Chris Benoit dead at 40

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

Another wrestler is dead. He was only 40. Someone entered his house and killed him, his wife and his child. This is unbelievable. All the details haven't been released so don't know what really happened but they are calling it a homicide.

Kelli met him at the Waffle House in Raleigh after a match. He signed her autograph pants and I have a pic of them togethr.

Just a reminder that life is fleeting so please tell your friends and family that you love them shaggy

[bigfrank Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close bigfrank]

ABC News: Pro Wrestler Chris Benoit Found Dead

[Beaglemom3 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Beaglemom3]

It only gets worse.................. Tragic.

AP: Benoit Strangled Wife, Smothered Son
Updated 12:52 PM ET June 26, 2007


By DEBBIE NEWBY

ATLANTA (AP) - Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son before hanging himself in his weight room, a law enforcement official close to the investigation told The Associated Press Tuesday.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Authorities also said they are investigating whether steroids may have been a factor in the deaths of Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son who were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide.

Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said test results may not be back for weeks or even months.

Autopsies were scheduled Tuesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in DeKalb County.

This is a breaking news update. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP) _ Pro wrestler Chris Benoit canceled a pay-per-view appearance at the "Vengeance" event in Houston because of "personal reasons" a day before he, his wife and their 7-year-old son were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide.



Details of the deaths "are going to prove a little bizarre" when released to the public, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Autopsies were scheduled Tuesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities were investigating the deaths at a secluded Fayette County home as a murder-suicide and were not seeking any suspects.

Investigators believe Benoit (pronounced ben-WAH) killed his wife, 43-year-old Nancy, and son Daniel during the weekend and then himself Monday. The bodies were found Monday afternoon in three separate rooms of the house, off a gravel road about two miles from the Whitewater Country Club.

Ballard told The Associated Press a gun was not used in any of the deaths, but he would not say how the three died.

"We're pretty sure we know, but we want to confirm it with the crime lab," Ballard said early Tuesday.

Fayette County Coroner C.J. Mowell did not return calls seeking comment. The answering service for his funeral home said he was out of town.

Authorities also declined to say whether drugs or steroids were found inside the house. "We're not releasing any information as far as what was located inside the house," sheriff's Sgt. Keith Whiteside said Tuesday.

Asked about the condition of the interior of the house, Whiteside said investigators found "nothing really out of the ordinary." He said Benoit was found in the home's weight room, his wife in an office and the son in an upstairs bedroom.

Whiteside said toxicology tests could take up to a week or longer to complete.

Neighbors said the Benoits led a low-key lifestyle.

"They were nice," said Lorre Jones, who lives across the street. Her daughter Alaina said: "We would see Chris walking in his yard from time to time. He wasn't rude, but he wasn't really outwardly warm."

Jimmy Baswell, who was Benoit's driver for more than five years, placed a white wreath at the Benoits' gate Tuesday.

"I saw him with his family all the time," said Baswell. "They always seemed like they were the happiest people."

World Wrestling Entertainment said on its Web site that it asked authorities to check on Benoit and his family after being alerted by friends who received "several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning."

The ***, based in Stamford, Conn., said it had been asked by authorities not to release further information on the deaths.

Benoit, born in Montreal, was a former world heavyweight champion, Intercontinental champion and held several tag-team titles. His names in the ring included "The Canadian Crippler."

"*** extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family's relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy," the company said in a statement on its Web site.

Benoit had maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling. The Fayette County Tax Assessors Office lists the value of the house, situated on more than 8.5 acres, at nearly $900,000.

The *** canceled its live "Monday Night RAW" card in Corpus Christi, Texas, and USA Network aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast.

Benoit's wife managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name "Woman." They met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them involved in a relationship as part of a story line on World Championship Wrestling, the newspaper said.

Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship.

Benoit became a standout at an early age among wrestling prospects who trained in the dungeon basement of the house where fellow Canadians and professional wrestlers Owen and Bret Hart trained. Owen Hart was killed during a wrestling event in 1999.

"He was like a family member to me, and everyone in my family is taking it real hard," said Bret Hart, a five-time champion with the World Wrestling Federation. The federation has since changed its name to World Wrestling Entertainment.

___

Associated Press writers Greg Bluestein and Jason Bronis contributed to this report.

[kapish Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close kapish]

The Winnipeg Free Press Online Edition

[shaggy Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close shaggy]

I never would have thought this to be so gruesome. I fleetingly thought it may have been a murder suicide but not in the way it happened. What a real tragedy. shaggy

[katheren Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close katheren]

the only tragedy is the loss of the wife and son

It is still unbelievable to me that people can do this sort of thing. In a fit of rage, depression, panic....they destroy the lives of innocents and then commit suicide. They should just kill themselves...and not take innocent lives with them. Jeez.
Now Benoit will be remembered as a murdering monster, and anything good he did in his life is lost. Fool.