Domestic violence can be seen in homes all over the world. Studies suggest that domestic violence affects around 10% of families in the United States. Celebrities, often worshiped and looked up to as role models, are no strangers to domestic violence. Let’s recap a few recent cases of domestic violence involving celebrities. In order to narrow down the long list of celebrities involved in domestic violence, let’s choose a few tragic and highly publicized cases involving celebrities named “Chris.”
1. Chris Benoit
Over a three day period ending on June 24, 2007, WWE professional wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife, Nancy Benoit, and then strangled his seven year old son and subsequently hanged himself. Autopsy results showed that Benoit first murdered his wife, Nancy. She was bound at the feet and wrists and died of asphyxiation sometime on Friday. She was wrapped in a towel and some blood was found under her head but Ballard said there were no other signs of a struggle. The couple’s son, who also died of asphyxia, was apparently killed as he lay in bed on Saturday morning, hours before Benoit hanged himself. Benoit left no suicide note but placed bibles alongside the bodies of his wife and son, as well as a bible on his weight lifting machine. Since Benoit’s suicide, numerous explanations for his actions have been proposed, including concussions, steroid abuse, and a failing marriage with his wife. The murder led to numerous media accounts and a federal investigation into steroid abuse in professional wrestling.
2. Chris Brown
Chris Brown turned himself in to the LAPD on February 8, 2009, and was booked on suspicion of making criminal threats, while under investigation for domestic violence charges, following an argument with an unidentified woman. The police report did not name the female in the incident as is policy, but stated that the she had “suffered visible injuries”. However, various news media such as the Los Angeles Times, CNN, and MSNBC said that sources had identified the alleged victim as his girlfriend and fellow R&B singer Rihanna. Brown later released a statement saying, “Words cannot begin to express how sorry and saddened I am over what transpired.”
On March 5, 2009, Brown was charged with felony assault and making criminal threats. He was arraigned on April 6, 2009, and pleaded not guilty to one count of assault and one count of making criminal threats. On June 22, 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to a felony and accepted a plea deal of community labor, five years formal probation, and domestic violence counseling. Several organizations against domestic violence expressed criticism over the plea deal, advocating the punishment was not severe enough for the crime. On August 25, Brown was sentenced to five years of probation, one year of domestic violence counseling, and six months of community service; the judge retained a five-year restraining order on Brown, which requires him to remain 50 yards away from Rihanna, 10 yards at public events.
3. Chris Henry
On December 16, 2009, professional football player Chris Henry was involved in a car accident in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he sustained grave injuries. Charlotte police stated that Henry fell out of the back of a moving truck driven by his fiancé, Loleini Tonga, while they were engaged in a domestic dispute. On December 17, 2009, Charlotte police announced that Henry had died at 6:36 a.m. ET. On December 19, police confirmed that Henry died of blunt force trauma to the head. No charges have been filed against his fiancé by this date, but she has not been cleared by police. The death of Chris Henry stands for the proposition that domestic violence disputes can easily lead to tragic, irreversible accidents.
