Chris Benoit & Family Dead. Murder-Suicide

Post by **haas mark** » 2007-06-26 01:58am

Speculation is that Chris did so, as shown above.

Personally, I'd prefer not to form any opinions on the "why" until autopsy and toxicology reports come in.

Though, anyone that had been in the business even half as long as Benoit has said that they loved the business, and that the people in the business were like family. I expect both he and his wife to make the Hall of Fame next year at 'Mania.

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2007-06-26 02:03am

I would have thought so before any of the details regarding police suspicions came out. But WWE are already undergoing damage control. Memorials are now marked retrospectives, many references to Benoit himself have been changed to the Benoit family and, possibly most damning, all the tributes by fellow wrestlers on WWE.com have been taken down.

WWE seem to have more details than they can let on and it seems like they think it makes a great deal of difference to their reactions to this incident.

JLTucker · Post by **JLTucker** » 2007-06-26 02:10am

I am glad that WWE removed the videos of the memorials.

Jericho Kross · Post by **Jericho Kross** » 2007-06-26 03:52am

This is all very sad. I don't see why he would kill his wife and son then take his own life.

I will have to wait until there is more info.

RIP

Post by **haas mark** » 2007-06-26 03:59am

Thinking on it, the alleged timeline seems rather fishy to me.

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2007-06-26 04:00am

How so? And fishy in what sense?

EDIT: Steroids have been found in the Benoit home and apparently he's been known to have "roid rages". WWE is going down the shitter on this one now.

Post by **haas mark** » 2007-06-26 04:09am

Masami von Weizegger wrote:How so? And fishy in what sense?

First off, his wife is both a smart and strong woman. Secondly, I highly doubt his son would've stuck around. So... the timeline seems off to me. Unless of course, son was somehow bound or something.

EDIT: Steroids have been found in the Benoit home and apparently he's been known to have "roid rages". WWE is going down the shitter on this one now.

O.o Wow. Just, wow.

EDIT

From TheCitizen.com

Authorities believe wrestler Benoit killed wife, son then himself

Authorities believe a professional wrestler, his wife and son ‑ found dead in their central Fayette County home Monday afternoon ‑ died in a murder-suicide.

District Attorney Scott Ballard said Monday night that he felt confident that Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy, their 7-year-old son and then himself.

Ballard declined to release the cause of death, but said that earlier news reports that the Benoits died of gunshots were false. The crime lab is in the process of confirming the cause of death, but Ballard said there was enough evidence on scene to make him confident that the Benoits were not killed by another person.

Ballard said sheriff's deputies were called to the Benoit home around 2:30 p.m. after another wrestler called the sheriff's department asking them to check on the family because Benoit had failed to show up for an event in another state. When deputies got to the Benoit home off Quarters Road, they smelled the odor of decaying bodies, Ballard said.

The family's bodies were found inside the home, Ballard confirmed.

"Every indication is that this is a murder-suicide," Ballard said, adding that additional investigation still has to take place before a final determination can be made.

Ballard said when he heard that a young child was killed, it "just tore my guts out."

Benoit made his WWE debut in January 2000, following a stint in ECW and WCW and he was at one time world heavyweight champion, world tag team champion and intercontinental champion.

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2007-06-26 04:14am

Well, the way it's coming out is (supposedly) that the son was murdered on the Saturday, Nancy on the Sunday and Benoit's suicide on the Monday.

Nancy was a strong and smart woman, but not as strong as Chris himself, I'd wager.

Another version making the rounds is thatNancy killed her son on the Saturday, Benoit killed her on Sunday, then himself on Monday.

It's all still speculation tinted, however. An officer however has said an aspect to the case was "bizarre". Bizarre when used in reference to a double murder and a suicide must be something pretty damn bizarre indeed.

EDIT: More updates from the audio update at pwtorch.com

-He said it is being reported he suffocated his wife and son, perhaps a day apart. And then hung himself. Late Sunday night, he sent a strange text message to a person within the WWE. The police broke into the house at 2:30 pm today and found them in separate rooms.

-Vince called all the wrestlers backstage this afternoon for an emergency meeting. Wrestler were already bawling and crying. A longtime WWE wrestler said it was the most emotional state he's ever seen the wrestlers.

-There was a really uneasy feeling Sunday. Everybody felt something was wrong.

-One wrestler said "It was bound to happen". There was a strong suspicion backstage that Benoit did this right away. There was also a suspicion that Nancy had done it. They had a volatile relationship and everyone knew it.

-Hardly anybody backstage really knew Benoit. He had a very small inner circle that one time included Eddy Guerrero and recently included Chavo Guerrero. But even they had a certain psychological distance from Benoit. Everyone could tell that something wasn't right lately with Benoit.

-He said that he was a very nice and pleasant person to be around, but a person close to Benoit said that Chris had "snap potential".

-A lot of steroids were found in the Benoit household, and Benoit has had bouts with "roid rages". WWE may suffer publicly because of their unenforced "Wellness Policy".

Post by **haas mark** » 2007-06-26 04:17am

Well, by the article above, I think it's safe to say that this didn't happen on Monday at all, but likely on Sunday, or possibly even Saturday, after he pulled out of the weekend's events. It's unlikely to smell "decaying bodies" in only a few short hours.

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2007-06-26 04:19am

True, Benoit pulled out of Saturday's house shows and, of course, the Vengeance pay-per-view, after all. I think it's pretty clear what his family emergencies over the last few days were.

Post by **haas mark** » 2007-06-26 05:52am

More new info, but don't know how reliable the source is....

"My second cousin is an officer with GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigations) and what he's heard in his circle is that Chirs Benoit's wife killed their son Daniel, called Chris and told him to rush home because of an emergency which is why he missed last Sunday's Vengeance PPV. Upon arriving home Benoit killed his wife in a rage for the death of his son and then killed himself Monday morning. His wife's body was found in the master bedroom, strangled with the cord from an alarm clock. The son's body was found in his room appearantly suffocated with a garbage bag. Chris then wrote a suicide note explaining what had happened, apologized to his family, his other children (from a seperate relationship), and his fans. He the fasioned a slip-knot noose from from rope taken from the garage and hung himself from the ballaster in the foyer of his suburban Atlanta home."

...from tmz.com

link proper

Solauren · Post by **Solauren** » 2007-06-26 07:36am

Given the timeline, I have difficulty believing a pure 'Beniot killed them over several days' timeline.

Nancy snapping, and then Beniot counter-snapping, I have a more easier time believing.

However, I fully admit, I could be wrong.

I'd still be looking for signs of a break in or something if I was the police. Just because they both had so bloody much to live for.

Superman · Post by **Superman** » 2007-06-26 07:39am

As most around here know, I wrestled professionally for All Japan for a while, as well as for a few minor circuits in the States. I don't know the details surrounding this situation, but I can tell you that wrestlers, in general, are a screwed up bunch of neandertals. Picture a bunch of rowdy drunken trailer-park types who shoot steroids and use their bodies as battering rams on a daily basis. What you see is the character that they play, and many of them are talented actors.

I knew guys who couldn't fit onto Japanese toilets, so they would crap in hotel bath tubs and laugh about it for hours. Some guys I knew would go out to nice Japanese restaurants, randomly toss food at other customers, refuse to leave when asked, then laugh at the police as they tried to figure out how to remove a man literally three times their size. I once watched a guy try to bite the fingers off of his opponent during a match (the two genuinely hated each other), and I watched another guy get pissed at some audience hecklers, so he picked up their kid and tossed him about 10 feet behind them into the crowd (luckily he wasn't hurt)... I did a lot of stupid crap myself (no kid tossing or anything, just childish crap)... and now I see a psychiatrist for therapy once a week and take medication.

Wrestlers are not the most stable or healthy people, and this isn't because of prolonged head trauma (although it doesn't help). It's because most wrestlers come from screwed up dysfunctional families. Lots of guys would love to become a wrestler, but to actually put in the gym time, be willing to get hurt repeatedly, shoot steroids to keep up and keep in... that takes a whole different level of screwiness. I know from experience.

Post by **haas mark** » 2007-06-26 07:50am

Funny, that you assume all wrestlers, indy or otherwise, shoot steroids. I'll leave that topic be for another time, though. As an aspiring wrestler.

Solauren wrote:Given the timeline, I have difficulty believing a pure 'Benoit killed them over several days' timeline.

Nancy snapping, and then Benoit counter-snapping, I have a more easier time believing.

However, I fully admit, I could be wrong.

I'd still be looking for signs of a break in or something if I was the police. Just because they both had so bloody much to live for.

Yeah, I had the same issue with the timeline, strikes me as fishy, as I've already said.

As per Nancy snapping... it's likely, but ... really, I don't know. I know she and Chris' relationship has been turbulent for years, but... either way, it's rather surreal that the kid would be killed in the first place.

IIRC, reports indicated, though, that all doors were locked from the inside, and that their dogs were out patrolling the yard.

The really creepy thing is, my friend showed me a pic of their house... and having lived in Atlanta before, I've seen it. Granted, they did not have it at the time, I believe, but still.

Superman · Post by **Superman** » 2007-06-26 07:57am

haas mark wrote:Funny, that you assume all wrestlers, indy or otherwise, shoot steroids. I'll leave that topic be for another time, though. As an aspiring wrestler.

Hey dumb ass, I wrestled professionally for a couple of years, but beyond that, use some common sense. Do you honestly think guys in their late twenties and thirties can produce the needed testosterone to build physiques like what you see on TV by eating protein and lifting? Do you think any professional organizations, including WWE, even bother to test their employees for juice?

It's a cut throat business, and most new arrivals are gone within a year. The ones who make it pull out all the stops. Keep aspiring if that's what you want to do, but it sounds like you're going to learn a couple of things...

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2007-06-26 08:03am

Solauren wrote:Given the timeline, I have difficulty believing a pure 'Beniot killed them over several days' timeline.

Nancy snapping, and then Beniot counter-snapping, I have a more easier time believing.

However, I fully admit, I could be wrong.

I'd still be looking for signs of a break in or something if I was the police. Just because they both had so bloody much to live for.

I know people don't want to believe a wrestler, especially a much respected one like Chris Benoit, basically killed either his wife, his son, or both, followed by himself. But the police have been there, they've checked a lot of stuff, a lot of evidence, they've found the "implements of death" as they described them.

They then decided to cease all investigation outside of the household. Period. Obviously, the police do not feel there is a possibility that this was done by a third party in any way.

Post by **haas mark** » 2007-06-26 08:22am

Superman wrote:Do you think any professional organizations, including WWE, even bother to test their employees for juice?

For your information, in some states, it's a legality that they have to.

Is the whole reason behind WWE's "wellness program" that they never took the time to truly enforce.

It's a cut throat business, and most new arrivals are gone within a year. The ones who make it pull out all the stops. Keep aspiring if that's what you want to do, but it sounds like you're going to learn a couple of things...

No shit, I thought it was some pansy-ass pretend sport, and that none of the injuries were real, and it's all fake blood.

Gimme a break.

I'm going to leave this here, and if you REALLY feel like arguing with me, do it via PM and leave this thread clean of your filthy waste.

Masami wrote:They then decided to cease all investigation outside of the household. Period. Obviously, the police do not feel there is a possibility that this was done by a third party in any way.

Like I said before, IIRC, the doors were all locked from the inside. I don't personally see how this could have been done by a third party myself, either. It sucks that things happened like this, but ... not much that one can do to change the past.

Jim Raynor · Post by **Jim Raynor** » 2007-06-26 08:55am

-A lot of steroids were found in the Benoit household, and Benoit has had bouts with "roid rages". WWE may suffer publicly because of their unenforced "Wellness Policy".

This part pisses me off the most. You would think that with all the wrestlers dying in recent years, the WWE and all other wrestling promotions would take a hard look at themselves. OBVIOUSLY there's something wrong with a lot of the people who work in the industry, or the environment they work in. After all the steroid scandals and deaths, the WWE still half-asses their supposed "Wellness Policy."

Superman · Post by **Superman** » 2007-06-26 10:02am

Jim Raynor wrote:
This part pisses me off the most. You would think that with all the wrestlers dying in recent years, the WWE and all other wrestling promotions would take a hard look at themselves. OBVIOUSLY there's something wrong with a lot of the people who work in the industry, or the environment they work in. After all the steroid scandals and deaths, the WWE still half-asses their supposed "Wellness Policy."

That would be a healthy and objective perspective, but most wrestlers look around and see the few who have made a successful career due to, in part, steroids, and think 'that's what I want.' Most of these guys aren't going to keep an ultra-muscular physique (especially compared to guys who juice) without them either, and that could be the difference between working and not working.

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2007-06-26 10:26am

People will pay to see million dollar bodies, it's just the way the business is. WWE may get the flak for it but it's generally true that people will splash the cash to see guys that look like action figures rather than guys who look like wrestling is their second job after their shift at the local 7-11.

Guys like Chris Benoit, regarded by pro-wrestling standards as straddling the line between crusierweight and heavyweight, are still damn muscular by regular standards. The pressure to use any and all means to get that larger than life look must be overwhelming Look at the likes of Cryme Tyme's Shad. The man is huge but you'd be hard pressed to think so in WWE. The only way to stand out and get noticed is to be either juiced up to the max or a genuine genetic freak like the Big Show or the Great Khali.

It's clear why Chris Benoit took steroids. If he didn't have the physique he managed to attain with them, he'd just be another good cruiserweight in the opening match, if he was lucky.

Lord Pounder · Post by **Lord Pounder** » 2007-06-26 02:18pm

I read this when lurkin this morning on my work computer and to say I'm shocked is an understatement. It's been over a year since Eddie died, maybe the pressure finally broke him, the WWE had been keeping him pretty busy, he was always holding one strap or another, and IIRC was to have won the ECW Title at the PPV he missed. It can be hard dealing with the loss of a friend, even harder when you're constantly surrounded by reminders of that friend.

If Benoit did kill his wife because she killed the son I'm not sure I can say I'd blame him.

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2007-06-26 02:30pm

The AP reported that law enforcement officials close to the investigation have confirmed the current belief that Chris Benoit strangled wife Nancy with an electrical chord on Saturday, smothered his son with a bag on Sunday and then hung himself in his basement/weight room on Monday.

Sadly it seems that wasn't the case now.

JLTucker · Post by **JLTucker** » 2007-06-26 02:35pm

MSNBC
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.

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.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2007-06-26 02:49pm

Lord Pounder wrote:If Benoit did kill his wife because she killed the son I'm not sure I can say I'd blame him.

No real source ever said that. It was a completely made-up idea from wrestling fanboys, desperate to find some excuse to continue venerating this worthless piece of shit.

Masami von Weizegger · Post by **Masami von Weizegger** » 2007-06-26 03:01pm

Darth Wong wrote:
Lord Pounder wrote:If Benoit did kill his wife because she killed the son I'm not sure I can say I'd blame him.
No real source ever said that. It was a completely made-up idea from wrestling fanboys, desperate to find some excuse to continue venerating this worthless piece of shit.

It's true. So many fanboys on other forums are trying to come up with so many excuses for what Benoit did so they can keep praising him.

Some are comparing him to Wagner, for fuck's sake. Of course, Wagner never killed his seven year old son.