Wrestling legend Jimmy Snuka charged in 1983 death of girlfriend

WWE Hall of Famer James Reiher, better known as Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka, has been charged with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for the death of his former girlfriend Nancy Argentino, who died at a Lehigh Valley hospital back in 1983, the Allentown Morning Call reported.

On May 10, 1983, Snuka, one of the WWE's most popular wrestlers at the time, returned to his Whitehall Township motel after taking part in a WWE event at the Allentown Fairgrounds and found Argentino, 23,  "gasping for air and oozing yellow fluid from her mouth and nose," according to the Morning Call.

Argentino died at a nearby hospital the next day. An autopsy determined that she died of traumatic brain injuries and had suffered dozens of cuts and bruises to her head, ear, chin, arms, hands, back, buttocks, legs and feet -- injuries that were consistent with some form of assault or "mate abuse." The autopsy also determined that she may have been struck with a stationary object and that the case should be treated as a homicide.

At first, Snuka told authorities that he had shoved Argentino, which caused her to hit her head. However, Snuka later changed his story, claiming that authorities had misunderstood him, and that Argentino slipped and fell while the two had stopped on the highway so she could urinate.

According to the Morning Call, Snuka was the only person of interest and was never charged. Lehigh Valley authorities conducted a follow-up interview with Snuka that was attended by WWE chief executive office Vince McMahon on June 1, 1983. After the interview, the case officially went cold.

The Argentino family won a $500,000 wrongful-death case against Snuka by default in 1985. Snuka, claiming he was broke and could not afford legal defense, never paid.

In January 2014, Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin reopened the case after the Morning Call published a report raising questions about the incident.

The case was then put before a grand jury, which ended its term at the end of July. The charges were formally announced Tuesday and Snuka, 72, was arrested and arraigned around 1:50 p.m. at the Lehigh County Central Booking Center. He posted the $100,000 bail.