Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself by the pulley of a weightlifting machine, authorities said Tuesday.

Investigators found anabolic steroids in the house and want to know whether Benoit was unhinged by the bodybuilding drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as roid rage.

Autopsies showed all three died of asphyxiation, he said.

Nancy Benoit was killed Friday in an upstairs family room; her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said.

The son, Daniel, likely was killed late Saturday or early Sunday, said Ballard, who added that Daniel's body was found in his bed.

Benoit apparently killed himself several hours or as much as a day later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room.

The prosecutor said he found it "bizarre" that the World Wrestling Entertainment star spread out the killings and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies.

"I'm baffled about why anybody would kill a 7-year-old," Ballard said.

Nancy Benoit filed for divorce in May 2003, saying their three-year union was irrevocably broken and alleging cruel treatment. But she dropped the complaint, as well as a request for a restraining order.

The WWE said on its Web site that it asked authorities to check on Benoit and his family after being alerted by friends who received "curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday."

Nancy Benoit managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name Woman. The couple met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them in a relationship on World Championship Wrestling, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.