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Former World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) star Billy Jack Haynes is currently in police custody following a two-hour standoff in Oregon following the shooting death of his wife.
According to the Portland Police Bureau, Haynes’ wife Janette Becraft was found deceased by police, a victim of a gunshot wound, after tactical teams responded to reports of a shooting in the Lents Neighborhood of the city.
The shooting, which took place on Feb. 8, began with an initial report that stated, “It is unknown if there is a victim or victims. Officers contacted a potential suspect in the home, but he has not cooperated with officers.
“A security perimeter is set up around Southeast Reedway Street and Southeast Foster Road, between Southeast 97th Avenue and Southeast 102nd Avenue.”
In a follow-up message, the Portland Police Bureau wrote, “Officers determined the suspect was inside the home and they requested assistance from the Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) in order to safely take the suspect into custody. Officers went inside the home and located an adult female who was deceased. Homicide detectives responded to the scene and began their investigation.”
On Sunday, it was reported that 70-year-old William Albert Haynes, Jr. (AKA Billy Jack Haynes) was “in police custody at a local hospital while he is being treated for a medical condition unrelated to the homicide or his contact with law enforcement.”
Billy Jack Haynes began his professional wrestling career in 1982 at the age of 28 in Stampede Wrestling.
It was rumored that prior to his becoming a pro wrestler, Haynes had been been in prison on manslaughter charges for beating a man to death.
He would go on to work for Championship Wrestling from Florida where he won the NWA Florida Heavyweight Championship and the NWA Florida United States Tag Team Championship.
Haynes would also appear on wrestling cards for World Class Championship Wrestling and Pacific Northwest Wrestling.
In 1986, Haynes joined the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) with the highlight of his run there being a match with Hercules Hernandez at WrestleMania III.
By 1988, he was out of the WWF and back in Oregon wrestling and running his own promotion, Oregon Wrestling Federation, as well as making sporadic appearances with the Universal Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling, Pacific Northwest Wrestling, Championship Wrestling USA, the United States Wrestling Association, and Asistencia Asesoria y Administración in Mexico.
In 2014, Haynes filed a lawsuit against WWE for “concealment and denial of medical research and evidence concerning traumatic brain injuries suffered by WWE wrestlers.”
The case was dismissed by a judge in 2016.