Feb. 29 (UPI) — Former WWE wrestler Billy Jack Haynes was booked Wednesday afternoon and is facing second-degree murder charges in his wife’s Feb. 8 shooting death.
William Albert “Billy Jack” Haynes Jr., previously hospitalized in police custody for a medical issue unrelated to the alleged murder, is charged with second degree murder and unlawful use of a weapon.
Authorities had been waiting for Haynes to be released from the hospital to file the charges. That happened Wednesday afternoon.
Haynes, 70, allegedly shot 85-year-old Janette Becraft Feb. 8 in Portland, Ore. That shooting led to a standoff with police at his home.
According to Portland police, officers responded to reports of shots fired inside a home in the Lents neighborhood in southeast Portland on the morning of Feb. 8.
“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,” police said in a statement.
Once inside the house, police found Becraft’s body. The Medical Examiner determined Becraft died from a gunshot wound.
Wrestler Jake “The Snake” Roberts said he wasn’t surprised by the arrest because he thought Haynes was an unbalanced individual.
Haynes retired from wrestling in 1996.
He claimed to have witnessed the still-unsolved murders of two teens who were killed in Alexander, Ark., while hunting.
