Former WWE wrestler Billy Jack Haynes has reportedly been charged with the murder of his late wife Janette Becraft, which occurred earlier this month.
The Portland Police Bureau released a statement about Haynes’ arrest. In the statement, authorities revealed the former wrestler was released from a hospital and transported to the Multnomah County Detention Center on an arrest warrant for murder in the second degree. He was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon.
On Feb. 8 at approximately 9:52 a.m., the Portland East Precinct officers responded to reports of a shooting that occurred inside a house in the 6000 block of Southeast 100th Avenue.
Authorities then determined the suspect was inside the home and they requested assistance from the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) to safely take the suspect into custody.
After entering the house, officers discovered a deceased adult female. “The victim of the deadly shooting in the Lents Neighborhood has been identified as Janette Becraft, 85, of Portland,” the statement reads.
“Her family has been notified of her death. They are asking for privacy at this time, but they did provide the attached photo for public release.”
It was further revealed that the medical examiner confirmed that Beacraft died of homicide by gunshot wound.
Billy Jack Haynes’ Wife Suffering From Dementia At the Time of Her Death
Meanwhile, neighbors of Billy Jack Haynes and Janette Becraft revealed that Becraft had been suffering from dementia before her murder.
“I was staying with her for a couple of days,” Breelyn Matthieu, one of the neighbors, told media outlet KPTV. “While he was in the hospital.”
Matthieu further pointed out that Billy Jack Haynes had been in the hospital due to a fall. The former wrestler had broken severely ribs, but suddenly checked out of the hospital to be with his wife.
“He said he came home because he couldn’t stand being away from her,” Matthieu continued. “He is a sweetheart of a guy.”
Along with Matthieu, fellow neighbor Steve Odri spoke about Billy Jack Haynes’ personality leading up to the murder.
“He told me ‘Come on by anytime you’d like,’” Odri recalled. “We’ll sit down and have a beer. He was just your average Joe guy to me, and one of my favorite heroes when I was kid.”
Odri further praised Haynes for his former career. “Unfortunately, he got hurt or he could have been as famous as Hulk Hogan.”
Billy Jack Haynes notably suffered through so many injuries that he ended up filing a class action lawsuit alongside 50 other former wrestlers against WWE.
The lawsuit claimed WWE did not protect the wrestlers against repeated head injuries. The injuries often led to long-term brain damage.