10 Things We Learned From VICE's Dark Side Of The Ring: Chris Benoit

7. The Sheriff's Story

Chris Benoit VICE
VICE

Officers from Fayette County, Georgia believed they were running a routine "wellness call" when they approached the Benoit household on 24 June 2007. It was Sunday afternoon, and sheriff Larry Alden figured he'd find Benoit drunk, ill or something else nondescript.

He couldn't have prepared for what police would find.

WWE had called the local office to ask if someone would check the house. They were worried that Chris hadn't shown up to the Vengeance pay-per-view, or spoken to friends for a few days. When Alden and his team got to the house, a neighbour told them she fed the dogs when the Benoits were away, but ran out of the house screaming that "Daniel is dead" when she took them inside.

Alden knew that something was up as soon as he entered the house. He could smell death, and eventually found Daniel face down on his pillow upstairs. There was an unused knife sitting underneath his bed (which some on the doc believe was planted by Benoit). An officer asked if they should perform CPR, but Alden said there was no point - the child was dead.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.