Chris Benoit

Truth is stranger than fiction.

When the truth involves murder, it's far more deplorable and painful and tragic than any fiction could ever be.

World Wrestling Entertainment's Monday Night Raw program on USA Network Monday night was supposed to feature a fictional memorial service for the character of WWE chief Vince McMahon.

The show did end up featuring a memorial service, however it was for three very real people: WWE wrestler Chris Benoit and his wife and son, all of whom were found dead in their suburban Atlanta home earlier on Monday.

...The show opened with McMahon standing in an empty ring in Corpus Christi, Texas, where the Raw show was supposed to feature a memorial for McMahon's "Mr. McMahon" character, who was blown up in a car, according to the show's storyline.

"Tonights storyline was to have been the alleged demise of my character, Mr. McMahon," said a sullen McMahon, wearing jeans instead of his customary tailored suits. "However in reality, WWE superstar Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and their son Daniel are dead."

The remainder of the show was a three-hour tribute to Benoit.

When the tribute aired, media outlets were reporting that the deaths were being investigated as homicides.

Did McMahon and the WWE know at the time that it was likely a murder-suicide, with Benoit the suspected murderer?

If they did, I think it was grossly inappropriate to air a tribute to Benoit.

If they didn't, I don't think USA Network should be condemned for airing the tribute.

As more information on the deaths is revealed, it seems anything meant to glorify Benoit must be viewed as glorifying a murderer.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ga -- Pro wrestler Chris Benoit canceled a pay-per-view appearance at the "Vengeance" event in Houston because of "personal reasons" a day before he, his wife and their 7-year-old son were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide.

Details of the deaths "are going to prove a little bizarre" when released to the public, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Autopsies were scheduled Tuesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities were investigating the deaths at a secluded Fayette County home as a murder-suicide and were not seeking any suspects.

Investigators believe Benoit (pronounced ben-WAH) killed his wife, 43-year-old Nancy, and son Daniel during the weekend and then himself Monday. The bodies were found Monday afternoon in three separate rooms of the house, off a gravel road about two miles from the Whitewater Country Club.

Ballard told The Associated Press a gun was not used in any of the deaths, but he would not say how the three died.

"We're pretty sure we know, but we want to confirm it with the crime lab," Ballard said early Tuesday.

This is so sad.

Whatever Benoit's problems were, why did he take the lives of his wife and son?

If he couldn't bear to live, than he could have decided to deal with that in any way he saw fit.

But why take others out with him?

Did Benoit have issues with his wife? Was he angry with her?

Domestic disputes that end in murder aren't unheard of.

I just don't understand how a father could rob his 7-year-old son of his future.

I'm reminded of the shootings in Delavan a couple weeks ago.

Whatever was behind the domestic dispute, whatever wrongs there might have been, I can't fathom anyone responding by taking away the lives of others, especially those of innocent children.
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More details here.

Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself with the pulley of a weight machine, authorities said Tuesday.

Investigators found prescription anabolic steroids in the house and want to know whether the muscle man nicknamed "The Canadian Crippler" was unhinged by the bodybuilding drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as "roid rage."

Authorities offered no motive for the killings, which were spread out over a weekend, and would not discuss Benoit's state of mind. No suicide note was found.

...Benoit's wife, 43, was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle, Ballard said.

The son, Daniel, was probably killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, Ballard said.

Benoit, 40, apparently killed himself several hours and as long as a day later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room, his body found hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.

The prosecutor said he found it "bizarre" that the WWE wrestling star spread out the killings over a weekend and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies.

What's also "bizarre" is that initial reports said the deaths were being investigated as homicides.

At first glance of the scene in the home, it would seem pretty clear that Benoit committed suicide.

I wonder how much information the WWE had at the time USA Network ran the tribute to Benoit.

I would hope that they had few details and were led to believe that Benoit was a victim as well and not the killer of his wife and son when the decision was made to spend three hours of airtime to honor Benoit.
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More information on the case was made public Wednesday:

In the days before pro wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and child and hanged himself, the couple argued over whether he should stay home more to take care of their mentally retarded 7-year-old son, an attorney for the wrestling league said Wednesday.

"I think it's fair to say that the subject of caring for that child was part of what made their relationship complicated and difficult, and it's something they were both constantly struggling with," said Jerry McDevitt, an attorney for World Wrestling Entertainment. "We do know it was a source of stress and consternation."

McDevitt said the wrestling organization learned from the couple's friends and relatives that the Benoits were struggling with where to send the boy to school since he had recently finished kindergarten.

He also said Benoit's wife didn't want him to quit wrestling, but she "wanted him to be at home more to care for the kid. She'd say she can't take care of him by herself when he was on the road."

The child suffered from a rare medical condition called Fragile X Syndrome, an inherited form of mental retardation often accompanied by autism, McDevitt said.

...Benoit had been under the care of Dr. Phil Astin, a longtime friend, for treatment of low testosterone levels. Astin said the condition likely originated from previous steroid use.

Astin prescribed testosterone for Benoit in the past but would not say what, if any, medications he prescribed the day of their meeting.

"He was in my office on Friday to stop by just to see my staff," Astin said. "He certainly didn't show any signs of any distress or rage or anything."

"I'm still very surprised and shocked, especially with his child Daniel involved," Astin said. "He worshipped his child."

This really is heartbreaking.

According to his doctor, Benoit "worshipped his child" Daniel.

But Benoit killed him. He killed the son that he worshipped.

Try to make sense of that. Impossible.

Questions about "roid rage" are legitimate. There are larger issues here that can be debated.

For now, I can't get past the three deaths. I can't get past the murder of that little boy.
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This is weird.

Read about Benoit's Wikipedia entry here.