True Crime Collection

Chris Benoit

On Friday, 22nd June, 2007, Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy Benoit in an upstairs bedroom of their home. Her limbs where bound, and her body was wrapped in a towel. A copy of the Bible was left by her body. Injuries indicated that Chris had pressed a knee into her back while pulling on a cord around her neck, causing strangulation. Officials said that there were no signs of immediate struggle. Toxicologists found alcohol in her body, but were unable to determine whether it had been present before death or was a decomposition product. Decomposition also made it difficult to estimate pre-death levels of hydrocodone and alprazolam, found in "therapeutic levels" in her body. In any case, her medical examiner saw no evidence that she was sedated as her son had been when he was killed. 

Daniel Benoit was born 25th February 2000 and was sadly killed on 23rd June 2007. Daniel was Chris' 3rd child and 2nd son, having older paternal half-siblings named David and Megan from Chris' first wife, Martina. He was Nancy's only child. 

Daniel was suffocated and killed in his bedroom, and a copy of the Bible was left by his body. Daniel had internal injuries to the throat area, showing no bruises. Daniel's exact time of death is unknown. The reports determined Daniel was sedated with Xanax and likely unconscious when he was killed. His body had also just started to show signs of decomposition but was not as far along as his mother's body. 

It was later alleged that Daniel had Fragile X syndrome and that this was the cause of domestic problems in the Benoit family. It was also suggested that needle marks on Daniel's arms were the result of growth hormones given to him because Chris and his family considered him undersized due to Fragile X. Chris' coworker and best 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 have the condition, Chris 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 Chris Jericho's initial statements regarding Daniel, he later stated 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."

District Attorney 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, Daniel Benoit's teachers reported that he was on par with other students and not about to be held back as previously thought. Speaking publicly for the first time in a major public interview on a Talk is Jericho podcast in 2016, Nancy's sister, Sandra Toffoloni, unequivocally denied any claims that Daniel had ever had Fragile X or any other such condition. She also stated that claims of needle track marks on Daniel's arms were "preposterous".

At about 3:30pm on 23rd June, 2007, fellow wrestler and close friend Chavo Guerrero received a voicemail message from Chris' phone stating that both Nancy and Daniel had food poisoning and he would be late for that night's house show in Beaumont, Texas. Chavo called Chris back and found that Chris sounded tired and groggy as he confirmed everything that he had said in his voice message. Chavo, who was "concerned about Chris' tone and demeanour," called him back 12 minutes later. Chris did not answer the call, and Chavo left a message asking Chris to call back.

At 3:44pm, Chris called Chavo back, stating that he had not answered the call because he was on the phone with Delta Air Lines changing his flight. Chris stated that he had a stressful day due to Nancy and Daniel "being sick from food poisoning". Chavo than replied with "All right man, if you need to talk, Im here for you". Chris then ended the conversation by saying "Chavo, I love you". During a 2014 appearance on Chris Jericho's Talk is Jericho podcast, Chavo said Chris sounded "off" when he talked to him, especially when he said, "I love you". Another co-worker who often travelled with Chris called him from outside the Houston airport and Chris answered. Chris told the coworker that Nancy was vomiting blood and that Daniel was also vomiting. Chris failed to show up for the house show in Beaumont, and left a voicemail on Chavo's cellphone that he would be on a flight that would arrive in Houston at 8:00am on the following morning. During this time, Chris also called and left a voicemail for an unknown friend.