Former WWF star William “Billy Jack” Haynes was arraigned in Multnomah County Court in Portland, Oregon this past Thursday, February 29, 2024.
Haynes is scheduled to stand trial on Thursday, April 11, 2024 on charges of Murder in the Second Degree and Unlawful Use of a Weapon in relation to the death of his wife, Janette Becraft, 85 in Portland, Oregon several weeks ago.
As previously reported, the former longtime pro wrestling veteran, real name William Albert Haynes III, was arrested after a near two-hour standoff with police back in early February, which included gunshots reportedly being fired from his home in the Lents area of Portland, Oregon.
Local authorities received reports of a gunshot at 6000 SE 100th Avenue around 9:52am on Thursday, February 8, 2024.
KOIN Channel 6 is reporting that Haynes, 70, was not cooperative with the authorities who responded on the scene, leading to a special tactical team and crisis negotiators being brought to the home to handle the situation.
His local neighborhood was ordered to shelter in place while the ordeal was handled.
After a two-hour standoff, Haynes was arrested and taken into custody, where he was questioned overnight regarding the death of his wife, Janette Becraft, 85, in what is being considered a homicide investigation.
The Medical Examiner is reporting that Becraft died of homicide via gunshot wound.
“I can confirm that the man we detained last night remains in police custody this morning,” Sgt. Kevin Allen told PWInsider.com. “He has not been booked into jail or charged with a crime, so we are not releasing his name at this time. I’m in communication with detectives and we will update the news release as soon as there is a development to report.”
A neighbor with ties to the family, Brilynn Matthieu, told local Portland FOX affiliate KPTV, “It’s a tragedy all around. Finally, being able to process the severity of the proximity of how close we were in nature. It’s my dad and I live and help take care of them. Recently, I was just taking care of his wife who had ongoing dementia. I was pretty decently close to both of them and loved them very much.”