WWE wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife Nancy, 43, and smothered seven-year-old son Daniel before taking his own life at his Georgia mansion in 2007, leaving bibles next to both bodies
Emilia Randall GAU Writer
08:00, 04 Jan 2026
Chris Benoit and Nancy Benoit circa 1996 (Image: FilmMagic)
In the bizarre and tense realm of WWE, one gruesome crime has hauntingly overshadowed all others, with the culprit committing a horrifying final act before annihilating his entire family.
Back in 2007, Chris Benoit left behind a brutal legacy in what is arguably one of the most shocking incidents in wrestling history. The Canadian grappler murdered his wife and son before ending his own life at the age of 40.
The bodies of the former world champion wrestler, his wife, and their seven year old son were discovered in their Georgia home in the US.
In a chilling finale, Benoit strangled Nancy, 43, smothered Daniel, and then hanged himself in his mansion, disturbingly leaving a bible next to each of their bodies.
Chris Benoit during Chris Benoit of the WWE at the AT&T Center in San Antonio(Image: Gary Miller, FilmMagicvia Getty Images)
After peculiar text messages were sent to his friends, police visited the Atlanta home of the former World Wrestling Federation champion. Evidence suggested that Benoit had pressed a knee into his wife’s back while pulling on a cord around her neck.
Her body was found wrapped in a blanket, accompanied by a Bible. Authorities reported no signs of immediate resistance, reports the Mirror.
Toxicologists detected alcohol in his wife’s system but couldn’t ascertain whether it was present before death or a result of decomposition. Daniel was Benoit’s third child, following David and Megan from his first marriage to Martina.
Daniel was Nancy’s only child. Disturbingly, another separate bible was discovered next to Daniel’s body after he was suffocated in his bedroom.
Chris Benoit won the World Heavyweight Championship at WrestleMania XX on March 14, 2004(Image: Getty Images)
He sustained internal injuries to his throat, with no visible bruising evident. Post-mortem examination revealed that Daniel had been sedated with Xanax prior to his killing and remained unconscious when death occurred.
The precise timing of each murder remained uncertain, though Daniel’s remains had only begun showing early decomposition signs, whilst Nancy’s body was considerably more advanced in the decay process.
Subsequent claims emerged that Daniel suffered from fragile X syndrome, a genetic condition allegedly causing domestic tensions within the Benoit household.
Further allegations surfaced that Benoit had been injecting his son with human growth hormone (HGH), evidenced by needle marks on the boy’s arms, as his father believed he was undersized.
Benoit killed his third child via strangulation(Image: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Wrestling colleague and close friend Chris Jericho, who had researched the condition extensively, declared the symptoms “fit Daniel to a tee, all across the board.”
Most troubling was how those who publicly claimed ignorance of Daniel’s supposed condition prompted Jericho to observe: “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.”
In his 2011 memoir Undisputed, Jericho later revealed: “It turned out that Daniel didn’t have fragile X, but at the time it made sense because I was grasping at straws.”