from 1wrestling..
On Sunday, Benoit did not appear at Vengeance and was replaced at the last minute by Johnny Nitro. WWE did not announce in advance that Benoit was not going to appear because they were not certain whether he was en route to the show or if he remained home. At some point during the day on Sunday, Benoit apparently sent text messages (believed to have been to Chavo Guerrero) that concerned WWE officials and caused them to alert local authorities and to ask them to go to the Benoit home to check on the family.
Fayette County District
Attorney Scott Ballard is quoted in the Atlanta Journal Constition as saying deails of the Benoit family murder-suicide are going to prove bizarre. Ballard was quoted as saying, "The details when they come out are going to prove a little bizarre."
hart family reacts...
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Wrestling/2007/06/26/4291381-sun.html
don't know the details, and I'm not sure I even want to know," said Hart, just hours after learning of the discovery of Benoit's body - along with those of his wife and son - in his suburban Atlanta home.
"He was like a family member to me, and everyone in my family is taking it real hard.
"It's almost like reliving the whole Owen (Hart) death over again."
At a young age, Benoit, an Edmonton native, became a standout among many wrestling prospects who trained in the famed "dungeon" basement of the Hart family home in Calgary.
"Chris was always one of the good guys - a straight guy and a hard-working guy," Hart said.
"When you list off all the qualities of someone like Benoit, he had a lot of integrity and was a good, family man. "He was really respected and really loved by everybody."
Bret's older brother, Ross Hart, a producer and former part-time wrestler, further described the onetime "Canadian Crippler" as respectful, polite and very humble.
"We kind of adopted him when he first broke into the business in 1986," said Ross, adding Benoit was a huge fan of Stampede Wrestling and idolized the Dynamite Kid.
"He was a quick learner, fast on his feet and had natural strength and agility.
"We learned right away he'd be a natural talent."
And he's been an outstanding mentor to the next generation of Hart family wrestlers, said Ross and Bret's sister, Diana.
That's especially true of the last six months in Atlanta, where Harry Smith (son of the late Davey Boy Smith), Nattie Neidhart (daughter of Jim Neidhart), T.J. Wilson (Nattie Neidhart's fiance) and Ted Hart (Ross's nephew) had been training close to Benoit.
"My son Harry and the others have all been talking about all the great plans that were to come with Chris mentoring them," said an emotionally shaken Diana, the former wife of Davey Boy Smith.
"And they were all hoping of Bret coming back to have a Hart Foundation wrestling reunion. "This is all really hard to believe."