The story of American Gladiators season four grand champion Cheryl Wilson.
By Elizabeth Johns -- Mar 5, 1997, 12:40 PM PT
Former American Gladiators grand champion Cheryl Wilson-Minelli, 31, was brutally killed by her husband Monday night, and police believe their three and one-half year-old daughter may have been a witness.
Juan Minelli, 34, is being held without bond on a murder charge by Oakland Park Police in Florida. Minelli, a former pro boxer, is accused of punching and knocking his wife to the floor, choking her and repeatedly stabbing her with kitchen knives. Police say she escaped at one point, but that he dragged her back into the house after stabbing her a few times outside, and finally hit her in the head with a steel hammer.
Minelli himself reported the murder. He showered, called his parents, then dialed 911 to say, "I just killed my wife. Send everybody." His call to his parents, according to Sgt. Patrick Murray of Oakland Park Police, was a plea for money to leave the country. He instead got instructions from his father to call police.
Minelli told police he became enraged after his wife came home from work late, believing she had been at the home of a female lover. The couple were married in 1992. Police had no record of domestic abuse calls on them.
Wilson-Minelli was the 1993 grand champion of the popular syndicated show, which pits contestants against the series' strong-arm regulars. The former Louisiana State University athlete ranked second in the United States and tenth in the world in the heptathlon in 1991--qualifying her for the world championship team.
-From the Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE -- A jury found a former professional boxer guilty of killing his wife, a champion combatant on TV's ''American Gladiators'' who was beaten, choked and stabbed. Juan Minelli was found guilty Friday of first-degree murder for the murder of Cheryl Wilson-Minelli.
Minelli's attorney had argued that his client killed Wilson-Minelli in a jealous rage because he suspected she was having an affair with a woman. But prosecutors said Minelli's real motive was that he knew his marriage was ending and he wanted to be sure that his wife would not get custody of their 3-year-old daughter.
''I figured, if she's not going to be with me, she's not going to be with her, either, and I'm going to make sure of that,'' Minelli said in a taped statement to police that jurors heard on Thursday.
Wilson-Minelli was the 1993 grand champion of the popular TV sports challenge show, American Gladiators, and used the stage name Jasmine.
Minelli was accused of knocking his wife to the floor and stabbing her repeatedly with kitchen knives at their suburban Fort Lauderdale home three years ago. Police said she ran outside, but he dragged her back into the house and beat her head with a steel hammer.
He took a shower to wash off the blood and called his parents to ask if they would send him enough money so that he could leave the country. His parents refused to help him flee and advised him to turn himself in so he called 911 and confessed to the murder.
Minelli told police he had been thinking about killing his wife on and off for about three years. Their daughter witnessed at least some of the fatal attack. Wilson-Minelli's parents now have custody of their granddaughter.
The jury took about two hours to reach its verdict and will return in May to make a recommendation about whether Minelli should get the death penalty. The final decision on sentencing lies with Broward Circuit Judge Daniel True Andrews.
Champion Athlete Slain By Husband, Police Say
A champion combatant on the television show ''American Gladiators,'' was beaten and stabbed to death on Monday by her husband, a former pro boxer, the police said.
The woman, Cheryl Wilson, 30, was a five-time winner on the syndicated show in which challengers match muscle with the show's regulars in running obstacle courses, climbing walls and jousting with padded sticks. She was also a college track star.
Her husband, Juan Minelli, 34, believed his wife was having an affair with another woman and suspected that was why she was late in coming home, the police said. Mr. Minelli was charged with murder on Tuesday and held without bail.
"Gladiator" Lesbophobia Victim
NewsPlanet Staff
Thursday, March 6, 1997 / 09:41 AM
SUMMARY: Five-time "American Gladiators" champ Cheryl Wilson was beaten and stabbed to death by her husband because he thought she was having a lesbian affair. No other indication of such an affair is known.
Another killer wife-beater is claiming he murdered her because he thought she was having a lesbian affair, and this time the victim is a five-time champion of television's "American Gladiators" competition. Juan Minelli, a one-time professional boxer, turned himself in to police late March 3 -- after first taking a shower and calling his parents -- following an extensive assault against Cheryl Wilson that may have occurred at least in part before the eyes of their 3-year-old daughter. Minelli told police that when Wilson was late getting home that night, he believed it was because she was having an affair with another woman.
Minelli had a hard time killing Wilson, his wife of five years. After knocking her down with punches, he repeatedly stabbed her, but she still managed to get up and run out of the house. Minelli chased her and dragged her back inside, where he finally finished her off with hammer blows to the head. He was charged with murder March 4 and held without bail. His past abuse of Wilson was evidenced by court records from 1994, when Wilson filed for a divorce but did not complete it.
Sexual jealousy is almost a defining characteristic of wife-beaters and it is quite common for them to believe their partners are involved in lesbian as well as heterosexual affairs. In most cases this belief is unfounded. No details other than Minelli's allegation have yet been released in this case.
