Netflix seems to be on a roll! The over-the-top platform has been releasing crime documentaries, docuseries, and series in bulk. It released the Evan Peters starrer ‘Dahmer’, which was based on a true serial killer named Jeffrey Dahmer. The Ryan Murphy series was well-received by the audience despite some sections despising it. Now, the platform has released a new docuseries focusing on the life of Sally McNeil aka Killer Sally.
The story follows the life of the body-builder Sally McNeil, who was charged with the gruesome killing of her husband, a fellow body-builder, Ray McNeil. ‘Killer Sally’ is directed by Nanette Burstein, who is known to helm projects like ‘New Girl’, ‘Hilary’, and others. The three-part docuseries chronicles the media portrayal of Sally McNeil, who was led as a “brawny bride.” Who is she and what happened to her post killing her husband?
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Who Is Sally McNeil AKA Killer Sally?
On November 2nd, 2022, Netflix released a true crime docuseries named ‘Killer Sally’. The trailer was released two weeks ago, where some real-life footage and interviews of Sally and Ray’s friends and relatives were featured. Sally described Ray as the “statue of David” and described her love as “Lust at first sight”.
It chronicles the fateful Valentine’s Day of 1995 when Sally McNeil shot her husband with a shotgun, called 911, and informed them that she killed her husband because he beat her up.
Let’s go back in time and know who she is. Sally McNeil was born in Pennsylvania in 1960. The former bodybuilder had a rough childhood where she was exposed to violence. However, Sally got into athletics and brushed up her swimming and running skills.
She got enrolled at the East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. But, she had to drop out of college due to a lack of funds. So, following the footsteps of her uncle and brother, she joined the Marine Corps.
While she was serving in the Marines, where she met her first husband who turned up to be an abuser. She started her bodybuilding while she was there. Sally met Ray when she participated in the Armed Forces Bodybuilding Championship in 1987.
The two dated for a while and got married, shifting to California. During that time, she started “muscle worship”, where she fought with men on video which she mentions in the trailer “If I wrestle ten of ’em, that’s $3,000” which made Ray happy as it paid for his steroids. So, both of them quit the Marines and started as full-time bodybuilders. But, as their marriage progressed, Ray became increasingly abusive towards her.
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What Did She Do? Where Is She Now?
Sally McNeil was increasingly fed up with his behavior. So, on one fateful day of February 14th, 1995, when Ray was hitting her, she got a shotgun and shot him twice in the head and the abdomen. McNeil was afraid for her life as she was unaware of what he could do. In the trailer, we could see that she calls 911 and tells them, “I just shot my husband, because he just beat me up.”
She was charged with homicide and second-degree murder. The trial and the media coverage of it posed Sally as the villain. The prosecutor in the case called her a bully and said, “That’s hard to say when you’re talking about a woman, but Sally McNeil has managed to bridge the gap of gender”.
During the investigation, the murder was deemed to be a “roid rage killing”, because the couple was consuming steroids. In 1996, she was found guilty and imprisoned for 19 years to life in prison. She served a sentence at Central California Women’s Facility. She was released in 2020 on parole and Sally is currently residing in Northern California.
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