'Bodybuilding's most notorious crime': Netflix’s ‘Killer Sally’ to delve into infamous Ray McNeil murder
Adding another title to their ever-growing library of true crime series, Netflix on October 20 released the trailer of the new docuseries 'Killer Sally', which is set to examine the 'Bodybuilding world’s most notorious crime'.
The three-episode docuseries, slated to air in the UK from November 2, will dive into the heinous Valentine’s Day 1995 killing of national bodybuilding champion Ray McNeil, who was shot to death by his wife, Sally. Sally, who herself was into bodybuilding and won the US armed services physique championship twice in the 1980s, alleged she was being choked at the time of the shooting.
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“Sally claimed it was self-defense, a split-second decision to save her life,” Netflix said of 'Killer Sally' in its synopsis. “The prosecution argued it was premeditated murder, the revenge of a jealous and aggressive wife. They called her a ‘thug,’ a ‘bully,’ and a ‘monster.’ The media referred to her as the ‘brawny bride’ and the ‘pumped-up princess.’ Sally says she spent her life doing whatever it took to survive, caught in a cycle of violence that began in childhood and ended with Ray’s death.”
Ray first met Sally when he was serving in the United States Marine Corps. Their common passion for bodybuilding and fitness soon turned into love, and they exchange vows in 1987. However, it wasn’t a happy arrangement as the couple argued constantly. Soon, Sally decided to move on to military service and chose to pursue professional wrestling. Her new career also helped Ray leave his service and pursue a full-time career in bodybuilding.
But even the new careers were not enough for the pair to maintain a happy marriage. In 1994, tensions grew between the couple when Sally was confronted by one of Ray’s mistresses. Sally reached her boiling point after another quarrel in the house on February 14, 1995. She proceeded to shoot Ray twice with a shotgun, in the abdomen and then in the head. She called 911 and claimed that she had killed Ray in self-defense and suggested he was beating her.
During the investigation, Sally and Ray were both tested for a panel of drugs and were found to be using steroids, which coined the name of the case - the 'roid rage killing'.
Netflix's true-crime series features interviews with Sally's friends and family, including her son, who confirms the abuse inflicted on the family by his father. He says, "I remember how tortuous it used to be to have to sit there and watch him abuse my sister and to know that I was next."
The series is also going feature Sally herself, who opens up about the relationship with Ray, and how she earned money from ‘muscle worship', where men pay to wrestle muscular women. "If I wrestled 10 of them, that's $3,000." Sally says in the trailer for the series. She adds, "Made Ray happy that it was paying for his steroids, then he hit me."