saying that, oh, it was an accident, it was an accident. She 308 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:37,759 and hit her head. 309 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:39,100 She hung up the phone. 310 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,020 She went and told my father, and then my sister Lorraine. 311 00:19:43,660 --> 00:19:47,560 It was like we were all walking around like zombies because we were in shock. 312 00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:50,760 just couldn't believe it. We never thought that it would end up like that. 313 00:19:53,660 --> 00:19:59,440 And then we just called all the family members and all of our friends, and I 314 00:19:59,440 --> 00:20:00,700 cried on the phone with them. 315 00:20:01,370 --> 00:20:02,370 We were all in shock. 316 00:20:02,890 --> 00:20:08,070 In the early morning hours, Snooker returns to the motor lodge and is 317 00:20:08,070 --> 00:20:08,889 by police. 318 00:20:08,890 --> 00:20:12,130 He introduces yet another conflicting account of events. 319 00:20:12,510 --> 00:20:16,070 The next morning, police come to the hotel to interview Jimmy Snooker, and 320 00:20:16,070 --> 00:20:19,490 start asking him about what happened. And this is critical because at this 321 00:20:19,490 --> 00:20:23,190 in time, Snooker has already told multiple people at the hospital that he 322 00:20:23,190 --> 00:20:24,190 some involvement in her fall. 323 00:20:25,450 --> 00:20:28,890 He says that they stopped alongside the road when they were coming to Allentown. 324 00:20:28,990 --> 00:20:30,130 Nancy had to go to the bathroom. 325 00:20:30,490 --> 00:20:34,350 He says she gets out. There's a lot of trucks driving by. So he hollers at her, 326 00:20:34,430 --> 00:20:35,430 come on, hurry up. 327 00:20:35,570 --> 00:20:37,710 And as she's trying to come back, she slips. 328 00:20:38,130 --> 00:20:39,930 She hits her head on the side of the road. 329 00:20:40,930 --> 00:20:43,290 And that's what caused the injuries. 330 00:20:44,190 --> 00:20:49,950 By now, the news of Nancy's death has made its way to WWF headquarters and 331 00:20:49,950 --> 00:20:52,010 Snooker's boss, Vince McMahon. 332 00:20:52,590 --> 00:20:53,830 I got on the phone. 333 00:20:54,820 --> 00:20:56,940 and got a hold of Vince Jr. 334 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:01,160 Vince says, have you heard anything about Snooker and his girlfriend? 335 00:21:01,540 --> 00:21:07,500 I said, as a matter of fact, here I am with Lieutenant so -and -so, and I put 336 00:21:07,500 --> 00:21:08,580 him on the phone to Vince. 337 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:13,560 McMahon informs police that Snooker will continue to cooperate with the 338 00:21:13,560 --> 00:21:18,040 investigation, and his star performer is released without charge. 339 00:21:19,800 --> 00:21:22,600 At what point did you guys as a family... 340 00:21:22,810 --> 00:21:26,110 start to feel like maybe this isn't an accident? 341 00:21:26,490 --> 00:21:29,430 Well, Nancy's funeral was so disturbing. 342 00:21:30,850 --> 00:21:34,630 Traditional Italian funerals in those days, you were laid out for three days, 343 00:21:34,690 --> 00:21:36,350 and then you had a mass, and then you were buried. 344 00:21:36,990 --> 00:21:42,190 The second day, Buddy Rogers walks in with snooker, and he's wearing flip 345 00:21:42,190 --> 00:21:47,370 and these really, really short shorts and some kind of tank top. 346 00:21:47,570 --> 00:21:50,390 Buddy Rogers was leading him around, pretty much. 347 00:21:52,750 --> 00:21:57,470 Then he went over to the coffin, and he started crying on the coffin and 348 00:21:57,470 --> 00:22:00,730 touching her, and my father had to pull him off the coffin. 349 00:22:01,910 --> 00:22:05,810 I asked my mother, did he say anything to you? Did he say how sorry he was? 350 00:22:06,310 --> 00:22:09,230 And she said no. He said, she looks terrible. 351 00:22:10,730 --> 00:22:12,810 Now that was a pretty weird thing to say. 352 00:22:13,650 --> 00:22:16,330 You know, of course she looks terrible. She's dead. 353 00:22:16,750 --> 00:22:19,510 The undertaker came over to my stepfather. 354 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:24,940 And he said, you know, I have to tell you, this is disturbing because we had a 355 00:22:24,940 --> 00:22:30,400 hard time getting her to look good because she had a huge bruise around her 356 00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:34,140 and she had multiple cuts and abrasions all over her body. 357 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:40,160 Then I think, you know, my stepfather knew that something was terribly wrong 358 00:22:40,160 --> 00:22:42,380 about the way she died. 359 00:22:49,260 --> 00:22:54,420 The tragic death of 22 -year -old Nancy Argentino seems to have done little to 360 00:22:54,420 --> 00:22:58,820 slow the career of Jimmy Superfly Snooker. Look what I got next to me. In 361 00:22:58,820 --> 00:23:04,180 summer of 1983, and just a few weeks after her passing, Snooker is back, 362 00:23:04,340 --> 00:23:07,740 continuing his storyline with adversary Don Morocco. 363 00:23:08,320 --> 00:23:10,960 When Snooker flies, Morocco dies. 364 00:23:11,740 --> 00:23:16,060 So was there like a part of you that was thinking like something might happen to 365 00:23:16,060 --> 00:23:18,530 Jimmy? Selfishly, I was worried, yeah. 366 00:23:20,770 --> 00:23:27,070 Just out of my own selfish motivation, you know, I didn't want to lose my 367 00:23:27,070 --> 00:23:32,350 goose because there's a lot of money down the road to be made. 368 00:23:32,770 --> 00:23:38,130 Their feud culminates in a legendary cage match at Madison Square Garden, 369 00:23:38,130 --> 00:23:41,090 becomes the career -defining moment for the Superfly. 370 00:23:41,890 --> 00:23:45,870 People are lining up all over the country to see this match. 371 00:23:46,830 --> 00:23:48,830 We just set the place on fire. 372 00:23:50,030 --> 00:23:51,570 Holy hell. 373 00:23:51,790 --> 00:23:56,550 Jimmy was such a star, and people wanted to see him jump off the top cage on me 374 00:23:56,550 --> 00:23:57,910 and splash me. 375 00:23:58,670 --> 00:24:04,550 I'll never forget that night, because I was there when he came off of the cage. 376 00:24:04,710 --> 00:24:06,530 I mean, whoo! 377 00:24:15,340 --> 00:24:16,680 And just rocked New York. 378 00:24:17,480 --> 00:24:20,840 Jimmy, he tried things that people never tried before. 379 00:24:21,040 --> 00:24:25,380 He was a high flyer. He probably spent more time off the mat than on the mat. 380 00:24:26,140 --> 00:24:27,400 I'm Carol Snuka. 381 00:24:27,980 --> 00:24:30,260 I was married to Jimmy Snuka. 382 00:24:30,500 --> 00:24:32,900 I was with Jimmy for 20 -some years. 383 00:24:34,360 --> 00:24:38,880 Sometimes, every now and then, somebody would make a comment and said something 384 00:24:38,880 --> 00:24:41,240 about, I know what you did, Jimmy. I'm going to be waiting for you. 385 00:24:43,459 --> 00:24:48,240 fans congregating outside the stage exit, and Snooka comes out, and there's 386 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:53,640 woman who yells to Snooka, hey, Snooka, you goddamn murderer, when are you going 387 00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:54,720 to kill another girl? 388 00:24:55,160 --> 00:24:58,580 He's always said to me, I know what I did. Let the other people think what 389 00:24:58,580 --> 00:25:01,080 want, okay? If they want to think I did that, that's them. 390 00:25:01,520 --> 00:25:03,720 That's in their mind. That's not my mind. 391 00:25:04,000 --> 00:25:09,260 I know what I did in my mind, and my God knows, and that's all I have to worry 392 00:25:09,260 --> 00:25:10,440 about. They want to talk? 393 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:12,560 They want to do that? That's fine. 394 00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:14,380 Doesn't bother me. 395 00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:19,980 While Snuka's career in the WWF is reaching new heights, authorities in 396 00:25:19,980 --> 00:25:22,060 Allentown continue their investigation. 397 00:25:22,560 --> 00:25:26,540 The challenge that they faced in trying to prosecute this case was they had a 398 00:25:26,540 --> 00:25:32,100 dead body, they had a woman who clearly had injuries, but they had no other 399 00:25:32,100 --> 00:25:34,260 witnesses, they had no confession. 400 00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,460 The fact that somebody just... 401 00:25:37,680 --> 00:25:43,480 Tells different stories is certainly not enough evidence to charge anybody with 402 00:25:43,480 --> 00:25:44,079 a crime. 403 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:48,140 My name is Frederick Conjor. I was the police chief in Whitehall Township, 404 00:25:48,180 --> 00:25:49,440 Pennsylvania in 1983. 405 00:25:50,600 --> 00:25:56,480 The lieutenant in charge of the investigation, I never had any reason to 406 00:25:56,480 --> 00:26:01,900 that he wouldn't do the best he could to investigate the case, and I think he 407 00:26:01,900 --> 00:26:02,900 did. 408 00:26:04,010 --> 00:26:08,470 Although they didn't drive Snooker around to try to find the place where 409 00:26:08,470 --> 00:26:12,810 had supposedly fallen, they did go to the trouble of sending two Whitehall 410 00:26:12,810 --> 00:26:18,510 officers 100 miles from Allentown to the family house in Flatbush, Brooklyn. 411 00:26:19,330 --> 00:26:24,270 Detective Procanon sat in my living room, sitting there, saying, you know, 412 00:26:24,270 --> 00:26:28,390 sorry, but we're going to rule this as an accident that she fell by the side of 413 00:26:28,390 --> 00:26:29,390 the road. 414 00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:33,540 At that time also, Snooker's promoter kept calling the house. 415 00:26:34,020 --> 00:26:38,420 My mother got on the phone, and I heard him say to her, Mrs. Argentino, I'm so 416 00:26:38,420 --> 00:26:39,540 sorry for your loss. 417 00:26:39,920 --> 00:26:42,940 Do you think like $25 ,000 would help you? 418 00:26:43,680 --> 00:26:48,260 At that time, my mother knew what was going on. She said, do you think that my 419 00:26:48,260 --> 00:26:50,980 daughter's life is worth $25 ,000? 420 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:52,440 And hung up. 421 00:26:54,180 --> 00:26:59,380 Unable to bring criminal charges against Snooker, Nancy's family pursued them in 422 00:26:59,380 --> 00:27:04,000 a wrongful death lawsuit, arguing his behavior was negligent on the day she 423 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:10,780 died. He let her go to sleep, and he went off to his matches. He didn't come 424 00:27:10,780 --> 00:27:14,680 back for like eight hours later, and by then, she was pretty much, she was dead. 425 00:27:16,170 --> 00:27:23,130 The Argentino family won a $500 ,000 default judgment against Snuka, who 426 00:27:23,130 --> 00:27:27,030 didn't show up. And his lawyers then did a filing with the court. 427 00:27:27,850 --> 00:27:32,290 Snuka hadn't paid them. The family never collected a dime of that half -million 428 00:27:32,290 --> 00:27:33,290 -dollar judgment. 429 00:27:33,650 --> 00:27:39,310 Jimmy's family and Jimmy didn't do anything about it. They never went. They 430 00:27:39,310 --> 00:27:40,810 never showed up. They didn't do anything. 431 00:27:41,130 --> 00:27:46,310 I don't know who advised him on that, but... I feel it was the wrong decision. 432 00:27:46,310 --> 00:27:49,030 think it should have been handled right then and there. 433 00:27:49,550 --> 00:27:53,470 My mother just gave up. She threw in the towel. You know, she had a very hard 434 00:27:53,470 --> 00:27:58,090 time dealing with it, very hard. We all were so disgusted with the whole thing. 435 00:27:58,270 --> 00:28:00,230 We just had to get on with our lives. 436 00:28:01,630 --> 00:28:06,310 His drug problems got worse at that point, and then he became unreliable 437 00:28:06,310 --> 00:28:08,470 altogether in WWF. 438 00:28:08,830 --> 00:28:14,310 slash wwe had no use for him and i think the half -life of jimmy snooker's 439 00:28:14,310 --> 00:28:20,130 career and his decline owes to guilt over exactly what happened with nancy 440 00:28:20,130 --> 00:28:25,810 argentino is pure speculation but it couldn't have helped and so he did the 441 00:28:25,810 --> 00:28:32,170 descent of the wrestler and went to the awa went to finally the indie circuit 442 00:28:32,170 --> 00:28:36,730 and finally you know the autograph shows you're not doing anything except 443 00:28:37,580 --> 00:28:40,140 signing your name for people who remember you when. 444 00:28:41,620 --> 00:28:46,300 As the years pass, Nancy's story is nearly forgotten by everyone except her 445 00:28:46,300 --> 00:28:52,640 family. Then in 2011, interest in solving her mysterious death was 446 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:58,460 renewed. I was sitting in my apartment in 2014, and I get a call from Adam from 447 00:28:58,460 --> 00:29:04,020 the morning call, and he said, oh, hi, we're doing an article about the 30 448 00:29:04,020 --> 00:29:07,020 cold case death of your sister Nancy Argentino. 449 00:29:07,440 --> 00:29:11,020 It clearly was a mystery there, and it seemed that there was a story that was 450 00:29:11,020 --> 00:29:15,540 really ripe for us to dive into and figure out, one, what the hell happened, 451 00:29:15,540 --> 00:29:19,400 two, what can we bring to light that nobody's ever seen before and that 452 00:29:19,400 --> 00:29:20,400 talking about? 453 00:29:20,640 --> 00:29:25,440 In 2013, I was working for The Morning Call. My editor was a big wrestling fan, 454 00:29:25,580 --> 00:29:28,900 and he just thought it would be something interesting to revisit on the 455 00:29:28,900 --> 00:29:29,900 anniversary of it. 456 00:29:30,260 --> 00:29:33,860 One of the first things I did in my reporting was try to find the autopsy 457 00:29:33,860 --> 00:29:37,080 report. So I called over to the Whitehall Township Police Department to 458 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:37,759 get the file. 459 00:29:37,760 --> 00:29:39,400 I called the coroner's office. 460 00:29:39,680 --> 00:29:42,880 He said he wasn't allowed to turn it over because the case was still 461 00:29:42,880 --> 00:29:46,880 open. So really, it was up to us to find another way to go get that document. 462 00:29:48,100 --> 00:29:52,000 And then we came across the wrongful death lawsuit. 463 00:29:52,400 --> 00:29:55,540 Within that lawsuit, there was tons of information. 464 00:29:55,740 --> 00:29:57,880 That's where things really picked up. 465 00:29:58,480 --> 00:30:02,740 Unlike the files from the criminal case, the documents contained within the 466 00:30:02,740 --> 00:30:04,320 family's lawsuit are unsealed. 467 00:30:04,680 --> 00:30:09,760 Surprisingly, it includes Nancy's never -before -released autopsy report. 468 00:30:10,600 --> 00:30:17,080 This is the autopsy report that nobody had seen publicly until our story came 469 00:30:17,080 --> 00:30:21,600 out. It says the pattern of her injuries is consistent with a moving head 470 00:30:21,600 --> 00:30:26,160 striking a stationary object. It is not consistent with a single, simple fall. 471 00:30:26,540 --> 00:30:29,800 in view of the other injuries that she has, scalp, facial, and bodily bruises 472 00:30:29,800 --> 00:30:34,380 and abrasions. It says that the magnitude of the injuries may even be 473 00:30:34,380 --> 00:30:35,380 of meat abuse. 474 00:30:35,580 --> 00:30:39,200 The last sentence of this document is really the bombshell that came out of 475 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:40,059 health officer report. 476 00:30:40,060 --> 00:30:44,500 And it says, I believe that the case should be investigated as a homicide 477 00:30:44,500 --> 00:30:45,500 proven otherwise. 478 00:30:45,820 --> 00:30:47,740 And it's signed by Dr. Malekas. 479 00:30:54,440 --> 00:31:00,620 30 years after Nancy Argentino's mysterious death, a newly discovered 480 00:31:00,620 --> 00:31:06,080 report suggesting a potential homicide raises questions about the 1983 police 481 00:31:06,080 --> 00:31:07,080 investigation. 482 00:31:08,420 --> 00:31:12,460 Mahalika says here, I personally checked the clothing that Ms. Argentino was 483 00:31:12,460 --> 00:31:16,220 wearing at the time of her injury and found no evidence of dirt or tears in 484 00:31:16,220 --> 00:31:20,820 fabric. It's the first time I've seen that report, but I could tell you if I 485 00:31:20,820 --> 00:31:23,560 were a defense attorney, I'd say, 486 00:31:24,280 --> 00:31:28,140 Well, of course they didn't have any deterrent or anything because he took 487 00:31:28,140 --> 00:31:32,060 back to the hotel room. She laid down in bed. Then she was put on the ambulance. 488 00:31:32,380 --> 00:31:36,260 Well, this was brought up in the case years and years later. I believe the 489 00:31:36,260 --> 00:31:38,820 should be investigated as a homicide until proven otherwise. 490 00:31:39,500 --> 00:31:44,780 And we're back to it was investigated as best as it could be investigated, I 491 00:31:44,780 --> 00:31:49,140 guess. So, you know, did everything that was conceivably possible. 492 00:31:51,980 --> 00:31:55,180 So as I'm working on this story, of course, Jimmy Snuka has no clue that 493 00:31:55,180 --> 00:31:58,600 a reporter in Allentown, Pennsylvania, who's investigating this case. And while 494 00:31:58,600 --> 00:32:00,900 we're working on the story, his book comes out. 495 00:32:01,800 --> 00:32:07,020 Published in December 2012, Snuka's autobiography marks the first time he 496 00:32:07,020 --> 00:32:11,800 publicly addresses the events in Allentown, as well as the meeting he had 497 00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:13,540 McMahon and local authorities. 498 00:32:14,800 --> 00:32:16,900 So these are the original police documents. 499 00:32:17,420 --> 00:32:20,900 It is the most complete record that anyone has ever seen. 500 00:32:21,840 --> 00:32:25,900 So this is the only record we have of that final meeting. 501 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:31,860 Unlike all of the other interviews that were done in this case, there is no 502 00:32:31,860 --> 00:32:34,080 detailed transcript of what was said over an hour. 503 00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:37,880 And we do know that after that meeting, the case effectively went cold. The 504 00:32:37,880 --> 00:32:39,080 police interviews stopped. 505 00:32:39,700 --> 00:32:41,340 There was nothing else in that file. 506 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:46,400 Vince McMahon would have great reason to defend Jimmy Snuka. Let's say at the 507 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:48,320 time he is charged with murder in 1983. 508 00:32:48,540 --> 00:32:51,020 That would be a terrible thing for the WWF. 509 00:32:51,450 --> 00:32:54,950 Vince McMahon is a businessman, and no matter what business you're running, if 510 00:32:54,950 --> 00:32:59,050 one of your top employees is being investigated for murder, that's bad for 511 00:32:59,050 --> 00:33:00,050 business. 512 00:33:00,190 --> 00:33:03,150 Timmy talked to me a lot about Vince. He called him Brother Vinny. 513 00:33:03,500 --> 00:33:08,340 And Jimmy felt very close to Vince, and he trusted him 100%. He didn't read or 514 00:33:08,340 --> 00:33:11,840 write English. He didn't understand it. You know, with his contracts, with 515 00:33:11,840 --> 00:33:16,200 everything, he trusted the people. He actually said to me one time, people 516 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:20,580 come to him before a match, and he'd say, Vince said sign this or you won't 517 00:33:20,580 --> 00:33:25,460 paid after the show. He would sign papers, and he had no idea what they 518 00:33:25,660 --> 00:33:31,720 And I've tried to find out what happened in that room back in 83, and nobody 519 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:32,720 knows. 520 00:33:32,919 --> 00:33:38,580 Jimmy said to me, Vince came down with his briefcase and said to him, it's 521 00:33:38,720 --> 00:33:41,380 don't worry about it, it's done. And he thought it was done. 522 00:33:42,000 --> 00:33:44,620 There's no transcript of the meeting. It's the only interview there's no 523 00:33:44,620 --> 00:33:48,740 transcript of. And then seemingly the investigation stopped there. And there's 524 00:33:48,740 --> 00:33:52,620 been a lot of speculation on what could have happened in that meeting. I haven't 525 00:33:52,620 --> 00:33:55,920 a clue. I mean, I don't see that that makes any difference. 526 00:33:57,230 --> 00:34:01,590 I would only say there wasn't anything significantly said or done, so that's 527 00:34:01,590 --> 00:34:02,590 there's no record of it. 528 00:34:03,390 --> 00:34:07,570 The meeting with McMahon and law enforcement isn't the only section of 529 00:34:07,570 --> 00:34:12,210 to stir controversy, but also the way he portrays his relationship with Nancy. 530 00:34:13,190 --> 00:34:16,630 And obviously he covered the situation with Nancy in there as well. 531 00:34:16,949 --> 00:34:19,150 Right, because he couldn't do a book and not. 532 00:34:19,370 --> 00:34:22,270 I had said to him, are you sure you want to put that in there? And he said, 533 00:34:22,330 --> 00:34:25,110 definitely. He said, that's my book. It's my life. 534 00:34:25,790 --> 00:34:26,790 It's got to be in there. 535 00:34:27,510 --> 00:34:32,350 And in there, he talks about, oh, yeah, Nancy was a nice girl, but Nancy ruined 536 00:34:32,350 --> 00:34:36,030 his life. When we read that, we were like, Nancy ruined his life? 537 00:34:36,650 --> 00:34:39,210 When I got to the part about my sister, I was furious. 538 00:34:39,489 --> 00:34:42,550 He kind of insinuated she was a once -in -a -while girlfriend. 539 00:34:43,210 --> 00:34:47,830 Oh, and he denied that he ever hurt her. He never touched her. Why would he do 540 00:34:47,830 --> 00:34:52,929 that? So he totally denied that he ever laid a hand on her. 541 00:34:53,840 --> 00:34:57,120 So the version that Jimmy Snuka tells in his book is very similar to what he 542 00:34:57,120 --> 00:35:01,040 told in 1983, but it's not exactly the same. And that was one issue over the 543 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:05,840 years as he talked about this in radio interviews and other accounts. It was 544 00:35:05,840 --> 00:35:08,540 always just slightly different with some of the details. 545 00:35:08,940 --> 00:35:12,180 So she got out and went to use the bathroom, pulled over to the side. 546 00:35:12,660 --> 00:35:17,680 I guess after she got done, she came back over like a stream that was there. 547 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,000 She jumped and slipped and banged her head. 548 00:35:22,190 --> 00:35:26,570 For decades, Snooker has maintained Nancy's injuries occurred en route to 549 00:35:26,570 --> 00:35:30,650 Allentown, with no mention of any other passengers in the car. 550 00:35:31,030 --> 00:35:36,070 I understand that, you know, you were at the George Washington Hotel on May 10, 551 00:35:36,210 --> 00:35:38,470 1983. Yes, I was. 552 00:35:38,830 --> 00:35:42,910 I was there at the George Washington Hotel in Allentown, Pennsylvania. 553 00:35:43,130 --> 00:35:47,970 Yep. We drove to Allentown, Pennsylvania, me, Jimmy, and her. 554 00:35:48,600 --> 00:35:53,320 We jumped into the car and drove there. Okay, so you and Jimmy and Nancy drove 555 00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:54,660 together to Allentown? Yep. 556 00:35:54,920 --> 00:35:57,360 And what do you remember from that ride all over? 557 00:35:57,640 --> 00:36:02,360 Oh, it was fun. I was in the back seat. We had the Elvis going, and Jimmy had 558 00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:06,360 some nice, beautiful cologne on. He always loves cologne. It smells good. 559 00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:10,840 just talked and chopped it all up, you know, going to Allentown, Pennsylvania. 560 00:36:11,380 --> 00:36:15,360 Yep. As soon as we arrived there, the Allentown, Jimmy and Nancy went their 561 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:20,260 their room, and I went my way to my room. And that's when all that stuff 562 00:36:20,260 --> 00:36:23,880 place, when the lady got, when Nancy got. 563 00:36:24,700 --> 00:36:26,380 When Nancy got killed that night. 564 00:36:27,280 --> 00:36:31,280 Do you recollect what kind of his story was that he had told about what had 565 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:35,800 happened with Nancy? I don't really know what Jimmy told the police. 566 00:36:36,180 --> 00:36:40,280 Yeah, it was basically that they were driving, coming into Allentown, and she 567 00:36:40,280 --> 00:36:41,280 had to use the restroom. 568 00:36:41,580 --> 00:36:46,040 And so she walked outside the car, and she fell while she was using the 569 00:36:46,040 --> 00:36:47,040 outside the car. 570 00:36:47,240 --> 00:36:51,120 Do you remember that story at all? No. No, I don't remember that story. 571 00:36:52,620 --> 00:36:55,800 Did you ever have any personal interactions with Snooker yourself or 572 00:36:56,740 --> 00:37:01,400 Not that I recall that I actually, no. 573 00:37:03,680 --> 00:37:07,300 Well, here's the thing. The only reason I'm mentioning that is because the 574 00:37:07,300 --> 00:37:09,380 person that was just in this house before you. 575 00:37:09,660 --> 00:37:10,660 Oh. 576 00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:13,120 Said he was in the car? Said he was in the car. 577 00:37:14,140 --> 00:37:16,960 So, and he's never told a story before. And so. 578 00:37:17,670 --> 00:37:20,370 So had you ever heard that there could have been a third person in the car? 579 00:37:21,330 --> 00:37:28,230 When you ask me about that, you know, somehow I had heard 580 00:37:28,230 --> 00:37:33,730 that. But, I mean, if you pinned me down and said, what day, time, who was this 581 00:37:33,730 --> 00:37:39,430 person? But there was never any contradiction 582 00:37:39,430 --> 00:37:42,630 to Snooker's story. 583 00:37:44,070 --> 00:37:45,710 Yeah, we're talking 30 years ago. 584 00:37:47,530 --> 00:37:52,090 So I did talk to Sam Fatu, and I think that might be confused because he's 585 00:37:52,090 --> 00:37:53,029 told me that. 586 00:37:53,030 --> 00:37:57,610 But, you know, the wrestlers, they're not lying. It's just they don't remember 587 00:37:57,610 --> 00:37:58,610 the whole thing. 588 00:38:03,670 --> 00:38:08,610 After the autopsy report is uncovered, the Lehigh County Attorney's Office 589 00:38:08,610 --> 00:38:14,290 responds to intense public pressure and announces Nancy Argentino's death is 590 00:38:14,290 --> 00:38:16,090 being officially reinvestigated. 591 00:38:16,700 --> 00:38:20,680 The main difference in how the district attorney's office handled the case in 592 00:38:20,680 --> 00:38:25,860 1983 versus how the district attorney's office handled the case in 2013 was the 593 00:38:25,860 --> 00:38:30,500 district attorney's office in 2013 ultimately put it to the people. We are 594 00:38:30,500 --> 00:38:32,080 to put this in front of a grand jury. 595 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:36,300 Sure enough, the grand jury thinks there should be charges filed in this case. 596 00:38:36,540 --> 00:38:38,300 Jimmy Snuka should be charged with murder. 597 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:41,720 On September 1st, 2015. 598 00:38:42,810 --> 00:38:46,190 Jimmy Snuka is arrested and charged with third -degree murder. 599 00:38:46,710 --> 00:38:52,050 He's now 72 years old, and only a month earlier had announced he was suffering 600 00:38:52,050 --> 00:38:53,250 from stomach cancer. 601 00:38:53,950 --> 00:38:58,530 There's a few articles that we saved over the years, this being one of them. 602 00:38:58,590 --> 00:38:59,890 It's really happening. 603 00:39:00,150 --> 00:39:02,730 After all these years, better late than never. 604 00:39:02,970 --> 00:39:06,910 When I started working on this, I never thought that just a couple years later, 605 00:39:06,990 --> 00:39:10,010 this story, my story, would become... 606 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:11,640 A headline everywhere. 607 00:39:11,780 --> 00:39:15,340 It was one of the biggest stars in the history of professional wrestling being 608 00:39:15,340 --> 00:39:18,360 arrested and being charged with murder because of a story in the local 609 00:39:18,360 --> 00:39:21,900 newspaper. That just doesn't happen, and it was surreal then, and it's still 610 00:39:21,900 --> 00:39:22,900 surreal now. 611 00:39:23,340 --> 00:39:26,100 Jimmy's health during the trial was really bad. 612 00:39:26,320 --> 00:39:30,440 He didn't understand anything at that point. He had too much brain damage. 613 00:39:31,160 --> 00:39:34,940 Honestly, I think it was a blessing because when he went through the court, 614 00:39:34,940 --> 00:39:36,480 didn't know what it was about. 615 00:39:36,800 --> 00:39:40,440 And I think if he had known what it was about, it would have been devastating to 616 00:39:40,440 --> 00:39:43,080 him. They had a series of hearings. 617 00:39:43,840 --> 00:39:49,220 And all of a sudden, Snuka's lawyer said, he has brain damage because he 618 00:39:49,220 --> 00:39:53,140 many blows to the head. So he is not capable of standing trial. 619 00:39:53,690 --> 00:39:58,970 His attorney had argued that his dementia was so bad that he didn't even 620 00:39:58,970 --> 00:40:03,190 what was going on. And the judge basically ruled that he was unfit to 621 00:40:03,190 --> 00:40:06,470 trial, and specifically she felt that he was mentally unfit to stand trial. 622 00:40:07,250 --> 00:40:13,430 For Nancy's family, seeing Snooker confronted with his past in a courtroom 623 00:40:13,430 --> 00:40:15,390 the only justice they'll ever get. 624 00:40:15,710 --> 00:40:21,610 Everybody was talking about it. They knew what he did. So we were happy that 625 00:40:21,610 --> 00:40:22,830 got somewhat... 626 00:40:23,530 --> 00:40:27,670 of punishment for Nancy's death, so. 627 00:40:28,050 --> 00:40:32,170 It hurted me bad because I know what type of person he is. 628 00:40:32,490 --> 00:40:34,790 I can't see Jimmy hurting anyone. 629 00:40:35,170 --> 00:40:36,850 That's just what I believe. 630 00:40:37,290 --> 00:40:40,790 The family, you know, was still felt delighted. 631 00:40:41,270 --> 00:40:46,750 Somebody lost a daughter. They're certainly, you know, have to be saddened 632 00:40:46,750 --> 00:40:47,750 hurt. 633 00:40:48,410 --> 00:40:53,740 The one shame about this case is that there was no true final resolution. 634 00:40:54,080 --> 00:40:56,100 The event occurs in 1983. 635 00:40:56,460 --> 00:40:59,520 We go 30 years before charges are filed. 636 00:40:59,820 --> 00:41:05,320 Charges are filed. But then a judge ruled that Jimmy Snuka is incompetent to 637 00:41:05,320 --> 00:41:06,098 stand trial. 638 00:41:06,100 --> 00:41:12,020 So he never gets to fully clear his name. The Argentinos never get to fully 639 00:41:12,020 --> 00:41:17,400 a prosecution. There was no final resolution on the case. And that's why 640 00:41:17,400 --> 00:41:18,460 continue to debate it. 641 00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:26,400 Ten days after the ruling on January 15, 2015, Lucas becomes to his cancer 642 00:41:26,400 --> 00:41:27,400 and dies. 643 00:41:28,000 --> 00:41:31,060 It was devastating for me. It was sad. 644 00:41:31,400 --> 00:41:35,980 I was pretty depressed, you know. He lost a good 645 00:41:35,980 --> 00:41:40,780 man, a good person, you know. 646 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:44,020 Until today, I'm still angry about it. 647 00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,820 I'm angry that the man passed, and I'm angry what people say about him. 648 00:41:50,540 --> 00:41:51,499 It's sad. 649 00:41:51,500 --> 00:41:54,080 All the way around, it was sad on both parties. 650 00:41:55,120 --> 00:41:56,760 I loved Jimmy a lot. 651 00:41:57,540 --> 00:42:01,400 There's no doubt that Jimmy Snuka was a great professional wrestler, one of the 652 00:42:01,400 --> 00:42:06,100 biggest stars of his time, a talented wrestler, well -respected for his craft. 653 00:42:06,400 --> 00:42:10,020 But at the same time, you can't overlook his personal life. You can't 654 00:42:10,020 --> 00:42:13,790 overlook... What happened with Nancy, you can't overlook the violence that's 655 00:42:13,790 --> 00:42:18,030 been brought up over the years. So it's a complicated legacy. It's a legacy that 656 00:42:18,030 --> 00:42:22,750 will always be clouded by his personal life. There is no more separation of the 657 00:42:22,750 --> 00:42:23,910 ring and outside of the ring. 658 00:42:24,110 --> 00:42:28,230 What happens outside of the ring is just as influential these days as what 659 00:42:28,230 --> 00:42:29,230 happens in the ring. 660 00:42:29,790 --> 00:42:34,630 Jimmy Superfly Snuka stands as one of the most iconic professional wrestlers 661 00:42:34,630 --> 00:42:38,550 history, a daredevil acrobat far ahead of his time. 662 00:42:39,100 --> 00:42:42,260 but his legacy will never escape the events in Allentown. 663 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:49,520 For Nancy's family, her memory lives on while justice remains out of reach. 664 00:42:50,460 --> 00:42:56,900 Lorraine and I really want to share this story because we don't feel like 665 00:42:56,900 --> 00:42:58,320 we've gotten justice. 666 00:42:59,040 --> 00:43:05,580 We feel like Nancy just keeps calling out to us in some way or another to seek 667 00:43:05,580 --> 00:43:06,580 justice. 668 00:43:06,830 --> 00:43:11,130 There's no closure for anybody, you know, no closure. I've never met Nancy 669 00:43:11,130 --> 00:43:15,310 anyone in her family. I feel really bad for them. They lost their daughter. 670 00:43:15,890 --> 00:43:17,770 Okay, something should have been done. 671 00:43:18,550 --> 00:43:22,830 I think letting it go for 32 years caused a lot of damage. 672 00:43:23,550 --> 00:43:28,350 I think too often stories of domestic violence, and especially when they 673 00:43:28,350 --> 00:43:33,060 powerful men, center around the men, and the women are reduced to just... the 674 00:43:33,060 --> 00:43:36,420 victim, and you don't know anything about them except this is the person who 675 00:43:36,420 --> 00:43:39,400 attacked by someone. This is the person who was the victim. 676 00:43:40,460 --> 00:43:45,400 As you can see, she was filled with life, and she had so much hope for her 677 00:43:45,400 --> 00:43:50,280 future. She was 19 here, and she died when she was 23. 678 00:43:51,160 --> 00:43:53,340 Her life was just cut down too briefly. 679 00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:56,760 It's a great picture of her.