Boxing Champ Suspected of Wife's Murder Kills Self

Edwin Valero, the former Venezuelan boxing champion arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife, killed himself in jail today. The 28-year-old, who was found hanging by his clothes from a bar in his cell, died around 1:30am, the AP reports. His wife, 24-year-old Jennifer Viera, was found stabbed yesterday in a Valencia hotel; prosecutors planned to charge Valero, who is said to have admitted to hotel security that he killed her.

Valero, a lightweight champion well-known in Venezuela as a crowd-pleaser in the ring, was charged last month with harassing his wife, and was arrested after arguing with a doctor and nurse who were treating her for a punctured lung, broken ribs, and other injuries. Police suspected him of assaulting Viera, but she blamed her injuries on a fall; Valero was placed under a restraining order, but he violated it repeatedly.
(More Edwin Valero stories.)