View Full Version : Chris Benoit, wife and son found dead
Essendon
06-26-2007, 05:15 AM
Wrestler Benoit, Wife and Son Found Dead
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. June 26, 2007, 3:01 a.m. ET · 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 WAGA-TV 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 investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, over the weekend, then himself on Monday. The bodies were found in three rooms.
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."
Lead investigator Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department told The Associated Press the deaths were being investigated as homicides, and that autopsies were to be performed Tuesday. Pope said the bodies were discovered about 2:30 p.m., but refused to release details.
The house is in a secluded neighborhood set back about 60 yards off a gravel road, surrounded by stacked stone wall and a double-iron gate. On Monday night, the house was dark except for a few outside lights. There was a police car in front, along with two uniformed officers.
Benoit was a former world heavyweight and Intercontinental champion. He also held several tag-team titles during his career.
"WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family's relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy," the organization 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."
The native of Canada 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.
"My relationship with Chris has extended many years and I consider him a great friend," Carl DeMarco, the president of WWE Canada, said in a statement. "Chris was always first-class — warm, friendly, caring and professional one of the best in our business."
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11377231
If you never watch wrestling, you've probably never heard of him, but is very famous among those who do.
Surprising. Reminds me of the death of Phil and Brynn Hartman.
Suicide/murder-suicide (if that is what happened) is always a shame. I guess when it happens to someone famous and seemingly well off it just seems more surprising and unfortunate than usual.
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c208/SJWeymouth/Eddie_Benoit-Champions.jpg
Benoit (left) and Eddie Guerrero (deceased November 14, 2005 of heart failure)
Who'd of believed it if someone said back in March 2004 that in less than 4 years the two heavyweight champions of WrestleMania XX would of died?
Strange world.
Billie-Joe
06-26-2007, 06:50 AM
Thought this was just a hoax but its appearing to be confirmed. Shocking stuff.
Not a massive Benoit fan but his gritty demeanour and technical prowess will be sorely missed.
R.I.P The Rabid Wolverine
Thought this was just a hoax but its appearing to be confirmed. Shocking stuff.
Not a massive Benoit fan but his gritty demeanour and technical prowess will be sorely missed.
R.I.P The Rabid Wolverine
Amen. Amen.
DiAnna
06-26-2007, 03:18 PM
The WWE issued a 3-hour tribute to him? Since this is being investigated as a murder-suicide, I would think they'd have waited to find out if it was Benoit himself who murdered his wife and 7-year-old child before they "honored" him.
Bicycleman
06-26-2007, 03:21 PM
I never heard of the guy.
The WWE issued a 3-hour tribute to him? Since this is being investigated as a murder-suicide, I would think they'd have waited to find out if it was Benoit himself who murdered his wife and 7-year-old child before they "honored" him.
I had a similar thought. Still, it may well be something that was steroid induced and not the natural tendency of the man. We don't know. But what I have read so far is that both those in his profession and neighbors are stunned and have priase for him and his family. No matter the reason, this is a tradegy and there is no way to make it right.
DiAnna
06-26-2007, 04:13 PM
I'm not willing to give him a pass if it was "roid rage"; I'm not willing to give him a pass because his colleagues and neighbors praise him. My best friend was beaten mercilessly for years by a man who was praised by the community. Domestic violence isn't a spectator sport, after all.
My god. A 7-year-old child has been murdered! If it turns out that he was the one who did it, how can that possibly be dismissed? Rhetorical question; I know you aren't "dismissing" it. However, if this had just been some other violent Joe-on-the-street, we'd all be villifying the guy as a murderous jerk, and rightly so. But a celeb gets the benefit of doubt, even whilst lying in the carnage of his dead family? Bums me out.
It still could turn out that his wife pulled the trigger, but the hints coming from the investigation aren't going that way at the moment. Anyway, never mind me. I've lost 3 friends in my lifetime that were killed by their husbands or boyfriends, and in 2 cases the bastard killed the kids too. This is kinda personal for me.
I'm not willing to give him a pass if it was "roid rage"; I'm not willing to give him a pass because his colleagues and neighbors praise him. My best friend was beaten mercilessly for years by a man who was praised by the community. Domestic violence isn't a spectator sport, after all.
My god. A 7-year-old child has been murdered! If it turns out that he was the one who did it, how can that possibly be dismissed? Rhetorical question; I know you aren't "dismissing" it. However, if this had just been some other violent Joe-on-the-street, we'd all be villifying the guy as a murderous jerk, and rightly so. But a celeb gets the benefit of doubt, even whilst lying in the carnage of his dead family? Bums me out.
It still could turn out that his wife pulled the trigger, but the hints coming from the investigation aren't going that way at the moment. Anyway, never mind me. I've lost 3 friends in my lifetime that were killed by their husbands or boyfriends, and in 2 cases the bastard killed the kids too. This is kinda personal for me.
I don't disagree with you and I am not talking about a pass. And no, I know a lot about this type of crime personally, so I wouldn't treat an average Joe differently.
But I do understand your feelings.
DiAnna
06-26-2007, 04:46 PM
I know, JD3. My ire is not directed at you or anyone here. I'm truly disgusted by the "tribute" (it's now been confirmed that he asphixiated his wife one day, his son the next, then killed himself) the WWE gave him. I presume a similar tribute was not given to his murdered wife and child. THAT is what truly irks me, not anything anyone here has said.
I know, JD3. My ire is not directed at you or anyone here. I'm truly disgusted by the "tribute" (it's now been confirmed that he asphixiated his wife one day, his son the next, then killed himself) the WWE gave him. I presume a similar tribute was not given to his murdered wife and child. THAT is what truly irks me, not anything anyone here has said.
As I said, I had a similar thought. BTW, Lawyer, one of the announcers, did comment that they had forgotten the wife and kids and that was all that he was going to be able to think about. Made him want to run home to his.
But, again, it may well have been a very improper move on their part.
Heads_On_Pikes
06-26-2007, 08:27 PM
I never heard of the guy.
I hadn't either until I saw an article on this that explained the murdering nut pronounced Benoit as BEN - WAH. And then I only recall hearing his name in passing. It's been a while since I cared about professional wrestling.
Now the Crusher, that was a rassler .... trained by running through the streets of Milwaukee with a keg of beer on each shoulder!
Mirror Lake 444
06-26-2007, 10:17 PM
Anybody that watches that stuff has got to be brain dead! :rolleyes:
Heads_On_Pikes
06-26-2007, 11:09 PM
Anybody that watches that stuff has got to be brain dead! :rolleyes:
So, you're saying Essendon, Billie-Joe, and JD3 are brain dead? :D
So, you're saying Essendon, Billie-Joe, and JD3 are brain dead? :D
:shock: :shock: :shock:
Dangerrmouse
06-26-2007, 11:28 PM
... I saw an article on this that explained the murdering nut pronounced Benoit as BEN - WAH.
Doesn't everybody?;)
ScummyD
06-26-2007, 11:29 PM
As I said, I had a similar thought. BTW, Lawyer, one of the announcers, did comment that they had forgotten the wife and kids and that was all that he was going to be able to think about. Made him want to run home to his.
But, again, it may well have been a very improper move on their part.
Who is Lawyer? Admittedly I have not watched wrastlin' for many years, but isn't it Loller?
I happened to be watching a taped show last night and when it ended the machine cut to live TV and I saw McMahon in the ring with nobody around. For some reason I kept watching. I was astounded to see him carrying on with some sort of memorial when not all the facts were yet known. Right when I heard about the incident I thought Benoit did it. It was odd to see a misty eyed memorial for a guy that just strangled his wife and snuffed out his kid.
ScummyD
06-26-2007, 11:37 PM
Weren't they a little slow in giving a tribute to Owen Hart when he died? Perhaps this was on McMahon's mind when rushing to honor Benoit.
Heads_On_Pikes
06-27-2007, 12:13 AM
Doesn't everybody?;)
Not me. :D
Who is Lawyer? Admittedly I have not watched wrastlin' for many years, but isn't it Loller?
I happened to be watching a taped show last night and when it ended the machine cut to live TV and I saw McMahon in the ring with nobody around. For some reason I kept watching. I was astounded to see him carrying on with some sort of memorial when not all the facts were yet known. Right when I heard about the incident I thought Benoit did it. It was odd to see a misty eyed memorial for a guy that just strangled his wife and snuffed out his kid.
Jerry the King. On a search I find his name spelled Lawyer and Lawler
. . . but if he loses he's out of the WWF, but Jerry the King Lawyer is the special referee . . .
http://www.epinions.com/content_30384885380
Jerry O'Neil Lawler (born November 29, 1949) is an American professional wrestler and wrestling commentator
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lawler
ScummyD
06-27-2007, 12:01 PM
It ain't Lawyer.
It ain't Lawyer.
I suspect you're right. :shrug:
towski
06-27-2007, 12:16 PM
I suspect you're right. :shrug:
Jerry "The King" Lawler. Ruler of memphis wrestling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lawler
Jerry "The King" Lawler. Ruler of memphis wrestling.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Lawler
I know:
http://www.whistlestopper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60140&page=2
steveksux
06-27-2007, 01:58 PM
I'm not willing to give him a pass if it was "roid rage"; .If you've never experienced the pain, the burning, the itching of hemorroids, you would not be so quick to dismiss "roid rage". I have .... uh... um.... a friend... that has been through that, and I assure you it can drive you absolutely crazy!
Randy
ScummyD
06-27-2007, 10:37 PM
Twitchin' from the itchin', squirmin' from the burnin'
chukster8614
06-27-2007, 10:53 PM
The darkly ironic aspect is that I hear they were doing an angle on MacMahon being murdered (WWE fans help me here) ... and then the real thing happened to a real wrestler. Talk about horrible karma. What a terrible tragedy.
DiAnna
06-28-2007, 02:09 AM
If you've never experienced the pain, the burning, the itching of hemorroids, you would not be so quick to dismiss "roid rage". I have .... uh... um.... a friend... that has been through that, and I assure you it can drive you absolutely crazy!
Randy
No, I have never had hemmorroids, even when I was pregnant. However, my understanding of "'roid rage" is that it is basically a condition which is avoidable if one does not use steroids, and that it is a condition which does not last for several days. Benoit's wife was bound hand and foot, then manually strangeled on Friday night. Benoit's son was murdered more than a day later, apparently because his professional wrestler father put him in a choke hold and strangled him to death. So no, I'm not willing to give him a pass for sticking a foreign substance in his arm that "caused" him to slaughter his wife and his 7-year-old child.
Add to that the fact that his wife filed for divorce at least once citing severe domestic abuse as a factor, and I see nothing more than yet another individual who decided that he was in control of his family, and if they would not live by his rules, they would die by them.
Why on god's green earth would I give the perpetrator a pass on this atrocity, a perpetrator who made all the choices while his victims had no choice at all?
USViking
06-28-2007, 06:13 AM
About 30 years ago All-Pro NFL offensive tackle,
two-time Superbowl player and one-time Superbowl
winner Jim Tyrer killed his wife and then himself.
His teamate Len Dawson was asked about what
happened and Dawson said everyone who knew
Tyrer wishes he had been more observant of the
needs Tyrer must have had but no one saw.
No, I have never had hemmorroids, even when I was pregnant. However, my understanding of "'roid rage" is that it is basically a condition which is avoidable if one does not use steroids, and that it is a condition which does not last for several days. Benoit's wife was bound hand and foot, then manually strangeled on Friday night. Benoit's son was murdered more than a day later, apparently because his professional wrestler father put him in a choke hold and strangled him to death. So no, I'm not willing to give him a pass for sticking a foreign substance in his arm that "caused" him to slaughter his wife and his 7-year-old child.
Add to that the fact that his wife filed for divorce at least once citing severe domestic abuse as a factor, and I see nothing more than yet another individual who decided that he was in control of his family, and if they would not live by his rules, they would die by them.
Why on god's green earth would I give the perpetrator a pass on this atrocity, a perpetrator who made all the choices while his victims had no choice at all?
It is turning into a very dark and terrible story.
Alvin T. Grey
06-28-2007, 10:29 AM
Weren't they a little slow in giving a tribute to Owen Hart when he died? Perhaps this was on McMahon's mind when rushing to honor Benoit.
Owen Hart died in a stage accident. I suspect there was all kinds of legal and insurance stuff to go through before they acknowldeged anything about the incident.
lord tammerlain
06-28-2007, 03:09 PM
No, I have never had hemmorroids, even when I was pregnant. However, my understanding of "'roid rage" is that it is basically a condition which is avoidable if one does not use steroids, and that it is a condition which does not last for several days. Benoit's wife was bound hand and foot, then manually strangeled on Friday night. Benoit's son was murdered more than a day later, apparently because his professional wrestler father put him in a choke hold and strangled him to death. So no, I'm not willing to give him a pass for sticking a foreign substance in his arm that "caused" him to slaughter his wife and his 7-year-old child.
Add to that the fact that his wife filed for divorce at least once citing severe domestic abuse as a factor, and I see nothing more than yet another individual who decided that he was in control of his family, and if they would not live by his rules, they would die by them.
Why on god's green earth would I give the perpetrator a pass on this atrocity, a perpetrator who made all the choices while his victims had no choice at all?
Steroid use is not going to turn a non violent person into a raging maniac. But elevates the violent tendancies in a person. Meaning if you like to fight, steroids will make you want to fight more. If you are not a fighter, steroids are not going to turn you into a fighter.
Benoit did not kill his family because he was taking steroids, but because of the other issues in his life.
Steroid use is not going to turn a non violent person into a raging maniac. But elevates the violent tendancies in a person. Meaning if you like to fight, steroids will make you want to fight more. If you are not a fighter, steroids are not going to turn you into a fighter.
Benoit did not kill his family because he was taking steroids, but because of the other issues in his life.
Perhaps, and mostly I agree, but if a person stands on a thin line, that might push him over the edge.
But frankly I'm more interested in the other meds he might have taken with them.
Billie-Joe
06-29-2007, 07:27 AM
Anybody that watches that stuff has got to be brain dead! :rolleyes:
Says someone who appears to be a CSI fan :lol:
Firstly, WWE has since removed the tribute to Benoit as details have emerged. There are also rumours Benoit was struggling to cope with the disabilities of his son at the time. No-one will ever know though.
Secondly, it is Jerry Lawler.
Finally, Chukster is right, they pretended to kill off Vince McMahon a couple of weeks ago; don't think were expecting to deal with a real death amongst them. Rather ironic indeed.
rjamortega
06-29-2007, 01:16 PM
Anybody that watches that stuff has got to be brain dead! :rolleyes:
So you make no room in your life for silly, frivalous fun?
The latest:
Benoit's doctor charged
Faces seven-count indictment for dispensing drugs
ATLANTA (AP) -- The personal doctor of pro wrestler Chris Benoit was charged Monday with improperly dispensing painkillers and other drugs.
The seven-count indictment said Dr. Phil Astin dispensed drugs including Percocet, Xanax, Lorcet and Vicoprofen between April 2004 and September 2005.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/07/02/wrestler.folow.ap/index.html?cnn=yes
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