Chris Benoit, family, found dead.

[Bob Hubbard]

WWE.com is reporting "murder/suicide".

 

[Hand Sword]

Truly Terrible. This and the loss of Sensational Sherri a few days back. What is going on? It's really sad.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

My moneys on murder-suicide. I thought that the moment I heard the "I cant go to the match because my wife and kid are throwing up blood" bit.

Occam's Razor.

 

[ace]

What is this world coming to?
Chris was one of the best Pro Wrestlers/Entertainers
in the world,IM in complete shock right now this is disturbing news.
Wife & kid as well Nancy his wife was she not Manager/Diva Woman?

This is a very sad evening.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Confirmation.

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

WAGA reported that investigators believe Benoit killed his wife and son over the weekend, and then himself sometime Monday.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286673,00.html

 

[tellner]

Well guys, maybe (as one of you said) my attitude stinks. So here's back at you, whoever you are. Why should the death of someone whom I've never met or heard of diminish me more than that of thousands of others whose ending was even worse? Why should his job in the entertainment industry make his story worth more than that of someone in humble circumstances whose life touches me personally?

The family who died in a fire not two blocks from here means much more to me. I knew them. We said hello when we passed on the street. But they never got onto TV. Does that make them less worthy of my personal sympathy than some actor, his wife and child? Hardly. My wife's miscarriage only involved the loss of one potential life, but it was infinitely nearer and dearer to me than any number of other similar endings. And that is the way it should be.

This sort of thing happens all the time. It's sad and it's bad. If the outpouring of grief is greater for strangers rather than people in one's own extended community and even more if it's based on roles they played in fictional drama there's a real problem with perspective somewhere.

The latest news is that the police are treating it as a murder-suicide. If the reports are correct the guy killed his wife and child and then himself. If that turns out to be the case I'm still sorry about the woman and the child but no more and no less than for any other family in the same situation. Will you cut the murderer more slack because he had an attractive TV persona? Will his death in particular still be a tragedy?

 

[The Master]

And here I thought I was the one without a heart in the face of tragedy.

I don't know you, your wife, or your neighbors. I didn't know the Benoit's. I didn't know anyone anyone in Oklahoma City, NYC, or who was anywhere near Columbine. In fact, I didn't know any of the dozen people in my own town who have died this month, nor have I known anyone who has been listed on this sites memorial section.

But at the end of the day, they were all people. Some famous, some anonymous, but all were dear to someone. All were people.

All were worthy of respect. Even those who sometimes go down roads that we ourselves cannot understand.

The facts in this case, are not all known. Police investigations have been wrong before, sometimes publicly intentional.

So, until all the facts are known, I'll shed a tear for all of the departed, even those I didn't know. And pity those too heartless to know enough to keep silent when others are in pain, such as yourself.

As someone wiser than I once said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." I'm less polite. Show respect for the dead, or shut up.

Because, until the facts are all known, you're just being disrespectful.

 

[tellner]

Like I said, it's a tragedy like a thousand others. A family dies. It gets not a tear from the multitudes. A family dies in one's own community. The same. But let it be someone who was on television and it's a cause for general mourning for that reason and no other. Something is wrong there. To say that is not disrespect for the dead. It's simply a failure to be blinded by the magic box. The death of someone near to me means more to me than someone I don't know. That's not heartless or disrespectful or anything of the sort. It's the normal human reaction to such things. Those closest should be the ones who mean more to a person.

The investigation is just starting. That's why I said "if" and was careful to say so. If the deceased did kill his wife and child, then their deaths will still be tragic. His? Like any other murderer's. The fact that he was an entertainer and actor will make no difference in either case. And it means no more or less than the deaths of a thousand other women and children at the hands of husbands or boyfriends and fathers. If their deaths do not evoke the same reaction then who is being heartless? So I'm sorry for the woman and child in the same way that I am whenever I hear of such a case. But I'm reserving justice on Chris Benoit until we find out whether he's victim or victimizer. So far CNN is saying:

The station said that investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, over the weekend, then himself on Monday. A neighbor called police, and the bodies were found in three rooms.

We'll see.

 

[IcemanSK]

May they rest in peace that they didn't have on this earth.

 

[tellner]

May G-d receive and comfort the innocent. May the guilty receive justice.

 

[Blotan Hunka]

Hmm. Who cares about all those Iraqi's and Afghans killed "over there" either? I dont know any of them. Death of one you know is a tragedy, death of someone you dont know is a statistic huh?

 

[Bob Hubbard]

People are entitled to their opinions, no matter how dumb they may be.

There are 2 known facts.
- 3 people are dead.
- We don't know all of the facts.

There are many ways for 3 people to die, alone, in a house. Some of those, might look like murder/suicide, but in fact be just a coincidence.

There is so much we don't know yet, that the time for finger pointing and condemnation isn't here yet. For me, I'll morn the senseless loss of 3 people, a career ended too soon, a child who will never grow up. For the rest, Ill wait on the official police report.

====





Tuesday morning Chris Benoit update

By Alex Marvez

For the next few hours, I will be offering updates and links to stories on the late Chris Benoit. ABC has reported that “instruments of death” were found at the scene and that the wrestling industry itself is about to come under heavy media scrutiny.

The following is a list of links about this tragedy:

WWE posted its latest update here: http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/superstars/chrisbenoit/articles/benoitupdate

The Corpus Christi Caller Times covered the cancellation of the event here: http://www.caller.com/news/2007/jun/26/wrestling-canceled/


The Calgary Sun had comments from a distraught Bret Hart here: http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2007/06/26/4290834-sun.html

Fayette (Ga.) County District Attorney Scott Ballard spoke about the alleged murder-suicide here: http://www.thecitizen.com/node/18058

Ballard also told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that “the details, when they come out, are going to prove a little bizarre.”

-30-

 

[Grenadier]

Truly Terrible. This and the loss of Sensational Sherri a few days back. What is going on? It's really sad.

Quite chilling, when you see all of the big names that have died very recently, and all of them while they were still relatively young:

Curt "Mr. Perfect" Hennig
Eddie Guerrero
Ray "The Big Bossman" Traylor
Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow
Brian Pillman
David "Davey Boy" Smith
Richard "Ravishing Rick Rude" Rood
Michael "Hawk" Hegstrand
Owen Hart

A good number of those deaths were drug-related, including steroids (Owen Hart not amongst them, I believe), and I can only hope that maybe the 'rasslin industry can learn something from these awful events.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

UPDATE ON BENOIT TRAGEDY; AUTOPSY SCHEDULED FOR TODAY
By: Bob Ryder
6/26/2007 10:39:24 AM

An autopsy will be performed today on Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and his son Daniel. Toxicology results are expected to take a few weeks to come back, but authorities expect the autopsy results to confirm their determination that the deaths were the result of a double murder-suicide.

Authorities suspect Benoit killed Nancy and Daniel sometime over the weekend and then killed himself sometime on Monday.

As 1Wrestling.com reported yesterday, Benoit had been scheduled to fly to a WWE house show on Saturday but called and said he was taking a later flight because Nancy and Daniel were ill. He called back later in the day and said he would not be coming to the house show because of the illness and said Nancy and Daniel were throwing up blood.

On Sunday, Benoit did not appear at Vengeance and was replaced at the last minute by Johnny Nitro. WWE did not announce in advance that Benoit was not going to appear because they were not certain whether he was en route to the show or if he remained home. At some point during the day on Sunday, Benoit apparently sent text messages (believed to have been to Chavo Guerrero) that concerned WWE officials and caused them to alert local authorities and to ask them to go to the Benoit home to check on the family.

When police arrived at the home there was nothing out of the ordinary outside the house. The gate was latched, dogs were running around outside, and there was no sign of forced entry. Upon entering the home, police found the bodies of Chris, Nancy, and Daniel in three separate rooms.

The news of the deaths sent shockwaves through the wrestling world as friends and coworkers frantically tried to find out what had happened. Speculation ran rampant but virtually nobody believed Chris Benoit would be capable of murdering his wife and son. Some, who were close to Benoit, knew that he and Nancy had a rocky relationship but police were quoted in published reports as saying they had not been dispatched to the residence in the past for any reports of domestic violence.

6/26/2007 10:47:00 AM
Notes on tonight's WWE TV show in San Antonio
by Dave Meltzer

The lack of an understandable explanation to the circumstances of the death of Chris, Nancy and Daniel Benoit has left virtually the entire wrestling community reeling.

Within WWE, the obvious questions and lack of answers are no different from fans and most of his long-time friends.

Vince McMahon was the inspiring general both to the wrestlers as well as the office staff all day yesterday. He held it together and was a rock of strength for much of the talent, which because of their admiration and in many cases love for Benoit, were saddened, perplexed and having an incredibly difficult time dealing with it.

Vince made the decision to run Smackdown and ECW tapings tonight without any angles or backstage storylines. The show will consist of straight wrestling matches and like last night, the original shows were scrapped. The attempt to put together a show was difficult because the crew and creative staff were said to be both emotionally and physically wrecked after yesterday.

The belief is they will brief viewers on what happened early in the show, and then product two low key shows of nothing but matches.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

This doesn't sound promising. WWE has stated they have more information, but have been asked not to release it at this time. I checked their website, and all tributes, etc on Benoit have been pulled from the main page, the only thing left is the news item on the deaths.

I've got the sad feeling that when it's all said and done, it's going to be ugly.


WWE YANKS ALL CHRIS BENOIT MERCHANDISE FROM SHOPZONE WEBSITE
by Mike Johnson @ 10:42:00 AM on 6/26/2007

In light of the Benoit family tragedy, WWE's Shopzone merchandise website has pulled all merchandise related to Chris Benoit. Searches for Benoit's name in the website's search engine are returned "discontinued."

Benoit's name has been removed to the degree that the listing for the DVD of Wrestlemania XX now reads, "Triple H defends his World Heavyweight Championship against Shawn Michaels."

 

[KempoShaun]

It had to be the steroids that made him do it, Chris just wouldn't have done that in his "right" mind... A double murder/suicide... As an avid wrestling fan of close to 3 decades, Chris Benoit, Billy Kidman, Sting and Chris Jericho are my all time 4 wrestlers. Only 1 is still wrestling, and now one is a murderer... I'm holding judgment until the official reports come out.

A law enforcement official close to the investigation says pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son before hanging himself in his weight room.

Speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, the official also says authorities are investigating whether steroids may have been a factor in the deaths.
The family was found dead Monday, and authorities were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide. Investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, 47, and son, Daniel, 7, over the weekend, then himself on Monday.
“The details, when they come out, are going to prove a little bizarre,” Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution newspaper.
Those details may emerge after the completion of autopsies scheduled Tuesday.
Ballard told The Associated Press a gun was not used in any of the deaths, but he declined to say how the three died.
“We’re pretty sure we know, but we want to confirm it with the crime lab,” Ballard said Tuesday. Authorities also declined to say whether drugs or steroids were found inside the house.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

TMZ.com has more to this bizare story.
http://w.tmz.com/2007/06/26/benoits-history-of-domestic-violence-exposed/

"law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe Benoit strangled his wife on Saturday, smothered his son on Sunday and then hanged himself on Monday."

Numerous other sources are covering this. A press conference is scheduled for 3pm, and will be carried on many news channels.

"n divorce papers filed in 2003, Nancy Benoit included a petition for protection from domestic abuse against Chris. In the papers, Nancy claimed that Benoit, "lost his temper and threatened to strike the petitioner and cause extensive damage to the home and personal belongings of the parties, including furniture." Nancy added that she was, "in reasonable fear for petitioner's own safety and that of the minor child.""

This is a very sad turn of events, and a sad end to 3 lives.

 

[Bob Hubbard]

Wade Keller sums alot of things up in his blog.
http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_20635.shtml

 

[Bob Hubbard]

I just watched the press conference.
- Nancy was bound, hand and foot. She was strangled with an electrical cord.
- Hours later, Daniel was smothered with a plastic bag.
- Bibles were found by both bodies.
- Chris was found in the basement. He hung himself with his weight equipment.


Given everything I've read so far, the only thing I can speculate was it was a "we're leaving - no your not" situation that went way too far. Without a note, we'll never really know.

I've lost alot of respect for Chris. I've followed his career for over a decade, and I've never heard anything but the best about him. Now, his legacy is in ruins, and lives are gone, and destroyed.

It's a damn shame.

 

[MA-Caver]

Sorry Bob, it's hard to lose a person you admire especially when they go out the way that they did. Too bad he didn't seek out help when he could've. Sad for the wife and kid to have their loved one turn on them.