Former wrestling star Billy Haynes jailed for fatally shooting his 85-year-old wife

Former wrestler William Albert Haynes Jr., better known as Billy Haynes, was taken into custody by Portland police on Wednesday, February 28. A 70-year-old man is suspected of fatally shooting his 85-year-old wife Jeanette Becraft in their home, the New York Times reports.

Following his arrest earlier this month, Portland police said the suspect was taken to the hospital for treatment of an illness that was “not related to the murder or his arrest by police.” several days.” Once he was released from the hospital on Wednesday, he was taken into custody in Oregon.

The events took place on the morning of February 8, when police received a report of a shooting in the Lentz area, southeast of Portland. Agents went to the home of Billy Haynes and his wife, to whom he has been married since 2022, and contacted the latter, who was uncooperative. After several minutes of negotiations, law enforcement was able to arrest him and found Jeanette Becraft dead inside.

“Charming” neighbor

Neighbor Brelynn Matthew told Fox12 Oregon she knew the couple well, cared for Jeanette Becraft, who has dementia, and recently stayed with her while her husband was treated in the hospital for a rib injury sustained in a fall. At the moment, the circumstances of the tragedy are still unclear, and police are still trying to understand the circumstances that led to the death of Jeanette Becraft.

Described as “charming” by one of his neighbors named Steve Awdry, Billy Haynes excelled in the WWF (Editor’s Note, wrestling organization now called WWE) in the 1980s. After a career of more than ten years and several injuries, he retired from the sport in the 1990s.

After his career, he continued to be talked about for filing a lawsuit against WWE, alleging that the organization mistreated wrestlers by denying and hiding medical research into many of the brain injuries they suffered.