Sophia Michaels
Bodybuilding’s most notorious crime is the focus of Netflix’s upcoming docuseries Killer Sally.
The three-episode docuseries investigates the Valentine’s Day 1995 killing of national bodybuilding champion Ray McNeil, who was shot to death by his bodybuilder wife, Sally. She alleged she was being choked at the time of the shooting and was a frequent victim of McNeil’s domestic abuse.
“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,’ 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.”
The docuseries, premiering Nov. 2, features interviews with Sally McNeil, who ultimately faced second-degree murder charges for Ray’s death (We won’t spoil the outcome of the trial.) Friends and family — including Sally and Ray’s son, who also says he was abused by his steroid-abusing father — also go on the record in the three-part series.
“I remember how torturous it used to be to have to sit there and watch him abuse my sister and to know that I was next,” the son says in the trailer.
“I have a right to defend myself,” Sally adds. “I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to die.”
Killer Sally premieres onNov. 2 on Netflix.
