WWE Smackdown Superstar

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The Great Khali

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

The death of Chris Benoit

WWE wrestler Chris Benoit failed to appear at a WWE event on Sunday, June 24, 2007. The next day, Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their 7-year-old son Daniel were found dead in their Fayetteville, Georgia, home at around 2:30 p.m. EDT. At the time, the circumstances surrounding the death were still under investigation.
WWE canceled the scheduled live wrestling event broadcast on June 25 and instead aired a tribute to Benoit's life and career. In the following days, it was reported that investigators believe that Benoit murdered his wife and son over the weekend and hanged himself sometime on Monday.
Once details surrounding the death confirmed that the circumstances pointed to double murder-suicide, WWE.com swiftly removed any references to Benoit on their website, including all news articles relating to his death, summarizing any past matches to exclude his name, and ceasing the sale of any Benoit-related merchandise. On June 26, Vince McMahon stated that there would be no future mention of the Benoit double murder-suicide from WWE other than through his official statements. Even so, critics derided WWE for airing a memorial tribute before the full details had been revealed.

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