Sally McNeil killed her husband, Ray; but was it an act of self-defence or pre-meditated murder?
That is the question at the heart of Killer Sally, a new three-part docu-series by Nanette Burstein, now showing on Netflix.
Sally and Ray were a power couple in the truest sense of the word – both were bodybuilders. But Ray took his training to extreme levels, using steroids to increase his muscle growth. And according to Sally, it was during a ‘roid rage’ on St. Valentine’s Day in 1995 that he lost his temper and tried to kill her before she shot him.
The prosecution at Sally’s trial portrayed her as a bully. But as Nanette explains, Ray was an abusive husband. So, while Sally was not an innocent victim, her husband not only abused her but also their children.
The children’s lives were shattered by what happened. Since then, they have sought to break the cycle of abuse that began even before their mother and father met.
Among the topics discussed by Nanette and Matthew are how Nanette handled interviewing Sally’s son, the seedy side of female body building, points of connection between Sally McNeil, Hilary Clinton and Tonya Harding, and the difficulties faced by women who are trapped by domestic violence perpetrated against them.
Join Nanette and Matthew as they lift the lid on an infamous moment in body building history; a case that remains both relevant and compelling nearly thirty years later.
“... one out of every three women globally, is the victim of physical and or sexual violence by an intimate partner... we sweep it under the rug, you know, and I think that Sally's case definitely sheds light on the fact that we need to revisit how we judicially and socially deal with domestic violence cases.” – Nanette Burstein
Watch the episode at https://factualamerica.com
What is covered
00:00 - Trailer for Killer Sally
01:55 – Introducing Nanette Burstein, this episode’s guest
03:50 – Nanette’s synopsis for Killer Sally
05:28 – Was Nanette able to really get to know Sally McNeil?
07:58 – How the McNeil’s children are overcoming the cycle of abuse
12:07 – How Nanette handled interviewing the McNeil’s now grown up children
13:27 – What Nanette discovered about bodybuilding in making Killer Sally
16:41 – The effect of being the children of bodybuilders and an inter-racial family in the 1980s
17:56 – The challenge of being a female bodybuilder
19:57 – Nanette’s experience of true crime docs, and the need to raise the issue of domestic violence towards women
23:17 – Thirty years later, nothing has changed for women who kill in self-defence
26:29 – How Sally McNeil’s decision to take the stand was a mistake
30:54 – Points of connection between three different women: Hilary Clinton, Tonya Harding, and Sally McNeil
32:45 – Nanette’s next project: A documentary on Liz Taylor
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