Billy Jack Haynes arrested, charged with wife's murder

Former WWE wrestler Billy Jack Haynes confirmed as suspect in fatal shooting of his wife after multi-hour standoff in Portland.

Former WWE wrestler Billy Jack Haynes was confirmed as the suspect in the fatal shooting of his wife after a multi-hour standoff on Thursday morning in Portland, Oregon. Early reports had simply identified the 70-year-old Haynes as "a former wrestler" and described him as uncooperative. This led to a shelter in place order for the surrounding neighborhoods at 6000 SE 100th Avenue in Portland. Police were called to the residence at approximately 10 AM local time following reports of gunfire.

After several hours, local authorities were able to get Haynes (Willam Albert Haynes) to come out and into police custody in a local hospital where he remains as of this writing, being treated for an unrelated medical condition. Once he is released from the hospital, he is expected to be booked into jail, and his charges will be released at that time, according to a statement released by Portland police.

After Haynes was taken into custody, authorities entered the home and found the body of Janette Becraft. The local medical examiner eventually stated that the cause of death was homicide by gunshot wound. Becraft was Haynes' second wife.

Haynes rose to regional prominence in the Pacific Northwest during the early 1980s and later joined the then-WWF from 1986-1988, where he spent his time in the mid-card. He also had a short run in WCW as Black Blood and worked various independent wrestling promotions before his retirement in 1995. Notably, Haynes was part of the eventually dismissed concussion lawsuit that began nearly a decade ago.

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