Ex boxing champion held over wife’s death kills himself in jail

FORMER boxing champion Edwin Valero took his own life in his jail cell in Venezuela just hours after he was arrested over his wife’s killing, police said yesterday.

The former lightweight champion used his own clothes to hang himself in his cell early yesterday, Venezuelan federal police chief Wilmer Flores said. Valero tied his clothes to a cell bar to hang himself.

He said Valero was found by another inmate, who alerted authorities in the police lock-up in north-central Carabobo state. Valero still showed signs of life but they were unable to save him, Flores said.

The 28-year-old was detained earlier on suspicion of killing his wife, the gravest in a string of problems that had threatened to derail his career. Prosecutors said they had planned to charge Valero after they found the body of his 24-year-old wife in a hotel in Valencia.

The boxer left the hotel room around dawn on Sunday and allegedly told security he had killed Jennifer Viera, Flores said.

The fighter was a household name in Venezuela and had a huge image of President Hugo Chavez tattooed on his chest, along with the country’s yellow, blue and red flag.

His all-action style and 27-0 record — all by knockouts — earned him a reputation as a tough, explosive crowd-pleaser.

The former WBA super-featherweight and WBC lightweight champion was charged with harassing his wife and threatening medical personnel who treated her at a hospital in Merida.