Edwin Valero Kills Himself In Jail After Murdering Wife

WBC Lightweight Champion Edwin Valero, in rehabilitation since March 28 of this year for alcohol, drug dependency and anger management issues, committed suicide by hanging himself by the neck from bed sheets in his jail cell in the early hours of Monday, April 19, 2010.

He was arrested Sunday, April 18, 2010, after confessing at daybreak to hotel security officials that he murdered his wife Jennifer Carolina Viera de Valero, age 24, while staying with her as guests at the Intercontinental Hotel in Valencia, Venezuela. Valero’s wife was found dead with three stab wounds.

Last month, Mrs. Valero was hospitalized with cracked and broken ribs and a punctured lung. Valero’s attorney reportedly explained Mrs. Valero had fallen down a flight of stairs while inspecting a water tank on the roof of their home.

That explanation now seems highly questionable, given Valero was arrested at the time for harassing his wife and threatening hospital officials taking care of her. Her injuries were reported to be similar to previous incidents where police allegedly investigated her husband.

Valero’s behavior from that incident got him six months in psychiatric rehabilitation. Clearly, Valero’s anger management and substance abuse issues were not resolved.

Why was he was not detained, as his manager reportedly pleaded, rather than released anyway a short time after being sentenced?

Had Valero been detained in rehabilitation until it was determined (if he reached that point) that Edwin was free from addiction, and his anger management issues were under control, perhaps with medicine, he could have been released.

But in the world of sports, stars are often accorded superstar status of privilege. A former Super Featherweight and Lightweight Champion like Valero, a hero to some and a troubled youth to others, was allowed to roam after the first incident with known drug and alcohol issues, and tragedy followed.

In 2001, Valero fractured his skull in a motorcycle accident, leading to licensing issues in some jurisdictions. Perhaps the motorcycle accident caused brain damage of some sort, but that issue never appeared in the career of a fighter who opened with 18 first round knockouts.

Perhaps super stardom caused his dependency on alcohol and drugs? It’s hard to speculate what and why after the fact. His 27-0 boxing career is certainly now over.