Chris Benoit & Family Dead. Murder-Suicide

[Lost Soal]

WWE is currently reporting the following.

World Wrestling Entertainment is deeply saddened to report that today Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their home. There are no further details at this time, other than the Benoit family residence is currently being investigated by local authorities.

Tonight’s Raw on USA Network will serve as a tribute to Chris Benoit and his family. WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy.

This is a hell of a thing if true, I say if true because with their story of Vince allegedly getting blown up, no one knows weather to believe this or not.
This is either a terrible loss of a talented performer, or a very sick line from WWE.
EDIT: Title changed

[Flagg]

WWE is currently reporting the following.

World Wrestling Entertainment is deeply saddened to report that today Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their home. There are no further details at this time, other than the Benoit family residence is currently being investigated by local authorities.

Tonight’s Raw on USA Network will serve as a tribute to Chris Benoit and his family. WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy.

This is a hell of a thing if true, I say if true because with their story of Vince allegedly getting blown up, no one knows weather to believe this or not.
This is either a terrible loss of a talented performer, or a very sick line from WWE.

If it does turn out true, could someone change the title once confirmed.

Don't you think this would be all over the news if true?

[NeoGoomba]

When Miss Elizabeth died at Lex Lugars place it was a rather quickly reported on story from what I remember. I haven't heard a thing about this other than internet forums. If this is part of one of their ahem, "plotlines", its in pretty bad taste.

[Damaramu]

He was a no show at Vengeance last night (yes, I did attend the show).

[CaptainChewbacca]

The WWE caught alot of shit for their last fake headline, and they don't do this stuff anymore. I'd call it true.

[consequences]

Vince is alive, and just announced tonight will be a tribute show for Benoit. It looks real, if not its a far sicker twist than I would give them credit for

[Jim Raynor]

Holy fucking shit. Why do so many pro wrestlers die young?

I stopped watching a few years ago, but Benoit was one of my favorites during the wrestling boom in the late 90s and early 2000s.

EDIT: The fact that his family was found dead too means this wasn't just the typical drug or painkiller overdose. Murder/suicide?

[Gil Hamilton]

It looks real to me. Holy shit. That was really shitty timing with the fake Vince death.

[Enigma]

Yahoo

[JLTucker]

MSNBC

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and son were found dead Monday and police said they were investigating the deaths as a homicide.

Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department said the three were found at their home about 2:30 p.m., but refused to release details.

Pope said results of autopsies on Benoit, his wife Nancy, and 7-year-old son Daniel were expected Tuesday.

Benoit, 40, was a former world heavyweight champion, Intercontinental champion and held several tag-team titles over his career.

“WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy,” the federation said in a statement on its Web site.

Benoit was scheduled to perform at the “Vengeance” pay-per-view event Sunday night in Houston, but was replaced at the last minute because of what announcer Jim Ross called “personal reasons.”

Benoit, a Canadian native, maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling.

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.

I just checked the USA Network and they are having a tribute to him. Jesus fuck. Eddie Guerrero died in November 2005. Now Chris? Fucking shit.

[Enigma]

ABC News

Wrestling Champ Chris Benoit Found Dead with Family
Death Comes a Day After Wrestler Canceled Pay-Per-View Appearance

Wrestling star Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy, and their 7-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their suburban Atlanta home Monday. Authorities are investigating the deaths as homicides.

Benoit, 40, was scheduled to spar against C.M. Punk in a pay-per-view event Sunday night in Houston for the Extreme Champion Wrestling title. But Benoit canceled before the event, citing personal reasons.

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A native of Edmonton, Alberta, Benoit was known in the ring as the "Canadian Crippler."

In a statement issued following the announcement of the discovery, World Wrestling Entertainment statement following the announcement. "Chris was beloved among his fellow Superstars, and was a favorite among WWE fans for his unbelievable athleticism and wrestling ability. He always took great pride in his performance, and always showed respect for the business he loved, for his peers and towards his fans. This is a terrible tragedy and an unbearable loss. WWE extends its sincere condolences and prayers to the Benoit family and loved ones in this time of tragedy."

WWE announced that it would drop its planned line-up on the USA Network to air a three-hour tribute to Chris Benoit.

Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department told ABC News that Benoit had missed several appointments over the weekend, leading concerned parties to ask police to do a "welfare check."

When sheriffs arrived at the Benoit home, they found the wrestler, his wife, and his son dead.

There was no sign of gunshot wounds or stabbing, according to Pope. But they are not ruling out other causes, such as poisoning, suffocation, or strangulation. Although Pope noted he was not "confirming" any of these causes, just not ruling them out at this time.

An autopsy has been scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. However, it could be as long as weeks before there is a result.

In a sport known for bravado and bullying, Benoit was very much beloved and respected by his peers. He was passionate about his profession and served as a mentor to many younger, up-and-coming performers. As an indication of how much the fans enjoyed him, when the crowd in Houston's Toyota Center learned Sunday night that he wouldn't be there, they chanted, "We want Benoit!"

Chris Benoit's wife, Nancy, was also in the wrestling business as a valet and manager. She was known as "Woman." The two met while they both worked for the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling, which was owned by Ted Turner until Vince McMahon's WWE bought it out.

[Flagg]

Wow, that sucks.

[Enigma]

Right now on CTV news, they are saying that it was possibly a murder\suicide and that the police are not looking for any suspects.

[NeoGoomba]

Wow that does indeed suck. He was a phenominal technical wrestler, one of the best, especially when you take into consideration all his work in Japan.

Plus, coincidentally, he looked a lot like my dad.

RIP

[JLTucker]

Update:

Source
6/25/2007

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. (AP-CP) - WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife, and son were found dead Monday and police said they were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.

Detective Bo Turner told television station WAGA that the case was being treated as a murder-suicide, but said that couldn't be confirmed until evidence was examined by a crime lab.

The station said that investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and seven-year-old son, Daniel, over the weekend, then himself on Monday. A neighbour called police, and the bodies were found in three rooms.

If this is indeed true, we may never find out why he did it. Goddammit.

[Jim Raynor]

I can't say it doesn't look suspicious, seeing as how Benoit pulled out of his big Pay-Per-View match the night before all of this, citing personal problems.

[CaptainChewbacca]

Part of me wonders if they'll stop the tribute to Chris Benoit halfway through it since it is now a murder-suicide.

[JLTucker]

I believe the murder/suicide report came after the tribute had finished airing.

[Masami von Weizegger]

Some of the tributes on WWE.com are heartbreaking but... I have to reserve judgment on the entire matter until the causes are straightened out.

I was never a big Chris Benoit fan and I often mocked his lack of charisma and height. But Chris Benoit was a great pure wrestler. I don't want to believe that he did anything either as evil as murder or as depressing as suicide, no matter the reasoning behind it. But if he did... fuck, I don't even know.

But, I am getting pissed at fans who only ever saw Chris Benoit on TV claiming to know what he was or was not capable of doing. Chris Benoit being a great wrestler and a generally nice guy does not preclude the darker possibilities of what may have happened.

EDIT: Can the thread title be changed? This isn't any zany pro-wrestling work.

[haas mark]

Official word is apparently double murder-homicide...

I'm still unsure how to react ... On top of the Eddie thing... and now this...

Benoit was my "idol" of wrestling... my all-time favourite... The sole reason I've been a fan for the last 12 years...

[The Yosemite Bear]

"I burn my candle at both ends / It will not last the night / But Ah my foes and Oh my friends / It gives a lovely light" (Edna St. Vincent Millay)

and chris you like roy batty burned so very bright.

[KhyronTheBackstabber]

Benoit's death part of a double murder-suicide
Written: June 25, 2007

According to lead investigator Lt. Tommy Pope, of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department, in Fayetteville, Ga., the deaths of WWE Superstar Chris Benoit, wife Nancy and son Daniel were the result of a double murder-suicide, WWE.com has learned.

Benoit failed to appear both at Saturday’s live event in Beaumont, Tx., and WWE’s Vengeance: Night of Champions in Houston Sunday night, after informing WWE of a family emergency. Several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning prompted concerned friends to alert Richard Hering, VP of Government Relations for WWE, Inc. Hering, in turn, spoke with Fayette County sheriffs Monday, and requested that they respond to the Benoit residence to check on him and his family.

Authorities representing the Sheriff’s Department initially had a difficult time entering Benoit’s new Fayetteville home Monday afternoon, which had been guarded by two large German Shepherds roaming freely around the property. Once authorities entered the residence, they quickly located the bodies of Benoit, Nancy and Daniel. WWE was notified of the discovery at approximately 4 p.m.

At 10 p.m. Monday night, Lt. Pope held a press conference in conjunction with Scott Ballard, the district attorney for Fayette County. The press conference officially ruled authorities’ findings as a double murder-suicide from within the home.

WAGA, a FOX-owned and operated television station in Atlanta, reported that investigators believe Benoit killed his wife and 7-year-old son over the weekend, then himself on Monday.

The three bodies have been received by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s crime lab, in Decatur, Ga., where autopsies will be performed Tuesday morning. Toxicology reports will not become available for at least two weeks.

WWE.com has further information relating to both the investigation and the cause of death, but the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department has requested that WWE.com not release any additional details at this time.

...

[JLTucker]

I wonder why he would do something like this. He looked happy in all of the non-wrestling videos WWE showed during the tribute. I guess it may have been a facade.

[Havok]

He may have just hit his head one too many times and just wasn't "right" anymore. A kids dad, who was actually the mayor of Alameda Ca, that I went to high school with, killed himself when he found out he had cancer... maybe something like that happened...

[Masami von Weizegger]

I wonder why he would do something like this. He looked happy in all of the non-wrestling videos WWE showed during the tribute. I guess it may have been a facade.

I doubt it. I'm sure Benoit loved wrestling. Maybe it was an escape from whatever plagued him enough to do something like this but eventually couldn't run from anymore.

People are suggesting that police closing off the investigation to people outside of the family is a clear cut sign that either Chris or his wife are responsible. I'm not sure if that is true or not myself.