Pro wrestler, family found dead in Fayetteville home
By Saeed Ahmed, Kathy Jefcoats
The Atlanta-Journal Constitution
Published on: 06/25/07
A well-known professional wrestler and his family were found dead inside their house in Fayette County Monday afternoon.
Authorities confirmed that Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy and their 7-year-old son, Daniel, were found dead at the home on Quarters and Redwine roads in Fayetteville about 4 p.m.
Officials were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.
Benoit, a 40-year-old Canadian native maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling.
Most recently, Benoit fought as part of the World Wrestling Entertainment organization. WWE canceled its live show in Corpus Christi Monday night, and its broadcast of "Raw" on the USA Network was a three-hour retrospective on Benoit's career.
"Obviously, all sorts of speculation are running rampant but I have talked to so many people and nobody really knows [whether the couple was having marital troubles]," said Bryan Alvarez, who runs Figurefour Weekly, a wrestling newsletter and Web site, from Linwood, Washington.
Benoit was scheduled to appear in a pay-per-view title match Sunday night, but was a no-show due to a "family emergency," the WWE said during the broadcast.
Benoit's wife, Nancy, managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name, "Woman."
They met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them involved in a relationship as part of an ongoing storyline on World Championship Wrestling.
Soon after, the two became romantically involved in real life and married, Alvarez said.
Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship.
