Police identified the suspect Saturday as the victim’s husband, William Albert Haynes Jr, also known as Billy Jack Haynes, a former professional wrestler.
PORTLAND, Ore. — An 85-year-old woman is dead, and her husband — a retired WWE wrestler — in custody, after police responded to a “possible shooting” at a home in the Lents neighborhood of Southeast Portland Thursday morning.
Just before 10 a.m. officers were called to a home on Southeast 100th Avenue, near Southeast Yukon Street and Southeast Henry Street. Officers tried to contact a suspect who was inside the house, who may have been armed with a gun, but the man wasn’t cooperating, police said.
The Special Emergency Reaction Team (SERT) and the Crisis Negotiation Team (CNT) also responded to the scene. Portland police had asked people living in the area to stay inside and lock their doors.
After two hours of negotiations, William Albert Haynes Jr, who is also known as Billy Jack Haynes, was detained. Officers found his wife, Janette Becraft, shot to death inside the home. Her family has been notified of her death.
Haynes, 70, was widely known in national wrestling circles in the mid-1980s, notably in the World Wrestling Federation and Westlemania III. He debuted in 1982 and retired in 1996.
Haynes is in police custody at a local hospital, where PBB said he is being treated for a medical condition unrelated to the shooting. PBB said once Haynes is discharged from the hospital, he is expected to be booked into jail and his charges revealed.
Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact Detective Ryan Foote at [email protected], (503) 823-0781, or Detective Travis Law at [email protected], 503-823-0395, and reference case number 24-31552.
This is a developing story, and it will be updated when more information becomes available.
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