On June 30, 2017, “Crybaby” Jim Breaks was arrested in his apartment in Gran Canaria for the murder of Donna Crowley.
The then-80-year-old was many years removed from the wrestling business when he was carted away from his apartment in handcuffs.
ITV had kicked the wrestling off the box nearly thirty years prior, and the technical marvel was now happily retired in Spain with Ms Crowley for an undetermined amount of years.
Then, one day, they had an argument which ended in Jim Breaks allegedly killing her. He was led out in handcuffs and charged with murder. This was heartbreaking to fans of the Crybaby, who had loved booing him up and down the country.
However, the wrestler was never convicted of murder and did not stand trial in Spain. He was sent to a medical facility where he avoided jail and spent his final days before dying.
“Crybaby” Jim Breaks Was A Star In Britain Before His Retirement
If there were anybody you’d expect to be arrested on murder charges, it wouldn’t be Jim Breaks. His nickname was “Crybaby”, which tells you all you need to know about the man’s in-ring persona!
Breaks was famous for whinging. Whenever the crowd got on his back or if an opponent pushed him a little bit too far, he responded with childish tantrums and pleas to the referee to end the match, now.
This made him hated by the English crowds, who gleefully chanted “Cryyyy Babyyy” at Jim Breaks as his tantrums became more and more energetic and colourful.
People couldn’t wait to see him get his comeuppance and happily paid for their tickets in hopes of seeing just that.
Breaks had a lengthy career, wrestling from his debut in 1958 for Joint Promotions all the way until 1991. His career highlight was ending Johnny Saint’s reign as World Lightweight Champion, a reign which is falsely claimed to have lasted for 20 years straight!
He also had a series of matches against “Young David” in the 1980s, which introduced the audience to the young wrestler and helped make him a star in Britain. Young David is better known nowadays as WWE Hall of Famer “The British Bulldog” Davey Boy Smith.
He was one of the top stars in the promotions towards the end of his run and is fondly remembered by fans of World of Sport, back in Britain’s Golden Era of wrestling.
Jim Breaks retired as a full-time wrestler in 1988 but still wrestled semi-regularly until 1991 when he left the business and moved to Gran Canaria.
He stayed there until the end of his life, which coincided with his arrest for the murder of his partner in their home.
Jim Breaks Allegedly Murdered Donna Crowley In Their Gran Canaria Apartment
Long after he retired, Jim Breaks was residing in his own apartment in Gran Canaria. His time running a pub in England had ended and Breaks had made enough money in wrestling to retire to sunny Spain for his golden years.
At some point in his later life, Breaks met a much younger woman called Donna Crowley. Their relationship is a point of contention, and nobody really sure how the pair knew each.
Some sources claim she was his partner, although with her being nearly 40 years his junior, that is rather unbelievable, although possible. Others claim she was a live-in career or even his lodger who was staying with him following a break-up with her previous boyfriend.
However, the Daily Mail reported that Crowley followed breaks to Gran Canaria two decades earlier after working for him in his pub, the Seconds Out in Wakefield, so it appears the two were somewhat of an item.
Nevertheless, Donna Crowley was in “Crybaby” Jim Breaks’ apartment in Gran Canaria on June 30th, 2017. That was the day her life would end at the hands of the former wrestling champion.
It has been claimed that during an argument in the apartment, 80-year-old Jim Breaks fatally punched Donna Crowley multiple times in the head while also smashing a teacup over it. Breaks then left her prone in the bathroom as he returned to watching the television in the sitting room.
According to reports, she managed to ring the emergency services for help but died the following day in hospital from her injuries.
The evidence looked conclusive and it seemed to be an open-and-shut case. Breaks was almost certainly the murderer and was facing 15 years in prison for what he’d done to his former partner. However, the former wrestler would never even stand trial – and for good reason.
“Crybaby” Jim Breaks Murder Trial Never Took Place
Despite being arrested for the crime of murder, one that he almost certainly did commit, Jim Breaks never stood trial or went to prison for the death of Donna Crowley.
In June 2020, the court found him not competent to stand trial. This was due to his worsening condition of senile dementia, an incurable disease which had taken hold of him in his later years.
There is no telling what effect wrestling had on his brain, with very limited interest in potential CTE in the British wrestling community during this time.
Chris Benoit was said to have the brain of an 80-year-old Alzheimer’s patient when he committed his double murder-suicide. They stemmed from concussions from his wrestling career, so there is a good chance it had an impact on Jim Breaks as well.
The local court in Spain ruled he was not compos mentis. Due to his advanced dementia, he would not understand what was going on or the crime he had been accused of committing.
The judge ruled he would ‘not be able to understand the object and scope of his trial’ and demanded he be sent to a psychiatric hospital for what turned out to be the remainder of his life.
Just three years after his trial was due to take place, “Crybaby” Jim Breaks sadly passed away. He had spent the last few years of his life living in a care home in Gran Canaria, suffering from Senile Dementia. His cause of death was not revealed but his family did say that he passed away on Christmas Day, 2023.
Given how quickly he passed away and his state of being following his arrest, there is really no doubt that he wasn’t fit to stand trial. Those who knew him claim he would have never committed the violent act that killed Ms Crowley had he been of sound mind, and I’m inclined to believe them.
