The free-style wrestler Chris Benoit caused the death of his wife and seven-year-old son after strangled them and then hanged himself with a weight-machine pulley, authorities said Tuesday.

After killing the members of his family in two consecutive days, Benoit left a Bible next to each body.

His wife was found dead in an upstairs family room with her wrists and feet bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle. The crime has probably been committed on Friday, the latest reports say.

Daniel was probably suffocated late Saturday or early Sunday, and his body was found in his bed.

In the beginning of the drama Benoit called a co-worker his wife and son had food poisoning and were throwing up. That was the pro wrestler's excuse for not taking part in a scheduled WWE event in Texas.

The co-worker said Benoit sounded tired and groggy and said "I love you," which the co-worker found "out of context," WWE said.

Early on Sunday, two co-workers received a series of text messages from the cell phones of Benoit and his wife. Most stated his home address about 20 miles south of Atlanta. One message from Benoit's phone read: "The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open," according to WWE.

The text messages led WWE to ask authorities to check on Benoit and his family.

Benoit, a Canadian native, had been a professional wrestler since 1985, including the past eight years with the World Wrestling Entertainment.

His 43-year-old wife, Nancy, was a manager for several wrestlers and the two met when they were with now-defunct World Championship Wrestling. In addition to the murdered Daniel, Benoit had two children from a previous relationship, who now live in Canada.

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