 Chris
Benoit and Family Deaths Believed to be Homicide
The WWE has axed a
storyline revolving around the fake death of its
Chairman Vince McMahon following the real disturbing
announcement that beloved Canadian Professional
Wrestler, Chris Benoit, was found dead along with
his wife and 7-year old son, in their Atlanta home.
The cause of death is being viewed as a homicide.
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 Benoits' home, they found the
wrestler, his wife and their son dead.
There were no signs of gunshot wounds or stabbing,
according to Pope. Authorities are not ruling out
other causes, such as poisoning, suffocation or
strangulation. Pope told ABC News that his
department is looking at this situation as a
"possible double murder, suicide."
Benoit's wife 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.
Benoit and his
family lived in Atlanta, Georgia. He was born
in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
In 1990, he won his
first major championship, the IWGP Junior
Heavyweight Championship, from Jushin Liger. He
eventually lost the title (and his mask) back to
Liger, forcing him to reinvent himself as Wild
Pegasus. He went on to win the Super J Cup
Tournament in 1994, defeating Black Tiger, Gedo, and
Great Sasuke in the finals, solidifying his status
as one of the foremost junior heavyweights in the
world.
 Benoit
eventually left New Japan to compete in Mexico and
Germany, where he won a few regional championships
including the WWF Light Heavyweight Championship.
Benoit enjoyed a
long career in Professional Wrestling, eventually
joining the WWE in 2000. During the first WWE
Draft, he was picked by Vince McMahon third to be
part of the new SmackDown! roster,[9] although still
on the injured list.
On June 19, 2007,
Benoit wrestled his last (WWE) match defeating
Elijah Burke to be a contender for the vacated
Championship and was going to face fellow contender
CM Punk at Vengeance. However, Chris Benoit was
absent due to a family emergency. His replacement,
Johnny Nitro went on to become ECW World Champion.
News of Benoit's
death was first reported to fans of WWE on their WWE
Mobile Alerts Service and posted to their official
website soon after.
A message soon
followed on the WWE website:
|
“ |
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. |
McMahon eyes welled up when he delivered the news.
Police are ruling
the deaths a "possible double-murder suicide" though
it was still too early to tell at press time last
Monday evening.
---
Christopher
Costigan, Sports911.com
Originally
published June 25, 2007 11:31 pm ET
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