A Lehigh County judge has denied an unusual request from prosecutors to drop all charges in the homicide case against former WWE Hall of Famer Jimmy ‘Superfly’ Snuka. The request was made after Judge Kelly L. Banach had already deemed Snuka incompetent to stand trial.
Banach denied the request, which was only made after she also refused a motion that would force Snuka to undergo outpatient treatment, as well as previous motions to send him to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation. Despite the request, Chief Deputy District Attorney Charles Gallagher still believes that Snuka is guilty of the 1983 murder of then-girlfriend Nancy Argentino. He also believes that the former pro wrestler is lying about his increasing dementia:
He’s practiced his whole life by being a malingerer in his wrestling field. He’s been an actor his whole life.
Expert testimonies regarding Snuka’s competency were conflicting, with the defense claiming he was “a shell of a man” who did not recognize his own wife. A forensic psychiatrist testified that based on the interactions he observed, Snuka was simply putting on an act to avoid going to jail. With the case seemingly stuck in a holding pattern, Gallagher requested the charges be dismissed, saying, “If you believe that he’s not going to become competent, then what’s the point?”
Snuka was charged with Argentino’s death back in September 2015 after the case had been reopened the year before. Snuka is currently out on bail and living in Florida, and not set to return to court until December.
