Chris Benoit and family found dead

[GM Mark "Damn Right" Dent]

Wha--

FUCK! FUCK!

just...

Fuck.

[Nathan "T-Rex" Williams]

Sadly enough heres the update on the story.

Wrestler Killed Family and Self, Police Say
By GREG BLUESTEIN,AP
Posted: 2007-06-26 13:53:49
ATLANTA (June 26) - 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 on Tuesday.


WWE / AP Professional wrestler Chris Benoit, here in 2004, killed his wife and 7-year-old son and then took his own life in his family's Atlanta area home Monday, an official said.

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. Steroid abuse has been linked to depression, paranoia, and aggressive behavior or angry outbursts known as "roid rage."

"We don't know yet. That's one of the things we'll be looking at," said Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard. He said test results may not be back for weeks.

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. The official who described the manner of death spoke on the condition of anonymity because the information was to be released at a news conference later Tuesday.

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.

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.

Asked about the condition of the interior of the house, sheriff's Sgt. Keith 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.

Neighbors said the Benoits led a low-key lifestyle.

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

Jimmy Baswell, who was Benoit's driver for more than five years, placed a white wreath at the Benoits' gate. "They always seemed like they were the happiest people," he said.

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 WWE, based in Stamford, Conn., said authorities asked that it not 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."

"WWE 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.

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

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 WWE 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 Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship.

Associated Press writers Debbie Newby and Jason Bronis contributed to this report.

That really saddens me that a man such as Benoit could do something like that.

Nate

[Lone Gunman]

Horrible situation, I really don't know how I feel about this at all.

[Icon Lord Leon Corbin]

Indeed. My mum found more news on this and I cannot find the page she was on...seems he wasn't quite the family man he portrayed as his wife felt intimidated by him and tried divorce him back in 2003 but changed her mind. Even feared for her safety and her son's...

[Blizzard]

I don't know what to say. This is just shocking.

[Head Booker]

Pro wrestler Benoit kills wife, son, then self
Police release grisly details of murder-suicide, say steroids found in home

Updated: 1 hour, 6 minutes ago
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself with the pulley of a weightlifting machine, authorities said Tuesday.

Investigators found prescription anabolic steroids in the house and want to know whether the muscle man was unhinged by the drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as “roid rage.”

Authorities offered no motive for the killings, which were spread out over a weekend, and would not discuss Benoit’s motive or state of mind. No suicide note was found.

I’m baffled about why anybody would kill a 7-year-old,” District Attorney Scott Ballard said. “I don’t think we’ll ever be able wrap our head around that.”

Benoit, a Montreal native whose nickname was “The Canadian Crippler,” was one of the stars of the WWE wrestling circuit and was known for his wholesome family man image. His wife, Nancy, was a wrestling stage manager who worked under the name “Woman.” They met and fell in love when their wrestling story lines intertwined.

When he won the world heavyweight championship, Benoit (pronounced ben-WAH) hoisted the belt over his head and invited his wife and child into the ring to celebrate.

Nevertheless, Nancy Benoit filed for a divorce in 2003, saying the couple’s 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 the 5-foot-10, 220-pound Benoit had threatened her and had broken furniture in their home.

In the divorce filing, she said Benoit made more than $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.

The bodies were found Monday afternoon in three rooms of the house, off a gravel road.

Benoit’s wife, 43, was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle, Ballard said.

The son, Daniel, was probably killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, Ballard said.

Benoit, 40, apparently killed himself several hours and as long as a day later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room, his body found hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.

The prosecutor said he found it “bizarre” that the WWE wrestling star spread out the killings over a weekend and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies.

Toxicology test results may not be available for weeks or even months, he said. As for whether steroids played a role in the crime, he said: “We don’t know yet. That’s one of the things we’ll be looking at.”

Neighbors said the Benoits led a low-key lifestyle.

“We would see Chris walking in his yard from time to time. He wasn’t rude, but he wasn’t really outwardly warm,” said Alaina Jones, who lives across the street.

Jimmy Baswell, who was Benoit’s driver for more than five years, placed a white wreath at the Benoits’ gate. “They always seemed like they were the happiest people,” he said.

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.”

WWE 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.

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

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

The WWE 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 had two other children from a prior relationship.

credit MSNBC.com

~~~~~

that's just to elaborate more on what Nate posted and what Ishy was talkin' about...great wrestler...horrible person...HUGE black eye on the mainstream wrestlin'...

Tate

[Zachary Sharp]

This is all pretty shocking and saddening...

A

[Shane Lawrence]

I still sense something fishy.

[Blizzard]

Yeah there is something very strange about the murders.

[Lone Gunman]

I wish I could believe there was still 'something fishy'. Not that there's a possible happy ending here, I just really really hoped that there was some saving grace for Benoit. After such an amazing career this is just such a sick, twisted and awful way to go. I've found out as much as possible about this and the whole thing makes me sick to my stomach...It's highly disturbing stuff. Apparently the 'text messages' he sent to (reportedly) Chavo read something like "My wife is sick" and then, later, "The dogs need to go out, the door is open". I don't know know about you guys, but there's something so chilling about this whole situation to me.

I loved Benoit the wrestler and genuinely respected Benoit the man...From the various autobiographies of wrestlers who only had good things to say about him, in-ring and out, he was a hero of mine. In the last 24 hours now from what I've been reading, I've been mislead. There was the marital problems and supposedly very few people in WWE really 'knew' him, his heavy use of steroids (which, interestingly enough, WWE.com adamantly denies had anything to do with the murders) and so on. This puts a whole lot of stuff about wrestling into question for me, and I'm really not sure of the answers or what to say.

As I said, I feel sick about it. Ugh.

Charlie

[The Root]

I have read almost all the reports online, but perhaps the most shocking was on Headline news a few minutes ago. Not only did they say that steriods were found in the home, but that the 7 year old son had needle marks in his arms and they were saying something along the lines of him possibly being injected with growth hormones.

I would say surely Benoit wouldn't do something this outrageous, but this is what I was saying yesterday at this time.

[Lone Gunman]

You got a link or anything for that, Jer? I'd be interested to see if there was any credibility in it.

Personally, the thought of him hanging in the weight room is too brutal, the whole thing is just...

Some random bit of 'info' that could be a possible chain of events (could also be mere speculation/fiction/whatever):
"PWTorch.com has learned that one major media entity has received an email purporting to be from a friend of the Chris Benoit extended family saying that Benoit accidentally killed his wife in a domestic argument, then panicked and killed his son later so his son could be with his mother rather than grow up without a mom and knowing his father as a murderer."

[Zachary Sharp]

That's still sick... like what the fuck could drive someone to do this sort of thing? I'm confused on alot right now. This is horrible for wrestling as a whole.

Oh... and WWE has canceled the Western Canadian tour scheduled for July 14-17 so they can do a live Raw for the fans that were turned away on Monday. All nice for them... EXCEPT I HAD TICKETS TO RAW HERE IN CALGARY ON THE 16TH!! But that's not as important as what's going on, just a personal frustration.

I'm just kinda sickened by it all...

A

[Lone Gunman]

PWInsider had a thing about those needles in the boy's arms actually.

And about the texts to Chavo.

There was some reporter from NBC or something on the radio over here just now, saying that the police are refusing to release any motive they may have discovered, strongly implying that they have one major one...I'm going to bed, hopefully all the details will be out soon.

[Vernon Vanderbilt]

I've tried to think of something to say about all this, and I keep coming up empty. Now that the basic facts are pretty much iron-clad, I just don't see the same amount of wiggle room I did this morning. The chances for redemption are slimmer and slimmer every moment, and right now they can barely be seen with the naked eye...and they're translucent anyway. Outsiders don't understand how a story like this affects the wrestling community. We fans grow attached to the men and women of wrestling over time. We respect them. Sometimes we idolize them. Whenever something bad happens that gets mainstream coverage, the refrain is always the same: "Why are you so upset? It's just a wrestler." Just a wrestler. It's no different than saying "just a human."

And that's the thing. It's all too easy to forget that these people who perform seemingly superhuman and miraculous acts, these people who don't even have to speak in order to thrill us like little else, are mere humans. They have human virtues, human quirks...and human failings. A person's profession does not make a situation like this any less tragic. Nancy and Daniel died needlessly, brutally, at the hands of a man we all thought we knew, a man we all admired. He betrayed the sacred bond of family, no matter what extenuating circumstances there may or may not have been. He betrayed his friends and colleagues, forever tarnishing their fondest memories of him. And he betrayed each and every wrestling fan, his acts of the past weekend placing a murky, dirty varnish on all of his accomplishments of the past twenty years. Ah, but times are confusing, aren't they?

We may never know why he did what he did. Honestly, I'm not sure I even want to, as there is no reason that would justify what happened. It's bad enough to know as much as we do at this point. The greatest tragedy is to see that our heroes not only have the potential to become villains, but also that, sometimes, they do. It will be quite a while before I'll be able to watch a Chris Benoit match and enjoy it for what it is. Hindsight burns slow and long, embers sit active under ash long after the flare is over.

I still believe in wrestling, even if I haven't watched it in ages. I always will. What we must remind ourselves of, because I can guarantee that the outside world will challenge us on this, is that his actions in no way reflect on the sport we all love. Chris Benoit was among the greatest of all wrestlers; nothing will change that. The sad thing is that he is also among the worst of all people.