Chris Benoit is dead

[SiteWolf]

It is beyond my realm of thinking for anyone to kill their wife AND child....doing that many hours apart is just mind boggling...

The owner of the company I work for is a HUGE wrestling fan....we have a full blown arena on company premises- it's where employee meetings are held!

A couple of us did some work at his house today...the guy acted like he'd lost a brother- I didn't know until later it's because he actually knew Chris personally...considers many wrestlers as personal friends.

[ibzilly]

First of all as a big fan of Benoit. I am shocked. I was shocked last night when I was watching the show to see VINCE on there first off. The guy fakes his own death and then reality comes. I am thinking if Vince wants to add a little bit more drama to the show he should stay away from death skits. Reality sucks when it comes to terms with you. But hearing that Benoit killed his own family is just sickening. Knowing that he loved his family from what the WWE wrestlers said. Its very odd that he would kill his own family under his own will. Thinking something else was going on in his head/body at the time. But whatever the case maybe. God rest his sons and his wifes soul. And prayers out to the family. They didnt deserve to go down like that.

[blastingoff]

Sickening, just plain sickening! Word is that the WWE knew what had happened yet still ran a tribute to a cold blooded murderer! wow

[rich76]

Curt Henning-Cocaine intoxication


Big Bossman- Heart attack


Eddie Gurrero-cardiovascular disease


Miss Elizabeth-OD Meds and vodka


Rick Rude-GHB and steroids


Bam Bam Bigelow-multiple drugs found in his system including toxic levels of cocaine and benzodiazepine


British Bulldog Davey smith-heart attack


Benoit-HAS to be involving roids IMO

[AzElvis]

Rich I honestly wanna thank you. I had no idea all those people died. I mean I was a big fan in the Hogan era. Bam Bam? Britsih Bulldog? Bossman? WOW..I mean WOW. I didnt know. Sad Sad Sad state of Wrestling. IMO it should end. Not a sport at all and with the knowledge of it not being real and the reality of horros behind the scenes there is just no place for it. To compete they will have to get bigger, unhealthier, more blood etc. To compete with UFC they need to get uglier than the state it is in right now. I just think it needs to end. Vince tried XFL and although he controls the minds of our pre-teen males I believe he should shut it doen. IMHO Thanks again Rich and I am truly saddened by the knowledge of the pice you posted. Out of everything you do here it is your pics I enjoy the most. AAs far as Benoit I pray for the family's souls but where he is gonna go....no prayers will help him.

[herbhub]

I went to a recent wrestling signing show of guys not in the WWE anymore.Bruno Samartino, Ivan Putski,and Brutus Beefcake and they all looked very small now.It must of been all the steroids that were in them.

[jeremy_r_tuttle]

Originally Posted by blastingoff

Sickening, just plain sickening! Word is that the WWE knew what had happened yet still ran a tribute to a cold blooded murderer! wow

This from the WWE website
"The following message from Vince McMahon aired at the beginning of Tuesday's ECW on Sci Fi:

Last night on Monday Night Raw, the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit tonight. On the contrary, tonight's show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, the WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world – entertain you.

Watch Vince McMahon's message."


get your facts straight jack

[herbhub]

WWE says speculation linking Benoit killings, steroids 'sensationalistic'
ESPN.com news services

Updated: June 27, 2007, 1:15 PM ET
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The WWE says reports speculating that steroids played a role in the apparent murder-suicide of professional wrestler Chris Benoit, whom police say killed his wife and son before taking his own life, are "sensationalistic" and are not supported by evidence in the case.




But a link emerged connecting Benoit to a Florida company charged with selling performance-enhancing drugs, as the Albany County, N.Y., district attorney's office said Benoit had received deliveries from the pharmacy. And prosecutors, lacking a suicide note and lacking a motive, still want to know if side effects from performance-enhancing drugs could possibly explain what might have caused Benoit to kill two members of his family and take his own life.

Toxicology test results may not be available to investigators for weeks. As for whether steroids played a role in the crime, Fayette County, Ga. District Attorney Scott Ballard said: "We don't know yet. That's one of the things we'll be looking at."


The WWE, in a news release on its Web site, pointed out that according to police, the steroids found in Benoit's suburban Atlana home were from legal prescriptions; that in the absence of toxicology tests, there was no evidence that Benoit had steroids in his body; that Benoit tested negative for steroids in April; and that the physical evidence from the home and the time that passed between the two killings and Benoit's suicide suggest deliberate acts, rather than an act of rage.


The WWE "strongly suggests that it is entirely wrong for speculators to suggest that steroids had anything to do with these senseless acts, especially when the authorities plainly stated that there is no evidence that Benoit had steroids in his body, pending the toxicological reports, and that they had no evidence at this time as to the motive for these acts," the Stamford, Conn.-based company said.


Benoit strangled his wife Nancy, 43, suffocated his 7-year-old son Daniel and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself with a weight-machine pulley, authorities said Tuesday.


Recent Pro Wrestler Deaths
Chris Benoit's death in a murder-suicide is the latest in a string of professional wrestlers who died relatively young. Here is a list of some prominent performers and how they died:
Date Name Age Cause of Death
2005 Eddie Guerrero 38 Heart failure *
2003 Curt Hennig 44 Acute cocaine intoxication**
2002 David Smith 39 Heart attack***
1999 Owen Hart 34 Accidental fall
1999 Rick Rude 40 Heart failure believed caused by overdose of GHB, steroids
1997 Brian Pillman 35 Heart attack****
* Guerrero had not used illict drugs and alcohol in four years prior to his death, but his prior lifestyle was widely blamed as a contributing factor.
** Hennig's father said a combination of steroids and painkillers contributed to his death.
*** Smith's autopsy said steroid use may have played a role in his death. His brother-in-law Bruce Hart said Smith "paid the price" for using.
**** Pillman, a former NFL player, had a prior history of abusing steroids and painkillers.
Investigators said they found steroids in the house and want to know whether the muscle man nicknamed "The Canadian Crippler" was unhinged by the bodybuilding drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as "roid rage." Steroids have been linked to the deaths of several professional wrestlers in recent years.

Benoit received drug deliveries from a Florida business that sold steroids, human growth hormone and testosterone on the Internet, according to the Albany County, N.Y., District Attorney's Office, which is investigating the business, MedXLife.com.

Six people, including two of the pharmacy's owners, have pleaded guilty in the investigation, and 20 more have been arrested, including doctors and pharmacists.

On Saturday, Benoit called a co-worker to say he had missed a flight and would be late for a wrestling event in Texas, WWE said in a timeline posted Tuesday on its Web site. The co-worker said Benoit sounded tired and groggy and said "I love you," which the co-worker found "out of context," WWE said.


When a co-worker who usually travels with Benoit called him later from the Houston airport, Benoit told the co-worker his wife, Nancy, was throwing up blood and that his son, Daniel, also was throwing up. Benoit said he thought it was food poisoning, according to WWE.

After Benoit talked to a WWE Talent Relations representative, the representative suggested Benoit try to make it to a pay-per-view event in Houston since he would not be able to make it to the live event in Beaumont, Texas.


But early Sunday, two co-workers received a series of text messages from the cell phones of Benoit and his wife. Most stated his home address in Fayetteville, about 20 miles south of Atlanta. One message from Benoit's phone said: "The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open," according to WWE.


The text messages led WWE to ask authorities to check on Benoit and his family.


Ballard said the messages appeared to be an attempt by Benoit to get someone to the home to find the bodies after his suicide.


"In a community like this it's bizarre to have a murder-suicide, especially involving the death of a 7-year-old," Ballard said. "I don't think we'll ever be able to wrap our minds around this."


He said Benoit's 43-year-old wife was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, and her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle. Daniel was probably killed late Saturday or early Sunday, and his body was found in his bed, the district attorney said.


Benoit, 40, apparently hanged himself hours later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.


The prosecutor said it appeared the wrestler remained in the house for up to a day with the bodies.


The boy had old needle marks in his arms, Ballard said. He said he had been told the parents considered him undersized and had given him growth hormones.


"The boy was very small, even dwarfed," Ballard said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[Bill Shaw]

Another strange twist...

from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070628/.../wrestler_dead

Dead wrestler's Web page was altered

By HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 54 minutes ago

ATLANTA - Investigators are looking into who altered pro wrestler Chris Benoit's Wikipedia entry to mention his wife's death hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their 7-year-old son.
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Benoit's Wikipedia entry was altered early Monday to say that the wrestler had missed a match two days earlier because of his wife's death.

A Wikipedia official, Cary Bass, said Thursday that the entry was made by someone using an Internet protocol address registered in Stamford, Conn., where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.

An IP address, a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet, does not necessarily have to be broadcast from where it is registered. The bodies were found in Benoit's home in suburban Atlanta, and it's not known where the posting was sent from, Bass said.

Benoit strangled his wife and son during the weekend, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before hanging himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home, authorities said. No motive was offered for the killings, which were discovered Monday.

Also Thursday, federal drug agents said they had raided the west Georgia office of a doctor who prescribed testosterone to Benoit.

The raid at Dr. Phil Astin's office in Carrollton began Wednesday night and concluded early Thursday, said agent Chuvalo Truesdell, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. No arrests were made.

Hours before the raid, Astin told The Associated Press he had treated Benoit for low testosterone levels, which he said likely originated from previous steroid use.

Among other things, investigators were looking for Benoit's medical records to see whether he had been prescribed steroids and, if so, whether that prescription was appropriate, according to a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because records in the case remain sealed.

Astin prescribed testosterone for Benoit, a longtime friend, in the past but would not say what, if any, medications he prescribed when Benoit visited his office Friday.

State medical records show that Astin's privileges were suspended for three months in 2001 at a Georgia hospital for "reasons related to competence or character."

Astin did not return calls to his cell phone from the AP on Thursday.

Anabolic steroids were found in Benoit's home, leading officials to wonder whether the drugs played a role in the killings. Some experts believe steroids cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as "roid rage."

Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said in a statement Thursday that he could not immediately comment on the raid.

Benoit's page on Wikipedia, a reference site that allows users to add and edit information, was updated at 12:01 a.m. Monday, about 14 hours before authorities say the bodies were found. The reason he missed a match Saturday night was "stemming from the death of his wife Nancy," it said.

Reporters informed the Fayette County district attorney's office of the posting Thursday, and the agency forwarded the information to sheriff's investigators, who are looking into it, a legal assistant said in an e-mail to the AP.

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said that to his knowledge, no one at the WWE knew Nancy Benoit was dead before her body was found Monday afternoon. Text messages released by officials show that messages from Chris Benoit's cell phone were being sent to co-workers a few hours after the Wikipedia posting.

WWE employees are given WWE e-mail addresses, McDevitt said, though he did not know whether Chris Benoit had one.

"I have no idea who posted this," McDevitt said. "It's at least possible Chris may have sent some other text message to someone that we're unaware of. We don't know if he did. The phone is in the possession of authorities."

On Thursday afternoon, the Wikipedia page about Benoit carried a note stating that editing by unregistered or newly registered users was disabled until July 8 because of vandalism.

In other developments Thursday, Ballard told the AP that 10 empty beer cans were found in a trash can in the Benoit home. An empty wine bottle was found a few feet from where Benoit hanged himself, Ballard said.

It could take several weeks for toxicology tests to be completed on Benoit to see what substances, if any, were in his system.

Benoit took four months off from work in 2006 for undisclosed personal reasons, McDevitt said.

"He was feeling depressed, that kind of thing," McDevitt said.

In the days before the killings, Benoit and his wife argued over whether he should stay home more to take care of their mentally retarded 7-year-old son, according to an attorney for the WWE wrestling league.

The child had a rare medical condition called Fragile X Syndrome, an inherited form of mental retardation often accompanied by autism.

Chris Benoit's father, Michael Benoit, declined to comment on the slayings when reached Thursday by telephone in Alberta, Canada. Funeral arrangements were incomplete.

___

Associated Press writer Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this story.

[jeremy_r_tuttle]

and now the rebuttal to that....

http://en.wikinews.org/wiki/Chris_Be...coincidence%22



The anonymous individual responsible for suggesting, 14 hours before police discovered the body, that WWE wrestler Chris Benoit's wife was dead is confessing, saying his/her comment was a "terrible coincidence."

... I feel incredibly bad for all the attention this got because of the fact that what I said turned out to be the truth. Like I said it was just a major coincidence, and I will never vandalize anything on wikipedia or post wrongful information. I've learned from this experience. I just can't believe what I wrote was actually the case, I've remained stunned and saddened over it.... ...
—Continued »

In a post made at 12:26 AM EDT Friday morning to the talk page of a Wikinews article headlined as the "Death of Nancy Benoit rumour posted on Wikipedia hours prior to body being found", the user admitted to writing that Nancy Benoit was dead at the Wikipedia article page for Benoit came from information that was garnered from "rumors and speculation online." Freakishly, the post turned out to be true.

The IP Address of the individual making the apology was identical to that of the one who posted the Nancy Benoit rumor, a strong confirmation of the admission's authenticity. The lengthy apology was not signed, with the individual claiming, "I am just an everyday individual who posted a wrongful remark at the time that received so much attention because it turned out to actually happen."

Wikinews originally broke the story about the suspicious edit after receiving a tip from Wikipedia administrators. The fact the edit originated from a computer in Stamford, CT (the site of WWE headquarters) appears to be another coincidence.

The anonymous editor left a lengthy apology to the Wikimedia community, explaining, "I hope this puts an end to this speculation that someone knew about the tragedy before it was discovered."

Wikinews is continuing to follow the story, but the anonymous user has declined an interview.

Below is the full, unedited apology:

... Hey everyone. I am here to talk about the wikipedia comment that was left by myself. I just want to say that it was an incredible coincidence. Last weekend, I had heard about Chris Benoit no showing Vengeance because of a family emergency, and I had heard rumors about why that was. I was reading rumors and speculation about this matter online, and one of them included that his wife may have passed away, and I did the wrong thing by posting it on wikipedia to spite there being no evidence. I posted my speculation on the situation at the time and I am deeply sorry about this, and I was just as shocked as everyone when I heard that this actually would happen in real life. It is one of those things that just turned into a huge coincidence. That night I found out that what I posted, ended up actually happening, a 1 in 10,000 chance of happening, or so I thought. I was beyond wrong for posting wrongful information, and I am sorry to everyone for this. I just want everyone to know it was stupid of me, and I will never do anything like this again. I just posted something that was at that time a piece of wrong unsourced information that is typical on wikipedia, as it is done all the time.

Nonetheless, I feel incredibly bad for all the attention this got because of the fact that what I said turned out to be the truth. Like I said it was just a major coincidence, and I will never vandalize anything on wikipedia or post wrongful information. I've learned from this experience. I just can't believe what I wrote was actually the case, I've remained stunned and saddened over it.

I wish not to reveal my identity so I can keep me and my family out of this since they have nothing to do with anything. I am not connected to WWE or Benoit at all in anyway. I am from Stamford as the IP address shows, and I am just an everyday individual who posted a wrongful remark at the time that received so much attention because it turned out to actually happen. I will say again I didn't know anything about the Benoit tragedy, it was a terrible coincidence that I never saw coming.

I hope this puts an end to this speculation that someone knew about the tragedy before it was discovered. It was just a rumor that I had heard about from other people online who were speculating what the family emergency Chris was attending to. I made a big mistake by posting this comment on his page, since all we had were what we thought was going on and nothing about what actually was going on yet, and sadly what happened turned out to be my speculation at the time. I assumed wiki would edit out my information, which they did, so thats why I didn't go back to edit it out myself.

I know I keep repeating it but I feel terrible about the mainstream coverage this has received, since it was only a huge coincidence and a terrible event that should of never happened. I am not sure how to react, as hearing about my message becoming a huge part of the Benoit slayings made me feel terrible as everyone believes that it is connected to the tragedy, but it was just an awful coincidence. That is all I have to say, I will never post anything here again unless it is pure fact, no spam nothing like that. Thank you, and let this end this chapter of the Benoit story, and hopefully one day we will find out why this tragedy ever actually happened.

[rich76]

ATLANTA (AP) - The personal doctor of pro wrestler Chris Benoit was charged Monday with improperly dispensing painkillers and other drugs.

The seven-count indictment said Dr. Phil Astin dispensed drugs including Percocet, Xanax, Lorcet and Vicoprofen between April 2004 and September 2005.
The recipients were identified in the indictment by the initials O.G. and M.J. Benoit's initials were not listed.

Astin was expected to make an initial court appearance Monday afternoon.

A criminal complaint was also filed, but was under seal. A law enforcement official close to the case, who spoke on condition of anonymity before the hearing, said the case involves steroids.

Federal drug agents have taken over the probe into whether Astin improperly prescribed testosterone and other drugs to Benoit before the wrestler killed his wife and son and committed suicide in his suburban Atlanta home last month. State prosecutors and sheriff's officials are overseeing the death investigation.

Federal prosecutors are seeking the forfeiture of all property and proceeds Astin obtained through the illegal conduct if he's convicted.

Investigators have conducted two raids at Astin's west Georgia office since last week.

Astin prescribed testosterone for Benoit, a longtime friend, in the past but has not said what, if any, medications he prescribed when Benoit visited his office June 22, the day authorities believe Benoit killed his wife.

Toxicology tests on Benoit's body have not yet been completed, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said.

Anabolic steroids were found in Benoit's home, leading officials to wonder whether the drugs played a role in the killings. Some experts believe steroids can cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as "roid rage."


"We're still asking questions and searching for answers with regard to the death so we can tie up loose ends," Ballard said.

Ballard said finding a motive in the case remains elusive.

"I think it will always be undetermined as to 'Why?"' Ballard said. "I think it's because there can't be any satisfactory reason why you kill a 7-year-old."

Authorities have said Benoit strangled his wife and son, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before hanging himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home.

Benoit's father, Michael, said Monday that "it's impossible to come up with a rational explanation for a very irrational act."

"That's my feeling. Let the cards fall where they fall, we have no control over it at this point," he said. "It's just impossible to come up with a rational explanation for what happened."

---

[herbhub]

Steroid found in body of dead wrestler Benoit 1 hour, 47 minutes ago



ATLANTA (Reuters) - Professional wrestler Chris Benoit, who killed his wife and son before hanging himself, injected steroids not long before he died and his son had been sedated, a medical examiner said on Tuesday.



Nicknamed "The Rabid Wolverine" and "The Canadian Crippler," Benoit, 40, was found dead with his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, on June 25 in their suburban Atlanta home. Police labeled the deaths a murder-suicide.

Dr. Kris Sperry, Georgia's chief medical examiner, said toxicology tests found drugs in all three Benoits -- notably, elevated levels of steroid testosterone in Chris Benoit and the anxiety drug Xanax in his 7-year-old son, Daniel, an indication that he was sedated before he was killed.

Investigators said they could not conclude from test results that steroids contributed to the deaths.

There has been speculation that the murder-suicide by a bulked-up professional wrestler might be a case of "roid rage," a theory that steroid users can become uncontrollably violent.

Investigators said they found anabolic steroids among prescription drugs in Benoit's house and would try to determine if they played a role in the deaths. Testosterone can be used by athletes to improve performance and is considered a form of doping in some sports.

World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., Benoit's employer, said after his death that Benoit had passed a random drug test in April.

The testosterone in Benoit's urine, about 10 times the normal level, indicated that he had injected the steroid within a "reasonably short period of time" before he died, but Sperry said he could not draw any conclusions from that evidence.

The elevated level "is an indicator that he had been injecting testosterone, but how much, how frequently, how often and for how long is something that cannot be answered through this," he said.

Sperry said the results don't shed light on what happened in the Benoit house and there was conflicting scientific data on whether steroids spark rage.

"This is a question that basically no one knows the answer to," he said.

Traces of hydrocodone, a pain reliever, and Xanax, a drug used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, were also found in Benoit's body at levels considered normal for therapeutic use. No other steroids were found.

Xanax and hydrocodone at therapeutic levels were also found in Nancy Benoit's body, which had started decomposing when it was found.

Police said Benoit first killed his wife, who died of asphyxiation. Daniel was apparently killed as he lay in bed, hours before Benoit hung himself with a cord on his weight machine.