Police arrested Valero following an argument with a doctor and nurse at the hospital, where his wife was being treated for a series of injuries, including a punctured lung and broken ribs. Last month, Valero was charged with harassing his wife and threatening medical personnel who treated her at a hospital in the western city of Merida. The former WBA super featherweight and WBC lightweight champion had been in trouble with the law before. His wife was arrested as the prime suspect in the death, but authorities later ruled that he committed suicide. A few weeks later, Arturo Gatti was found strangled in the Brazilian resort town of Porto de Galinhas. Hall of Famer Alexis Arguello, the mayor of Managua, Nicaragua, was found dead at his home last July of a gunshot wound to the chest. The death is the third high-profile reported suicide of a former boxing champion in the past year. Venezuelans called him “Inca,” alluding to an Indian warrior, while elsewhere he was called “Dinamita,” or dynamite. His all-action style and 27-0 record - all by knockouts - earned him a reputation as a tough, explosive crowd-pleaser. The fighter was a household name in Venezuela and had a huge image of President Chavez tattooed on his chest along with the country’s yellow, blue and red flag. The boxer left the hotel room and allegedly told security he had killed Jennifer Carolina Viera, Flores said. Valero was detained after police found the body of his 24-year-old wife in a hotel in Valencia. Prosecutors said Sunday night that they had planned to charge Valero in the killing. The 28-year-old was detained Sunday on suspicion of stabbing his wife to death. Valero still showed signs of life when they took him down, but they were unable to save him and he died about 1:30 a.m., Flores said. Valero’s lawyer, Milda Mora, confirmed that Valero had committed suicide saying he used the sweat pants he was wearing.įlores said Valero was found by another inmate, who alerted authorities in the police lockup in north-central Carabobo state. The former lightweight champion used his own clothes to hang himself from a bar in his cell early today, Venezuelan Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores told reporters. CARACAS, Venezuela | Former boxing champion Edwin Valero, who gained fame for knocking out all his 27 opponents and having a tattoo of Hugo Chavez on his chest, was found dead in his jail cell today and police said he hanged himself after being arrested in his wife’s murder.
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