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Three Celebrities Who Became Murderers
These days it’s not uncommon for a murderer to achieve some level of celebrity. Names like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Aileen Wournrous and John Wayne Gacy are as recognizable as many Oscar winners. Childhood pictures, family mementos and hand written letters penned by serial killers fetch plenty of money — and attention — when they make it to auction. Some killers enjoy the attention, building cult followings while behind bars; they even sometimes find romance with one of their murder groupies.
While most celebrity killers lead a life of obscurity before their crimes propelled them into the public eye, there are some who are the exact opposite. Although uncommon, celebrities who become murderers aren’t unheard of.
Chris Benoit
Professional wrestler Chris Benoit won more than a dozen championships during his time with mainstream wrestling outlets World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). With a career that began in the mid 80s and ultimately spanned more than two decades, Benoit was described by Dave Meltzer as “one of the top 10, maybe even the top 5, all-time greats.”
There’s no denying Benoit was involved in an aggressive, violent career as a professional fighter. His wife, Nancy, had filed for divorce citing abuse and a ‘reasonable fear’ for the safety of herself and their son. She also filed for a restraining order, but both the divorce filing and the restraining order were later dropped by Nancy.
Unfortunately, Nancy dropping the charges and restraining order didn’t herald a change in the Benoit home. In June of 2007, Benoit missed his regular appearance on the weekend shows for Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). When contacted by friends and co-workers, Chris said his wife and son were extremely sick from food poisoning, claiming they were both vomiting blood. While friends said Benoit sounded “off”, they initially accepted his story.
On June 25, 2007 the police found Benoit, his wife Nancy and their son, Daniel. It didn’t take long for police to realize Benoit had murdered his wife and child over the course of…
