In a former life I was a wrestling fan and was deeply shocked by this story. By all the accounts the guy was pretty unstable, as they all are. Still this is really insane and shocking. Canadian pro-wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and suffocated his son before hanging himself with a pulley on a weightlifting machine, a law enforcement official said Tuesday. "From an investigation that has taken place yesterday afternoon, and continued at the crime lab earlier today where autopsies were performed on all three subjects, we're now looking at this case and ruling it as a double homicide-suicide," said Lt. Tommy Pope, lead investigator with the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, on Tuesday afternoon. Pope said evidence from Benoit's suburban Atlanta home led investigators to believe that the wrestler murdered his 43-year-old wife Nancy, possibly on Friday. Sometime shortly after that, Benoit murdered his seven-year-old son Daniel. "Then maybe later on Saturday evening, sometime early Sunday, he committed suicide by hanging himself in the basement," said Pope, adding that no suicide note was found at the scene. Benoit, 40, his wife and son were found dead at 2 p.m. on Monday in three separate rooms. Authorities said Benoit placed a Bible next to the bodies of his wife and son before hanging himself. All three died of asphyxiation, autopsy results show. Benoit was supposed to participate in a pay-per-view World Wrestling Entertainment event in Houston over the weekend but cancelled because of a family emergency. ABC's Mike Von Fremd told Canada AM from outside Benoit's home in Fayetteville on Tuesday that friends of Benoit said they received "curious text messages" from the wrestler on Sunday morning. The WWE notified authorities after hearing from friends who received the messages, the wrestling organization said on its website. Pope said the "instruments of death were located on scene." Authorities also told AP that they are investigating if steroids may have played a role. Steroid abuse has been linked to depression, paranoia, and aggressive behaviour or angry outbursts known as "roid rage." "We don't know yet. That's one of the things we'll be looking at," Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told AP. Pope said anabolic steroids were found in the home along with various prescription drugs. Wrestling career World Wrestling Entertainment aired a three-hour tribute show to Benoit instead of its usual "Monday Night RAW" TV show on the USA Network. "I am deeply saddened over the loss of Chris Benoit," WWE Canada president Carl DeMarco said on the organization's website. "My heartfelt thoughts and sympathy go out to his parents and family. My relationship with Chris has extended many years and I consider him a great friend. Chris was always first-class -- warm, friendly, caring and professional ... one of the best in our business." Benoit was born in Montreal and grew up in Edmonton, graduating from Archbishop O'Leary High School. He began his career in 1985, starting with the famous Hart family of Calgary, who operated Stampede Wrestling. He won the world heavyweight championship at Wrestlemania XX. In response, Edmonton declared "Chris Benoit Day" on April 15, 2004. Benoit was known as "The Canadian Crippler," in part after he unintentionally broke another wrestler's neck during a match in 1994. Another nickname was the Rabid Wolverine. His signature move was the "Crippler Crossface." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Benoit's wife, known by her stage name "Woman," managed several wrestlers. The couple met when Chris Benoit wrote a script depicting an ongoing love affair between the two on World Championship Wrestling, the newspaper said. Nancy Benoit filed for a divorce in May 2003, saying their three-year marriage was irrevocably broken and alleging "cruel treatment." She later dropped the complaint, as well as a request for a restraining order, in which she charged that Chris Benoit threatened her and had broken furniture in their home. In the divorce filing, she said Benoit made more than US$500,000 a year as a professional wrestler and asked for permanent custody of Daniel and child support. In his response, Benoit sought joint custody. Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship
RIP Chris U Were A Wrestling Legend and his wife and kid... Thats himself and eddie guerrero gone. Sad story that is poor man must have been demented by something. He was supposed to be wrestling at Vengence last Sunday.
Tributes are already startin to popup on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoadS0I-7jw http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyZc7barSLY
I remember being at madison square garden when he and Eddie celebrated the world titles at the end. It is obviously a volatile buisness. Im sure drugs were involved. Such a tragedy. I was a big fan. Ger
If he killed his wife and son then there should be no tributes. I know drugs and all may have been involved and all that but thats just disgusting. Sorry
ya with ya there although he must have been very disturbed....still the tributes could be done witjout regardless of how great the man was
Another shocking story, it really is very hard to fathom what goes on sometimes. Of what's gone before on this thread I'd just suggest that the most important remark has been "If he killed..."
Yeah, but I think it seems very likely. Apparently he sent a text to wwe saying he couldnt wrestle at PPV cos of a family emergency. This is all very strange. Benoit seemed together and a family man ( though I hear now there was some odd behaviour in 2003). Vey sad. Most especially for his wife and kid. I dont know about tributes, I think this is a henious event. It was incidents like this, the drugs and the deaths that prompted me to stop watching wrestling a couple of years ago. It wont be long before there is more.
In an exclusive interview on TODAY, WWE chairman Vince McMahon backed off claims by his organization that steroids had nothing to do with the murder-suicide of wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and 7-year-old son. “Steroids may or may not have had anything to do with this,†McMahon told TODAY co-host Meredith Vieira. “It’s all speculation until the toxicology reports come back.†That was a retreat from a statement World Wrestling Entertainment, based in Stamford, Conn., had put out earlier, in which the organization said “steroids were not and could not be related†to the deaths. Confronted with that statement by Vieira, McMahon said, “We didn’t say that. Our reaction was reacting to the hysteria of the media.†McMahon explained that he and the WWE were reacting to suggestions that the phenomenon known as “'roid rage†may have led to the killings. Among the potential side effects of steroid use are depression, paranoia and episodes of rage. The slayings of Benoit’s wife, Nancy, and their child were carried out last weekend. Authorities say that Benoit may have remained in the house with the bodies as long as another day before hanging himself, using the rope and pulleys from a weight machine. His wife had been strangled. Sometime after she was killed, the couple’s son was smothered. Bibles were placed next to the bodies. ‘This man was a monster’ “This is not an act of rage,†McMahon said. “This is an act of deliberation.†He added that investigators also found prescription medications in the house that may have played a role. “This is a horrific tragedy,†he said. “It happened in pro wrestling. There’s a rush o judgment. There’s almost a hysteria around us.â€
I dunno anything about the guy but does seem to me that just because he's a wrestler there's a massive rush to judgement about steroids and believe me I'm not a wrestling fan by any means so I have no reason to defend the sport or entertainment form whatever it is. Reminds me a bit of the drink problem excuses for domestic violence. Amazingly the one thing that I hadn't heard about before and seems to be generally overlooked could be the underlying reason for it - the whole custody battle and marriage breakup. If he wasn't a wrestler people would look at that and it would be put into the same category as recent tragedies all too common in this country. I think the WWE boss calling him a monster is a bit much although what he did was monstrous I doubt it was coldly calculated. Because of the nature of his profession there's massive assumptions being jumped to that wouldn't be otherwise. Given he's been described as a family man here and then the situation he found himself in maybe he was just pushed over the edge whether aided by drugs or not but everybody seems to be concentrating purely on the latter as its an easy target.
THere are things i would like to say about Vince McMahon here, but he would probably sue me, so all encasing are his lawyers. Safe to see if you dont have and maintain a certain physique, you dont go over or get a push, then when you get to the top you have to maintain a grotesque muscularity. Eddies death was undoubtedly steroid related and I would be very suspicious about a steroid pyschosis here. Doesnt excuse the fact. If you break the law whrn drunk, you break the law. End of.
I'm going to end up sounding like a pain here but .innocent until proven guilty. Don't give a damn what Vince McMahon, any newspaper or otherwise has to say. The man may well have committed the crime, if there was a crime, but until it's proven, he's innocent. It cannot be said with certainty that the death(s) were steroid related, we simply do not know.
Agreed. Police had their minds made up very quickly. I alway think thats a worry. Interestingly a thread on wikepedia announced the death of his wife almost 12 hours before they 3 were supposedly 1st recovered. I dont know if we will ever find out. His communications with stanford were very suspicious though. Dont be surprised if wwe cash in now and make a movie of this. Vince is the most thoughtless money grabbing P?@*% around
Guys as a former wrestling nut myself- Benoit is just another in a very long and very disturbing list of athletes who just didn't make it to old age- I'm sure a google search will get a definitive list but from memory Mr Perfect, the British Bulldog, Hawk, Eddie Guerrero etc... all deaths had drugs involved. From reading/ watching the press over here (I was in Canada last week/ Us this week) it seems pretty clear cut that Benoits wife was strangled, his son smothered the following day and Benoit found hanging in his weights room on the Monday. As tragic as it is as has been said earlier- the man is innocent until proven guilty. However I cannot personally envisage a scenario where this could have happened without Benoits involvement. Some commentators have linked the incident to 'roid rage' others have spoken of how Nancy Benoit filed for divorce in 2003 city crualty from Benoit... others just say Benoit never recovered emotionally from the death of Eddie Guerrero. One thing is certain this is another incident that points to the lives these men choose to lead in order to be successful- make money. The are on the road 300+ days of the year- they get hurt, they use perscription & non perscription drugs to help them recover quickly- keep their physiques to the standard that is required. We all know pro-wrestling is 'not real' but the schedule is real and the sacrafices made to be successful are real. If indeed it is proved that Benoit committed double homicide then suicide unfortunately there will be no change made in real terms within the wrestling business. RIP the Benoit's & my prayers go out to their families.
Eddie Guerrero died of a heart-attack not a drugs overdose, he was bad in the past on drugs but cleaned himself up. Brian Pillman was one of the only ones to die of a drug-overdose.
I think it is very unusual for a man of 38 to have "advanced coronary atherosclerosis". Its possible but I think in my spectical mind that Eddies death was a result of accelaratled atheroscleroisis induced by anabolic steroids. It would be unlikely for remote used of coccaine to be resonsible IMO