WWE Wrestler Chris Benoit & Family Found Dead

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

Yes, I am aware that 3 people are dead, I've been reading about it, and I saw it on the news, several times. This is truly a tradegy. We are not speculating, we are responding to what the news sources, be it the internet, or the news are telling us. I am a huge fan of Chris and I have grown to care about this man, for years, going back to the early nineties. The facts remain, Chris could have been a wife and child killer, and I do not want to believe this about a man who I have grown to care about because it would change my opinion of it. You can call it speculation all you want, but I call it getting my facts straight in regards to a man who I have idolized.

[Q Steph]

I'm sorry, but it's is no longer speculation when the authorities are reporting the actual facts. The man savagely killed his wife, son and then himself. There's no guessing about that.

There's no more denials. He may have seemed like a nice guy. I wouldn't have thought he was capable of such devastation because I held him in such high esteem, but the man and myth apparently collided this past weekend. It's a tragedy that three lives are lost consequenly. It's not maligning his character to state what's true.

[Q Steph]

Updates:

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 murdererer.

---

Before her grisly death, Chris Benoit's wife once told a judge that she was, "intimidated by threats of violence" from her 220 lb. husband.

In divorce papers filed in 2003, Nancy Benoit included a petition for protection from domestic abuse against Chris. In the papers, Nancy claimed that Benoit, "lost his temper and threatened to strike the petitioner and cause extensive damage to the home and personal belongings of the parties, including furniture." Nancy added that she was, "in reasonable fear for petitioner's own safety and that of the minor child."

Three months later, Nancy filed to have the divorce papers and the restraining order dismissed. A short time later, a judge granted her wish.

As TMZ first reported, law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe Benoit strangled his wife on Saturday, smothered his son on Sunday and then hanged himself on Monday.

--

AP: Benoit strangled wife, smothered son

By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer 43 minutes ago

ATLANTA - 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.

ADVERTISEMENT

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.

[Queen_Nubia]

oy....that is sad and sick at the same time. I wish she would have gotten away from that man when she had the chance. The whole thing is so tragic

[Dr. Jay S.W.]

Nancy and Chris' court documents stating that Chris abused her and a protection order was put in place.

http://www.aolcdn.com/tmz_documents/0626_benoit_dismiss.pdf

[ATWTCarOn4Ever]

I'm sorry but I want to know why. I used to watch Wrestling as a teen and I loved WWE. And to find this out today is just beyond shocking to me. Yes its a tragedy. I feel sad for that poor little boy and the wife.

As for the cause I think it was roid rage. Most wrestlers are on them and Chris always looked a lot more jacked than most.

"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."

So sad...

[WillenFan21]

Got this from another board but its from the PC:

[Q Steph]

All of these revelations are worse than I would've have ever imagined. People were so many disguises but Benoit was a monster. I think he could have easily had a mental disease. To stay in a home with two dead bodies? Bound and brutalize your wife? Kill your son?

I suppose I'm not surprised they found steroids.

[Ryan]

Update:

[Ryan]

As someone who grew up idolizing Chris Benoit and the accomplishments he made in the ring, I will separate the man who performed for millions of fans all over the world week in and week out for well over 20 years, from the man who committed this atrocious act.

I will not pass judgment upon him. I can say that until this information came out, I had a profound respect for the things Chris Benoit did outside of professional wrestling. I still do I guess. I did not know the man personally, though I met him a few times at fan events. No one knows what makes people tick, or what makes them snap. I only hope that wrestling fans all over the world will respect the privacy of the family and not turn this into some kind of speculating game.

I will pray for his soul and the family that was left behind. To think that I had such admiration for a man who would do this to his family just......

I will pray for his soul and the souls of the lives he took.

[Sweet_VeeVee24]

I too don't know what may have happened to make Chris go this route in his life.... I just hope that his family as well as Nancy's family can one day find peace. My prayers are with both of their families.

[Toups]

I never knew him outside the ring or followed his life outside his wrestling career. Chris Benoit, the wrestler, was an amazing performer and I always enjoyed watching him in the ring. So I'm going to choose to remember him as the man who entertained me for so many years.

We will probably never know why he did this to his family.

This is such a tragedy.

[Andre]

Respectfully, yes, it does.

[Joe]

I've found myself greatly affected by this tragedy, more so than I ever thought I could. I spent the better half of today just trying to put the entire situation into a perspective I could comprehend, though I found the task impossible. I don't think anyone can understand how another's mind works. Today at work I found myself struggling to endure the talk of my coworkers who heard of the tragedy on the news. I almost felt angry that they talking about him as though he were another one of the monsters that are so regularly featured on the news today. They didn't know Chris Benoit like I did. They didn't spend years watching this man like I had, following his career, being a fan. But then I realized, I knew just as much about Chris Benoit as they did. Just like everyone else in the business, Chris Benoit led two lives. His professional and his personal. The man we all knew, admired, and loved to watch perform was Chris Benoit, professional wrestler. None of us ever knew Chris Benoit, the human being. Anyone can speculate about the circumstances of Benoit's private life, though none of us will ever really know how this tragedy came to be. As there are two sides to every story, there are two sides to every man. I'll choose to remember Chris Benoit, The Professional Wrestler, the man with a list of accomplishments that should undoubtedly be honored and the man I spent years as a fan of; and not Chris Benoit, The Human Being, the man I never knew.

[Ponz]

I knew Chris was close to the Hart family and thought of them as soon as the news broke. It really has been one personal tragedy after another for them in recent years.