UPDATED: 3:23 p.m. June 26, 2007
Police: Benoit killed wife, son, later hanged himself
Superstar wrestler's wife once claimed abuse, filed for divorce
By S.A. REID, KATHY JEFCOATS
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution
Published on: 06/25/07
Superstar wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son before hanging himself in his weight room, law enforcement officials said Tuesday.
The couple and their 7-year-old son were found dead Monday in their home on Green Meadow Lane just east of Peachtree City. Nancy Benoit and her son, Daniel, were killed during the weekend and Benoit died Sunday, police said.
Chris Benoit
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The son was found dead in bed. Nancy Benoit was found in the home office. The cause of death for both was ruled asphyxiation.
Benoit is believed to have hanged himself on late Saturday or early Sunday.
Benoit and his wife went through a period of turbulence early in their marriage that included her claiming domestic abuse and filing for divorce, court records show.
The couple, who had lived together since 1997 and were married in 2000, had separated when Nancy Benoit, a wrestling manager who worked under the stage name "Woman," filed for divorce in May 2003.
In the accompanying petition for protection from domestic abuse, Nancy Benoit, 43, claimed she was intimidated by threats of violence from her 40-year-old, 5-foot-10, 220-pound husband, who was known as the "Canadian Crippler."
Benoit, the petition said, "lost his temper and threatened to strike the petitioner and cause extensive damage to the home and personal belongings of the parties, including furniture and furnishings. Petitioner is in reasonable fear for petitioner's own safety and that of the minor child."
In another count, she claimed Benoit had destroyed furniture in the home.
On May 12, 2003, the same day the divorce and protective order petitions were submitted, a judge issued a restraining order against the wrestler and barred him from the family home in Peachtree City.
On Aug. 19, 2003, Nancy Benoit filed to have the divorce and protective petitions dismissed, and both were.
Police on Tuesday had said no gun was used in the killings, but they declined to say how the three died. Autopsies were scheduled for Tuesday at the GBI Crime Lab in Decatur.
"The details, when they come out, are going to prove a little bizarre," Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said Tuesday.
Police also revealed Tuesday that a text message was sent from Chris Benoit's cellphone.
Fayette Sheriff's Lt. Tommy Pope said the message was sent at 4:30 a.m. Saturday, but he decline to disclose the message's content or recipient.
Benoit's employer, World Wrestling Entertainment, said on its Website Tuesday that Benoit had sent
"several curious text messages" to friends, but police on Tuesday said they had identified only the one.
Authorities initially had trouble getting to the home because of two large German shepherds on the property, the WWE said. Sheriff's deputies were standing guard at the home on Tuesday morning, keeping back the media and the curious.
Benoit was found in the home's weight room, his wife in an office and his son in an upstairs bedroom.
Benoit failed to appear at Saturday's live wrestling event in Beaumont, Texas., and at WWE's "Vengeance: Night of Champions" in Houston Sunday night. WWE said Benoit had a "family emergency."
As news of the death's spread, the wrestling blogosphere erupted in disbelief.
"Obviously, all sorts of speculation are running rampant but I have talked to so many people and nobody really knows," said Bryan Alvarez, who runs Figurefour Weekly, a wrestling newsletter and Web site, from Linwood, Wash.
The WWE issued a statement Monday night:
"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."
A native of Canada, Benoit maintained a residence in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the now-defunct Ted Turner-owned World Championship Wrestling organization.
He began his career in Calgary more than 20 years ago and had wrestled in Japan before moving back to North America.
While working in Atlanta with WCW, he met his wife, Nancy, who managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name, "Woman."
At the time, her then-husband drew up a script that had the couple involved in a relationship as part of an ongoing storyline.
Soon after, the two became romantically involved in real life and married. Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship.
He joined WWE in 2000, and four years later, won its world heavyweight championship.
The family had moved into the Fayetteville neighborhood last summer, said neighbor Alaina Jones.
None of the neighbors recalled seeing police at the house before. Monday night, about half a dozen cars idled on the circular driveway. Deputies stood guard outside the wrought-iron gates of the residence. A car full of youngsters who stopped to gawk at the scene were pulled out by deputies, frisked and sent on their way.
The Monday night broadcast of WWE's "Raw" on the USA Network was supposed to have been a who-dunit into the "death" of Chairman Vince McMahon, whose limousine burst into a fiery explosion moments after he stepped into it after a bout in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., two weeks ago.
The organization scrapped the storyline following Benoit's death, and instead televised a three-hour retrospective on Benoit's career.
Staff writer Saeed Ahmed and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
