As the person that mentioned the 'wife offed kid to start the chain' theory, I apologize for mentioning it now.
It would appear, based on the information from the offical press conference (cited below), well, read it yourself...
Notes from the press conference to address the Benoit double homicide-suicide:
Lt. Tommy Pope:
-- The Sheriff's Department received a call for a welfare check (from WWE) at 2:30PM on Monday. While searching the house, they discovered the three bodies.
-- Based on the investigation, they are ruling it as a double homicide-suicide. Evidence leads them to believe that Chris Benoit, likely on Friday, murdered his wife by asphyxiation. Sometime after that (probably Saturday morning), he did the same to his son. Then, sometime late Saturday or Sunday, he committed suicide by hanging.
-- There was no suicide note located within the house.
-- To his knowledge, Benoit was never arrested for domestic violence.
-- There were a lot of prescription medications discovered; they were apparently legal prescriptions. Anabolic steroids were among the substances discovered, but Lt. Pope did not reveal specifics.
-- He text messaged a coworker; the coworker received the message several hours after it was sent. It apparently contained something curious.
-- According to preliminary estimates, he killed himself several hours, but no more than a day, after killing his son.
DA Scott Ballard:
-- His "bizarre" comment refers to the timing of the various deaths. Based on the investigation, some time elapsed between each death.
-- There was a Bible placed beside the bodies of his victims (Nancy and Daniel).
-- There were no signs of a struggle; the wife was bound on her feet and on her wrists. There was some blood under her head.
-- Authorities have no idea about the motive.
-- There was no 911 call.
-- Benoit hanged himself with the cord from a cable-loaded weight machine.
-- There is no evidence of an intruder.
It would appear something in Benoit 'snapped'. They'll have a definate timeline once the autopy's are completed obviously.
I must say, I'm both surprised, and disappointed.
Surprised in there was never any previous indication of anything like this from Benoit. Unlike other wrestlers, there was never any reported criminal charges against him.
(Unlike say, Stone Cold Steve Austin's martial problems, or Randy Orton's behaviour)
In public, he and his family always presented a very positive, very happy state. I've seen various publicity photos, and haven't seen on indication of anything but a normal family with the father having an ab-normal job.
The testimonials on Raw would appear to support that.
However, it would appear that is not the case.
I'm disappointed in the fact he's dead, and apparently, and deliberately took two people with him.
What caused him to snap? No idea. Maybe the eventual toxology reports will reveal that. Maybe not. We may never really know.
Has this vilified the man at all to me? To a degree. Obviously, something happened, and he should (and would have been) held accountable for his actions. His actions sound rather deliberate, with no sign of accident. He clearly knew what he was doing. In that, I shall hold him with ill-regard.
However, I will not let that color my opinion of the man's work. Like wrestling or hate it, in the ring, he was talented. He was dedicated, and he entertained.
In the end, I will remember Chris Benoit as this ; A great entertainer, who's personal demons got the better of him. Someone to scorn for his final actions, dispair for the loss of life, and finally, give recognition for his work.
I'm not going to let him off the hook for his final actions. I will not slander his work, because that would also slander those that worked with him.