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Snuka, known for his high-flying offensive moves during
decades as a wrestler, died at his son-in-law's home in Florida,
surrounded by family and friends, according to his lawyer Robert
Kirwan, who said the former wrestler had battled various
ailments including dementia and had been in hospice care.
A judge in Allentown, Pennsylvania on Jan. 3 ended the case
against Snuka after ruling him mentally incompetent to stand
trial over the death of Nancy Argentino, who was 23 at the time
of her death. Snuka long had been suspected in Argentino's death
but charges were not brought against him until 2015, 32 years
after her death.
Prosecutors said she was found with head injuries in their
shared motel room in Allentown, shortly before she died. He was
charged after a Pennsylvania newspaper, the Morning Call, found
an unpublished autopsy that said Argentino's death should have
been investigated as a homicide.
Snuka pleaded not guilty to third-degree murder and involuntary
manslaughter.
Actor Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, a former professional wrestler,
announced the death on Twitter on behalf of Snuka's daughter
Tamina, a wrestler working for Connecticut-based World Wrestling
Entertainment (WWE), the world's top wrestling company.
"Our family @TaminaSnuka asked me to share the sad news that her
dad Jimmy Snuka has just passed away," Johnson wrote.
"I love you Dad," Tamina wrote on her Twitter feed.
Snuka amazed fans of the choreographed mayhem that is
professional wrestling with his "Superfly Splash," a dive off
the top turnbuckle onto the chest of a prone opponent. Snuka was
involved in the main event of the first WrestleMania show in
1985 and was a member of the WWE Hall of Fame alongside such
stars as Hulk Hogan, Andre the Giant and "The Nature Boy" Ric
Flair.
In a statement on its website, the WWE said it was saddened to
learn of his death and hailed him as "the pioneer of high-flying
offense" in the ring.
Snuka also was inducted into the Professional Wrestling Hall of
Fame, a separate organization.
"He was doing very poorly," Kirwan said of Snuka's health prior
to his death. "Jimmy had charisma, even in his poor health, and
as he was battling dementia."
Born James Reiher in 1943 on the Pacific island of Fiji, he
later moved with his family to the Marshall Islands and to
Hawaii when he was growing up, according his Professional
Wrestling Hall of Fame biography.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Will Dunham)
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