The Last Days of Chris Benoit
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It was an act of violence that shocked pro wrestling fans and critics alike, but what really caused one of the WWE’s greatest stars to explode? An investigation into the tragedy reveals as many questions about the industry as it does the crime. Here’s what the WWE doesn’t want you to know.
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By Michael Lewis
 Dr. Astin was well-known throughout the sports and wrestling worlds. A personal physician to many wrestling stars, he was always ready with his prescription pad. Pictures of his famous patients covered the walls of his office, including an autographed snapshot of Chris Benoit. Astin had been prescribing Benoit drugs for several years, and according to an affidavit filed in a federal indictment that would emerge later, he was typically giving Benoit a 10-month supply of steroids every four weeks. After his visit with Astin, Benoit returned home. At 6 p.m. a pool cleaner arrived and saw Daniel and Chris outside the house, grilling dinner on a barbecue. He was the last one to see the family alive.
No one knows exactly what precipitated the events that evening. At some point after the pool cleaner left, Chris and Nancy Benoit struggled in the second floor den of their home. The 220-pound Chris took his 5'4" wife by surprise, first overpowering her, then binding her hands and feet with duct tape. Because police later found blood under her face, they believe Chris may have smashed her head into the floor. Pinning his knee into her back, he then wrapped a TV cable around her neck, drawing it tight until she stopped breathing.
Three weeks prior Nancy had bought her husband a silver cross to wear, a sign of his recent religious devotion. Now Chris Benoit wrapped his wife in a blanket and placed a Bible next to her corpse.
Benoit’s son probably had no idea what happened to his mom; his room was on the opposite side of the 7,500-square-foot house. Police believe that sometime in the next few hours Benoit walked into Daniel’s room while the seven-year-old was still asleep.
Daniel was the happiest little boy around. He loved Cheerios, school, and wrestling. He was slightly small for his age but full of life. He could bust out a perfect imitation of his grandma Maureen Toffoloni, and his bond with Nancy was so great that relatives joked she would have to buy a prom dress one day.
64 wrestlers under the age of 50 have died since 1987, including eight that made the world take notice.
Daniel’s bedroom was a shrine to his daddy. On one shelf there was a foot-high action figure of Chris. To the right of his tiny bed was a chair holding two replica championship belts. On the walls were posters of his dad. One in particular stood out. It showed Benoit executing his finishing move, the Crippler Crossface. With an assassin’s precision, Benoit would kneel down next to a rival grappler. He’d lock his hands around his opponent’s face and pull back to stretch his neck.
As Daniel slept, Benoit approached his bed. Police believe he gently woke him, then convinced his son to swallow some Xanax, an antianxiety drug he himself was taking. The act was remarkable in its kindness, considering that shortly after drugging Daniel, Chris Benoit strangled him. He then placed another Bible next to his body.
Police were later confused by the bruising pattern on Daniel’s face, until one investigator saw footage of Benoit in the ring and realized that it matched the application of the Crippler Crossface. Benoit, it appears, took his son’s life as if he were an opponent in just another simulated fight.
Murder often devolves into suicide relatively fast, with the killer either following a plan or quickly realizing that the future has become unbearable. Benoit prolonged the end for over a day, lingering in the same house with the bodies of his wife and son.
On Saturday afternoon—at least 10 hours after he killed Daniel—he left a voice mail for Chavo Guerrero. He said he’d missed his plane and wouldn’t be able to meet up before that night’s scheduled show in Beaumont, Texas. Guerrero called his friend back, and Benoit reiterated the story about missing the flight. In a tone that Guerrero would remember as strangely “forced,” Benoit said he loved him, then hung up. Baffled, Chavo called back 10 minutes later and asked if anything was wrong. Benoit told him he’d had a stressful day and that Nancy and Daniel had food poisoning and were throwing up. “Everything’s fine, though,” he told Chavo. “I’ll still make tonight’s show.”
A short time later Benoit wandered outside and encountered a neighbor, Holly McFague. He muttered the same story about his wife and son being sick. McFague would recall the conversation as “extremely odd.”
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