Retired wrestling star Billy Jack Haynes – who wrestled the likes of Ric Flair and Randy Savage during his nearly 15-year career in the ring – was arrested for allegedly shooting his wife to death in their Oregon home last Thursday.
Police responded to a report of a shooting in the Portland neighborhood of Lents around 10 a.m. on Feb. 8 and learned Haynes, 70, was inside the residence and refused to come out.
With the help of a SWAT team, Haynes was taken into custody without incident after a two-hour standoff.
Police found his wife, Janette Becraft, 85, dead inside the home.
“He is in police custody at a local hospital while he is treated for a medical condition unrelated to the murder or his relationship with law enforcement,” police said after the arrest.
Haynes was arrested for allegedly fatally shooting his wife inside their home in Oregon last week. WWE
“Once he is released from the hospital, which may be a few days from now, he is expected to be put in jail. Haynes’ charges will be released once he is sentenced.”
A longtime friend and neighbor said the pair were a fixture in the local community, with Haynes often regaling local wrestling fans with war stories from his heyday.
“It’s just a huge tragedy,” Brelynn Matthieu told KOIN. “I am quite close to both of them and love them very much. It was a very sad day, all around.”
Haynes was taken into custody after a two-hour standoff with police. WWE
Becraft’s son from a previous relationship, Tod Becraft, was a close friend of Haynes’ since childhood. After her first husband died, she would later marry a wrestler 10 years her junior.
“You are now flying with angels,” the victim’s daughter, Kim Becraft, wrote on Facebook. “They are lucky to have such beautiful souls. Dear mother.”
Haynes is best known for his run in the World Wrestling Federation from 1986 to 1988, when he earned a spot on the infamous 1987 Wrestlemania III card in Detroit.
Janette Becraft, 85, was found dead inside the couple’s home. Portland Police Bureau
He would finally hang up his trunks in 1995 after brief stints in several smaller promotions.
Born William Haynes Jr., the grappler has frequently done retrospective interviews since retiring, and admitted involvement with a cocaine-trafficking ring in the 1980s.
In 2018, Haynes claimed to have witnessed the deaths of two Arkansas teenagers in 1987 after they stumbled upon a drug deal run by corrupt local police. His memory has never been confirmed.
Haynes is best known for his stint in the WWF in the 1980s. THE HANNIBAL TV/YouTube
Along with several other former wrestlers, Haynes unsuccessfully sued Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Entertainment in 2021 for failing to protect them from head injuries during their careers.
Filed in 2014, the Supreme Court declined to take up the case in 2021 after several appeals.
Haynes is expected to be charged with murder.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
