Killer Sally Subject Sally McNeil Is “So Happy” She Was Granted Parole In 2020

Netflix’s complex true-crime docuseries, Killer Sally, revisits the story of what the streamer bills as “bodybuilding’s most notorious crime.” The titular subject, Sally McNeil, fatally shot her husband, fellow bodybuilder Ray McNeil, in 1995, claiming self-defense. Killer Sally — which features interviews with Sally and her two children — shines a light on how domestic violence and gender ultimately played roles in the case, specifically evidenced by how both the prosecution and media portrayed her throughout her murder trial. Here’s a refresher on the case, as well as an update on where Sally is now.

Fellow U.S. Marines, Sally and Ray met at the February 1987 Armed Forces Bodybuilding Championship and were married later that year. Three years into their marriage, Sally was discharged from her job as a cook in the Marines and began competing in “muscle worship,” i.e. wrestling men on camera for money. The job proved to be lucrative enough for Ray to also retire from the military, allowing him to pursue bodybuilding full time.

According to The U.S. Sun, Ray soon became increasingly insecure about his body and began engaging in extramarital affairs. He also allegedly physically abused Sally throughout their relationship, once splitting her lip and breaking her nose after punching her in the face, per The Independent. On the night of February 14, 1995 — the eight-year anniversary of the day they first met — Ray had turned violent again, and after he started choking her, Sally shot him in the abdomen and head in self-defense, as she later claimed.

“I just shot my husband because he just beat me up,” Sally told a 911 operator, describing a fight breaking out in their apartment.

Sally was charged with second-degree murder, and the prosecution argued that Ray’s murder was premeditated, based on the fact she reloaded her gun before firing the second shot. Prosecutor Dan Goldstein called her an aggressive “bully,” per The Independent, also using her bodybuilder physique to paint Sally as a “thug,” “monster,” and jealous wife. They also alleged that the murder was a “roid rage killing” because the spouses were both using steroids. Meanwhile, headlines referred to Sally as both the “brawny bride” and the “pumped-up princess,” among other monikers.

“You look at a case like this, and you do have to wonder about somebody’s innocence or guilt, just like the jury had to wonder this. So it’s important to present the strong argument that the prosecution was making,” Killer Sally director Nanette Burstein recently explained to The Independent. “But some of it was also pointing out how inane some of the argument was, that she couldn’t have possibly been a victim because she was too strong. Which is absurd.”

A jury ultimately found Sally guilty of second-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced her to 19 years to life in prison. She served nearly 25 years at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, California, before she was released on parole in May 2020. At that point, she moved to a Veterans Transitional Center in California where she met her current husband, Norfleet Stewart.

“I didn’t deserve this sentence of 19 years to life,” Sally, who reconnected with her son and daughter, said in the docuseries third and final episode. “I want to file an appeal on what happened, but I’m just so happy I’m free. I don’t care anymore. I’m free.”

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or visit thehotline.org