Former wrestler suspected of shooting, killing wife

By Jeffrey Lindblom and Noor Shami

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    PORTLAND, Oregon (KPTV) — Portland police identified the suspect in Thursday’s Lents neighborhood shooting that resulted in an hours-long police standoff.

Police said on Saturday that 70-year-old William Albert Haynes, who also goes by Billy Jack Haynes, of Portland is suspected of shooting and killing his 85-year-old wife, Janette Becraft.

Haynes was a fixture in the old Portland wrestling scene, whose fame and success eventually brought him to the national stage of Wrestlemania.

After retirement, Haynes settled down in Portland’s Lents neighborhood. He and his wife, Janette Bechamp, became known to their neighbors as “Billy and Jan,” a friendly couple with kind souls.

“He told me ‘Come on by anytime you’d like,’” Steve Odri, said. “We’ll sit down and have a beer. He was just your average Joe guy to me, and one of my favorite heroes when I was kid.”

Odri couldn’t believe what happened Thursday.

Police swarmed the streets around Haynes’ home, locked in a standoff with the former icon after investigators said he shot and killed his wife. For hours, Haynes refused to surrender, but ultimately gave himself up.

“It appears to be my elder neighbor killed his wife,” Breelyn Matthieu, said.

Matthieu said she grew to love the couple, her next-door neighbors. She said she often took care of Bechamp, who she said was struggling with Dementia.

“I was staying with her for a couple of days while he was in the hospital,” she said.

Matthieu said Haynes was recently in the hospital because of a fall, where he suffered broken ribs. This past week, she said he suddenly checked out to be with his wife.

“He said he came home because he couldn’t stand being away from her,” she said.

“He is a sweetheart of a guy,” Odri, said.

On Thursday, police found Bechamp dead from a single gunshot wound, and friends couldn’t believe it. Especially Odri, who admired Haynes’ career and stardom.

“Unfortunately, he got hurt or he could have been as famous as Hulk Hogan,” he said.

Those injuries Haynes suffered in the ring led to national headlines a decade ago, when he led a class action lawsuit with 50 other former wrestlers against the WWE, claiming the organization failed to protect them against repeated head injuries that led to long-term brain damage.

The lawsuit alleged multiple concussions led to problems with his health later in life, including depression.

The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which refused to hear it in 2021, and it was dismissed.

Now, the community where Haynes spent years building connections has so many questions.

“A great community around here,” Matthieu said. “A lot of veterans. My dad’s a vet as well and so is Billy. I did love him dearly, and we loved Jan as well. It’s a tragedy all around.”

Police said Haynes is in police custody at an area hospital while being treated for a medical condition unrelated to the shooting. Once he is released from the hospital, he is expected to be booked into jail.

Police said his charges will be released once he is booked.

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