There have been a lot of deaths in Wrestling over the past year, but this has to be the saddest and most tragic. WWE reports that Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and son Daniel were found dead in their home. Officials haven’t release a cause of death. Luckily, the Benoits two other children were reportedly on vacation in Canada. Yesterday, Benoit missed the Vengeance pay-per-view because of a “family emergency”. He had apparently arrived for the taping, but flew back to Atlanta before his ECW World Heavyweight _title_ match against CM Punk. Chris Benoit has long been regarded as one of the premiere technical wrestler in the business. He often raised his opponents wrestling level, most recently helping MVP step up his in-ring skills. Chris Benoit will be missed.

The statement from WWE:

“World Wrestling Entertainment is deeply saddened to report that today Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their home. There are no further details at this time, other than the Benoit family residence is currently being investigated by local authorities. Tonight’s Raw on USA Network will serve as a tribute to Chris Benoit and his family. WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy.”

Update: Tonight’s three-hour RAW opened with Vince McMahon speaking about Chris. Instead of Vince McMahons “memorial”, tonights RAW is showing some of Chris’ best matches, with several tributes taped today by WWE stars playing through out the broadcast. Unsurprisingly, it looks like WWE is going to end the McMahon death angle immediately. Several in the company pushed to end it when Sherri Martel died a day after the angle began.

Update: WWE.com reports that the deaths of Chris Benoit and his family have been ruled a double murder-suicide. From Sports Illustrated:

“… investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, over the weekend, then himself on Monday. A neighbor called police, and the bodies were found in three rooms.”