Jimmy Snuka to be Arraigned Next Month

According to Pwinsider.com, Jimmy Snuka will be back in court on November 21st to be arraigned on charges of third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. Earlier this month, the prosecution and defense both agreed they would bypass preliminary hearings in the case against Snuka, where he is charged in the 1983 death of his then-girlfriend, Nancy Argentino in Allentown, PA. Bypassing those hearings meant the two sides would go right to trial and that the defense would receive access to the grand jury transcripts.

Snuka was indicted by the grand jury in September after the case remained open for 32 years. Consistent pushes by Argentino’s sister and writer Irv Muchnick led to articles about the 30th anniversary of the case by The Allentown Morning Call. It was during this process that it was discovered that the then-medical examiner stated that the death should be considered a homicide.

The case went to the grand jury and due to several reasons; they made the call to indict him. One reason was the changing statements he made about what happened to Argentino to authorities in the 1980s as well as his account in his autobiography, which was published several years back. Snuka initially told those who responded to the 911 call that he had struck Argentino once, later he told police that he shoved her head down, and then in his book he cited that Argentino slipped and hit her head on a rock while the couple had parked on the side of a highway to go to the bathroom. The changes in story were a major part of the decision to move forward with a grand jury investigation. Also taken into consideration were Snuka’s arrests in the past for assaults against Argentino (in New York, which he later plead down to lesser charges) as well as against his ex-wife. The medical examiner who conducted Argentino’s autopsy also testified and current Lehigh Valley Coroner concurred with the initial medical examiner that Argentino’s death was a homicide.

Snuka, age 70, is currently battling stomach cancer, and there have been questions about whether he is mentally able to stand trial. His defense attorney claimed Snuka’s grand jury trial was a “sham” based upon the Judge allowing hearsay testimony from third parties.