Yesterday we reported that boxer Edwin Valero was taken into police custody under suspicion of murdering his wife, Jennifer Viera. Today it is being reported on ESPN.com that Valero has taken his own life:
The former lightweight champion used his own clothes to hang himself from a bar in his cell early Monday, Venezuelan Federal Police Chief Wilmer Flores told reporters.
He said Valero was found by another inmate, who alerted authorities in the police lockup in north-central Carabobo state. 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.
Edwin Valero was an electric fighter, undefeated with a highly entertaining style. Outside of the ring his fiery demeanor was also on display; he was suspected of domestic abuse when Viera, 24, required hospitalization for injuries including broken ribs and a punctured lung. Viera would later say she sustained the injuries in a fall, and ultimately was granted a restraining order against Valero, which he frequently ignored. Edwin Valero was 28.