Over a three-day period from June 22–24, 2007, Chris Benoit, a 40-year-old Canadian professional wrestler employed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), murdered his wife Nancy and their seven-year-old son, Daniel, before hanging himself at their residence in Fayetteville, Georgia, United States.
Autopsy results showed that Nancy was murdered first, having died of asphyxiation on the night of June 22. Daniel, who also died of asphyxia, was killed as he was lying sedated in his bed on the morning of June 23. On the evening of June 24, Benoit killed himself in his weight room, when he used his lat pulldown machine to hang himself. He placed Bibles near the bodies of Nancy and Daniel.
Since the murders, numerous explanations for Benoit's actions have been proposed, including severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), as well as steroid and alcohol abuse, leading to a failing marriage and other personal problems. This led to numerous media accounts, and a federal investigation into steroid abuse in professional wrestling.
Events
Murder of Nancy Benoit
On Friday, June 22, 2007, Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy in the bonus room of their house in Fayetteville, Georgia, 22 miles south of Atlanta. According to the police report, Nancy's limbs had been bound prior to her death, with her arms being restrained with coaxial cables and her feet being duct-taped together. A balled-up combination of a tube sock and tape was also found in the kitchen trash and appeared to be soaked in dried blood, which led police to believe that it was being used as a makeshift gag prior to Nancy's death. Injuries indicated that Benoit had pressed a knee into her back while pulling on a cord around her neck, causing strangulation. Her body was found wrapped in a blanket alongside a Bible. Officials said that there were no signs of immediate struggle.
Toxicologists found alcohol in Nancy's body but were unable to determine whether it had been present before death or was a product of decomposition. Decomposition made it difficult to estimate pre-death levels of hydrocodone and alprazolam, which were found in "therapeutic levels" in her body. In any case, the medical examiner saw no evidence that Nancy was as sedated as Daniel had been when he was killed.
Murder of Daniel Benoit
Daniel Christopher Benoit (February 25, 2000 – June 23, 2007) was Chris's third child. Daniel had two older paternal half-siblings, David and Megan, via Chris's first wife Martina. She and the two older children were living in Canada at the time of the murder–suicide. Daniel was Nancy's only child.
Daniel was suffocated and killed in his bedroom, and another Bible was left by his body. He had internal injuries to the throat area, showing no bruises. His exact time of death is unknown. Toxicology reports determined Daniel was sedated with Xanax and was likely unconscious when he was killed. His body was not as far along as Nancy's body in decomposition.
It was later alleged that Daniel had the genetic disorder fragile X syndrome and that this was the cause of domestic problems within the Benoit family. It was also suggested that track marks on Daniel's arms were the result of human growth hormone (HGH) injections because Benoit considered him undersized due to his condition. Benoit's coworker and close friend, wrestler Chris Jericho, stated that from his own research on the condition, the symptoms "fit Daniel to a tee, all across the board." Concerning those who had publicly stated that they had no knowledge of Daniel having the condition, Jericho said, "If Chris had decided that he wanted to keep it to himself, you wouldn't have been able to pry that out of him with anything." Despite Jericho's initial statements regarding Daniel, he later wrote in his 2011 book Undisputed: "It turned out that Daniel didn't have fragile X, but at the time it made sense because I was grasping at straws." Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard later released a statement saying that a source with access to Daniel's medical files found no mention of any pre-existing mental or physical ailments. Likewise, his teachers reported that he was on par with other students and not about to be held back academically as previously thought. In 2016, speaking publicly for the first time on the Talk is Jericho podcast, Nancy's sister, Sandra Toffoloni, unequivocally denied any claims that Daniel had ever had fragile X or any similar condition.
After the murders
At about 3:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 23, 2007, fellow wrestler and close friend Chavo Guerrero received a voicemail message from Benoit's phone stating that both Nancy and Daniel had food poisoning and he would be late for that night's house show in Beaumont, Texas. Guerrero called Benoit back and found that he sounded tired and groggy as he confirmed everything that he had said in his voice message. Guerrero, who grew "concerned about Benoit's tone and demeanor", called him back twelve minutes later. Benoit did not answer, and Guerrero left a voicemail message asking Benoit to call him back.
At 3:44 p.m. EDT, Benoit called Guerrero back, stating that he had not answered the call because he was on the phone with Delta Air Lines, changing his flight. He stated that he had a stressful day due to Nancy and Daniel's purported food poisoning. Guerrero then replied with, "All right man, if you need to talk, I'm here for you." Benoit ended the conversation by saying, "Chavo, I love you." During a 2014 appearance on the Talk is Jericho podcast, Guerrero said Benoit sounded "off" when he talked to him, especially when he said "I love you" with emphasis. Another co-worker who often travelled with Benoit called him from outside George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston. Benoit answered and told the co-worker that Nancy was vomiting blood and that Daniel was also vomiting. Benoit failed to show up for the house show in Beaumont and left a voicemail on Guerrero's cellphone that he would be on a flight that would arrive in Houston at 8 a.m. CDT on the following Sunday morning. During this time, Benoit called and left a voicemail for an unknown friend.
On Sunday, June 24, five text messages were sent to co-workers between 3:51 a.m. and 3:58 a.m. using both Chris' and Nancy's cellphones. Four of them displayed the Benoits' home address. The fifth said that the family's dogs were in an enclosed pool area and that a garage side door had been left open. Guerrero and WWE referee Scott Armstrong were two of the recipients of these texts. Guerrero was woken up by the texts and went back to sleep, reasoning that he would ask Benoit about the texts when he picked him up at Houston airport in a few hours. Benoit did not board the flight to Houston that landed at 8 a.m.
Late that morning, Benoit called WWE's talent relations office, stating that Daniel was vomiting and that he and Nancy were at the hospital with him. He stated that he would be taking a later flight into Houston, where he was scheduled to face CM Punk for the vacant ECW World Championship at the Vengeance: Night of Champions pay-per-view event that night. Benoit failed to appear for the event.
Suicide of Chris Benoit
According to Ballard and the Fayette County Sheriff's Office, Benoit's death was a suicide by hanging. He removed the bar from a lat pulldown machine in his exercise room and fastened the end of a cord from the machine into a noose. He then released the weights, causing his strangulation. Ballard said Benoit was found hanging from the pulley cable.
On the 2016 Talk is Jericho podcast, Toffoloni claimed that over the weekend, the search history on Benoit's computer showed he had researched "the quickest and easiest way to break a neck." Benoit had then later used a towel around his neck attached to the handle of the machine, which he pulled down using a very heavy weight and let go, breaking his neck instantly. However, the police report done by the Fayette County Sheriff's Office states he showed no damage to his neck area other than that which came from the cable around his neck. It also states the only topic he researched on his computer during that time period was the biblical prophet Elijah's resurrection of a dead child. No mention of the claims made by Toffoloni were present in the police report, and his autopsy report made no mention of damage to Benoit's cervical vertebrae, hyoid bone, trachea or larynx area, further indicating he did not snap his neck as a manner of suicide.
Discovery of the bodies
On Monday, June 25, 2007, WWE wrestlers and executives arrived in Corpus Christi for Monday Night Raw, which was to take place at the American Bank Center. As the early hours of the afternoon progressed and the show became closer to starting, WWE executives were increasingly concerned that they had not heard from Benoit in over 24 hours. Guerrero then showed WWE Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis (a.k.a. Johnny Ace) the text messages that he and Armstrong had received from Chris and Nancy's cellphones in the early hours of Sunday. As some more time progressed without any contact from Benoit, WWE called the Fayetteville Police Department and asked for a welfare check at the Benoit household. After discovering the bodies, Fayetteville police called WWE around 4:15 p.m. (CDT) and informed them that they had discovered three bodies at the Benoit home and that the house was now considered a "major crime scene".
A suicide note was not discovered during the initial investigation. One was later discovered in a Bible that had been among Benoit's possessions that were sent to his first wife and their two children in Canada. Benoit's father Michael stated that Chris had left "a hand-written notation in there saying, 'I'm preparing to leave this Earth.'" During a 2020 interview with Chris Van Vliet, Benoit's eldest son David stated that he did not leave a suicide note and showed no indication that anything was wrong in their last conversations prior to the tragedy. David stated that Benoit had planned for him to visit from Canada the week following the murders.
Memorial and cremation
A memorial for Nancy and Daniel took place in Daytona Beach, Florida, on July 14, 2007. Both were cremated and their ashes placed in starfish-shaped urns for Nancy's family. Benoit was also cremated, following a private memorial service in Ardrossan, Alberta, on August 6, 2007. The fate of his ashes has not been publicly disclosed.
Possible motives
Neuroscientist and former wrestler Christopher Nowinski argued that Benoit may have been suffering from repeated, untreated concussions throughout his life, ultimately leading to an unstable mental state. Nowinski stated that Benoit "was one of the only guys who would take a chair shot to the back of the head ... which is stupid." Tests conducted on Benoit's brain by Julian Bailes, the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University (WVU), showed "Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient." Bennet Omalu and others suggested that Benoit's brain was damaged enough that he likely would not have lived for more than a few more years at the time, regardless of his actions.
Other tests conducted on Benoit's brain tissue revealed severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and damage to all four lobes of the brain and brain stem. Bailes and his colleagues concluded that repeated concussions can lead to dementia, which can contribute to severe behavioural problems. Benoit's father said that brain damage may have been the primary cause of the murder–suicide. A statement released by WWE described the findings as "speculative."
Nancy had filed for divorce from Benoit in May 2003, alleging domestic abuse, but withdrew the filing three months later. In February 2008, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported that Nancy may have suspected Benoit of having an affair with a female WWE wrestler, and that they may have also argued over a life insurance policy. The AJC claimed their source was a recently released report from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.
Steroids
Steroids were found in the Benoit household, leading some media organizations to hypothesize that a steroid-induced rage may have been the cause of Benoit's actions, as some doctors have linked steroid use to uncontrollable anger, among other psychological issues which include paranoia. WWE released a press-statement, challenging the "roid-rage" claims. One part of the statement reads:
"The physical findings announced by authorities indicate deliberation, not rage. The wife's feet and hands were bound and she was asphyxiated, not beaten to death. By the account of the authorities, there were substantial periods of time between the death of the wife and the death of the son, again suggesting deliberate thought, not rage. The presence of a Bible by each is also not an act of rage."