Bad Sports: Sally "Killer" McNeil
Once Upon A Crime
Esther Ludlow
4.6 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 8 April 2019
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Muscles, marriage, and murder. A deadly Valentine’s Day like no other.
Ray and Sally McNeil were both professional bodybuilders—a power couple in the world of competitive fitness. But behind their sculpted physiques lay a marriage fueled by infidelity, domestic abuse, and the dangerous effects of anabolic steroid use. On February 14, 1995, their volatile relationship reached its shocking and violent climax, leaving one of them dead and the other fighting for their freedom.
Was Sally McNeil a battered wife acting in self-defense, or was there something more sinister behind the crime? Join us as we break down the case that rocked the bodybuilding world and examine the dark side of extreme competition.
🎧 Listen now—because strength isn’t always what it seems.
📚 Resources:
- Court Records: McNeil v. Middleton, U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (2003)
- Articles:
- Sally McNeil...This is My Story – Leigh Penman, RXMuscle.com (2009)
- The Sally-Ray McNeil Murder – Peter McGough, MuscularDevelopment.com (2015)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This podcast details true crime cases. |
| 0:03.0 | It contains adult themes and may contain descriptions of violence. |
| 0:07.0 | It is not intended for children. |
| 0:09.0 | Listener discretion is advised. |
| 0:17.0 | Thank you for joining me for today's episode of Once Upon a Crime. |
| 0:20.0 | We're in the series Bad Sports, |
| 0:22.0 | where I share with you crimes that occurred at sporting events |
| 0:25.0 | or were committed by sports figures. |
| 0:28.0 | This time I'll tell you a story about two accomplished athletes |
| 0:31.0 | who competed in the sport of professional bodybuilding. |
| 0:34.0 | Ray and Sally McNeil were a married couple who trained hard, |
| 0:37.0 | loved fiercely, and fought violently throughout their eight-year marriage. |
| 0:41.0 | But a combination of infidelity, abuse, and anabolic steroid use |
| 0:46.0 | would lead to a final bloody confrontation on Valentine's Day 1995. |
| 0:51.0 | This is the case of Sally Killer McNeil. |
| 0:58.0 | Sally Loden met Ray McNeil when they were both serving in the United States Marine Corps |
| 1:03.0 | and stationed at Camp Pendleton in California. |
| 1:06.0 | Sally, originally from Allentown, Pennsylvania, was 27 |
| 1:10.0 | and divorced from her first husband, Anthony Loden, |
| 1:13.0 | with whom she'd had two children. |
| 1:16.0 | Ray, born in Jamaica, was four years Sally's junior. |
| 1:20.0 | They became inseparable soon after meeting, |
... |
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