Professional wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his seven-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself with a weight-machine pulley, authorities said.
Investigators found anabolic steroids in the house and want to know whether the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) muscle man known as "The Canadian Crippler" was unhinged by the bodybuilding drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as "roid rage."
Authorities offered no motive for the killings, which were spread out over a weekend, and would not discuss Benoit's state of mind. No suicide note was found.
"In a community like this it's bizarre to have a murder-suicide, especially involving the death of a seven-year-old," District Attorney Scott Ballard said on Tuesday. "I don't think we'll ever be able to wrap our minds around this."
The Montreal-born Benoit was one of the stars of the WWE wrestling circuit and was known for his wholesome family-man image. His wife, Nancy, was a wrestling stage manager who worked under the name "Woman." They married in 2000.
When he won the world heavyweight championship in 2004, Benoit hoisted the belt over his head and invited his wife and child into the ring to celebrate.
Asked by the Calgary Sun that year to name his worst vice, Benoit replied: "Quality time with my family is a big vice. It's something I'll fight for and crave."
In spite of those appearances, Nancy Benoit had filed for a divorce in 2003, saying the couple's three-year marriage was irrevocably broken and alleging "cruel treatment."
She later dropped the complaint, as well as a request for a restraining order in which she charged that the 1.78m, 100kg Benoit had threatened her and had broken furniture in their home.
The bodies were found on Monday afternoon in the house, off a gravel road in the suburb about 32km south of Atlanta.
Benoit's 43-year-old wife was killed on Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle, Ballard said.
Daniel was probably killed late on Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, the district attorney said.
Benoit, 40, apparently hanged himself several hours up to as long as a day later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.
The prosecutor said he found it "bizarre" that the wrestler spread out the killings over a weekend and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies.
Ballard said Benoit had sent two text messages to acquaintances, one saying that his wife and son were sick. The other, to a neighbor, said the door to the house was open and that the pets were outside.
The prosecutor said the messages appeared to be an attempt to get someone to the home to find the bodies after his suicide.
Toxicology test results may not be available for weeks or even months, Ballard said.
As for whether steroids played a role in the crime, he said: "We don't know yet. That's one of the things we'll be looking at."
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