Wrestler Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka died Sunday afternoon at the age of 73, his lawyer said.
Snuka’s attorney, Robert Kirwan, said Snuka passed away at noon CST at his son-in-law’s home in Florida.
“He’s battled various medical ailments for over a year and half,” Kirwan said. “He’s at rest and he is at peace. I came to know him like a friend and his family are my friends. I feel like I have lost a good client and a good friend.”
Kirwan had represented Snuka through court proceedings involving the 1983 death of Snuka’s girlfriend, Nancy Argentino. Earlier this month, a Lehigh County judge dismissed homicide charges against the retired professional wrestler.
Snuka’s daughter, Tamina Snuka, also a WWE wrestler, tweeted Sunday afternoon: “I LOVE YOU DAD #FOREVERMYDAD #RestWell #FamiliesAreForever #BestDad #SnukaLegacy.” She also posted a photo on Instagram of her holding his hand.
Freedom High School grad Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who was also a WWE wrestler, tweeted: “Our family @TaminaSnuka asked me to share the sad news that her dad Jimmy Snuka has just passed away. Alofa atu i le aiga atoa. #RIPSuperfly.”
Argentino was just 23 when she died in 1983, allegedly after being rushed to a hospital from Snuka’s Whitehall Township hotel room with a serious head injury. Argentino was Snuka’s mistress, and traveled with him on the pro wrestling circuit, which included Allentown’s Ag Hall.
Snuka was charged in September 2015 with third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter. A county grand jury determined Snuka repeatedly assaulted Argentino at the former George Washington Motor Lodge in Whitehall Township and then left her in bed to die on May 10, 1983.
The charges came to light after a 2013 Morning Call investigation on the 30th anniversary of Argentino’s death, which uncovered a previously unseen autopsy report that concluded the case should have been investigated as a homicide.
After a four-day hearing in June, Banach found Snuka incompetent to stand trial. During the hearing, a defense expert described Snuka as a “shell of a man” who did not recognize family members and believed the police officers who arrested him were fans seeking an autograph.
When contacted by phone Sunday afternoon, Argentino’s two sisters, Lorraine Salome and Louise Argentino, said they do not feel any closure from Snuka’s death.
Salome said had Snuka been charged just after their sister’s death they would have found justice.
“There were so many blockades,” Salome said.
Louise Argentino said the fact that Snuka had to go to court in the last years of his life gives her some measure of satisfaction.
“We made his life miserable his last few years,” Louise Argentio said. “His life was affected by going to court.”
The Morning Call reported in December that Snuka was in a Florida hospice, suffering from cancer, and had six months to live. In June, a judge declared Jimmy Snuka incompetent to stand trial in the 1983 death of his girlfriend, Nancy Argentino.
Snuka, whose legal name is James Reiher, was born in the Fiji Islands and grew up in Hawaii. He began wrestling in the early 1970s and was a veteran of the ring by the time his straight-out-of-the-jungle character hit the WWF in 1982.
For his signature move, the “Superfly Splash,” Snuka would climb to the top rope and pause to extend his arms in the air with his index finger, pinkie and thumb up pointed out. With his opponent lying back-to-the-mat in the center of the ring, Snuka would fly through the air and land chest to chest.
Snuka was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 1996.
The WWE posted this statement on its website Sunday:
“WWE is saddened to learn that WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka has passed away.
Snuka is regarded by many as the pioneer of high-flying offense because of his Superfly Splash from the top turnbuckle. His dive off the top of the steel cage onto Don Muraco at Madison Square Garden as hundreds of flash bulbs went off will forever live as one of the most memorable moments in WWE history.
WWE extends its condolences to Snuka’s family, friends and fans.”
@jenwsheehan
