Why bodybuilder Sally McNeil brutally murdered her husband Ray

Sally McNeil admits it was “lust at first sight” when she first laid eyes on her husband Ray. Their marriage would end in a bloody Valentine’s Day killing.

Sally McNeil shot her husband Ray in 1995. Picture: Netflix

A new Netflix documentary uncovers the reason why a bodybuilding couple’s marriage ended in a brutal murder nearly 30 years ago.

The three-episode docuseries Killer Sally, which is set to premiere on November 9, goes inside the fatal shooting of bodybuilding champion Ray McNeil by his wife Sally on Valentine’s Day 1995.

Sally, a champion in her own right after winning the US armed services physique championship in the 1980s, claimed her husband abused her for years before the shooting.

She remains behind bars.

Sally claimed she acted in self-defence. Picture: Netflix

“Sally claimed it was self-defence, a split decision to save her life,” reads the synopsis of Killer Sally.

“The prosecution argued it was premeditated murder, the revenge of a jealous and aggressive wife. They called her a ‘thug’, a ‘bully’ and 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 couple first met when Ray was serving in the United States Marine Corps and bonded over their passion for bodybuilding and fitness.

“He looked like the Statue of David. He was beautiful,” Sally said in the Netflix trailer.

“Lust at first sight.”

Sally McNeil shot her husband Ray in 1995. Picture: Netflix

They married in 1987, however, the union was reportedly filled with constant arguments.

Sally pursued a career in professional wrestling, helping Ray leave the marines and start his own career as a full-time bodybuilder.

Sally was involved in “muscle worship” which involves recorded sessions where she was paid to wrestle men into the ground.

“If I wrestled 10 of them, that’s $3000,” Sally said.

The happiness wouldn’t last and the marriage once again turned volatile, including one instance in 1994 when Sally was confronted by one of Ray’s mistresses.

Ray’s son accused him of abuse. Picture: Netflix

Sally shot Ray twice with a shotgun, once in the abdomen and then in the head.

She immediately called 911 and claimed that she killed him out of self-defence and that he had been beating her.

A portion of the 911 call was featured in the trailer, with Sally saying: “I just shot my husband because he just beat me up.”

In the new docuseries, Sally’s children affirmed their mother’s harrowing tale, including her son who revealed haunting details of Ray’s alleged abuse.

“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,” he said in the trailer.

Sally McNeil as she appears in the Killer Sally documentary. Picture: Netflix

However, during the investigation, it was revealed that both Sally and Ray were using steroids, which was how the “roid rage killing” name was coined.

“I have a right to defend myself,” Sally said in the trailer.

“I couldn’t take it anymore. I didn’t want to die.”

The prosecution argued that the killing was premeditated and Sally was found guilty of second-degree murder in 1996.

She was sentenced to 19 years to life. She is serving her sentence at Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, California.

This article was originally published by The US Sun and reproduced with permission