WWE: Benoit hanged himself

2007-06-26 22:34

Fayetteville, Georgia - Professional wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his seven-year-old son before hanging himself in his weight room, a law enforcement official close to the investigation told The Associated Press.

Authorities also said they are investigating whether steroids may have been a factor in the deaths of Benoit, his wife and their son who were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide.

Fayette county district attorney Scott Ballard said test results might not be back for weeks or even months.

Post-mortems were scheduled for Tuesday by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in DeKalb county.

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

The official who described the deaths spoke on condition of anonymity because the information was to be released at a news conference later on Tuesday.

Bodies in three rooms

Investigators believe Benoit killed his wife, 43-year-old Nancy, and seven-year-old son Daniel at the weekend and then himself on Monday.

The bodies were found on Monday afternoon in three separate rooms of the house, off a gravel road about two miles from a country club.

Fayette county coroner CJ Mowell did not return calls seeking comment. The answering service for his funeral home said he was out of town.

Authorities also declined to say whether drugs or steroids were found inside the house. "We're not releasing any information as far as what was located inside the house," sheriff's sergeant Keith Whiteside said on Tuesday.

Low-key lifestyle

Asked about the condition of the interior of the house, Whiteside said investigators found "nothing really out of the ordinary."

He said Benoit was found in the home's weight room, his wife in an office and the son in an upstairs bedroom.

Whiteside said toxicology tests could take up to a week or longer to complete.

Neighbours said the Benoits led a low-key lifestyle.

- AP