Chris Benoit is dead

[-mmm-]

Along with his wife and 7 year old son

I havent followed wrestling for a few years, but he was one of my favorites going back to his days at ECW, through WCW, and when he was WWE champion.

[rich76]

Monday Night Raw has dedicated this episode to Benoit...some of his greatest moments in WWE.

[herbhub]

Written: June 25, 2007STAMFORD, Conn., June 25, 2007 – World Wrestling Entertainment was informed today by authorities in Fayette County, Ga., that WWE Superstar Chris Benoit, his wife, Nancy, and his son were found dead in their home. Authorities are investigating, but no other details are available at this time.

Instead of its announced programming for tonight on USA Network, WWE will air a three-hour tribute to Chris Benoit.

Chris was beloved among his fellow Superstars, and was a favorite among WWE fans for his unbelievable athleticism and wrestling ability. He always took great pride in his performance, and always showed respect for the business he loved, for his peers and towards his fans. This is a terrible tragedy and an unbearable loss.

WWE extends its sincere condolences and prayers to the Benoit family and loved ones in this time of tragedy.

[StockTrader]

I moved it down here ..

Nick

[herbhub]

I was told that on Fox News they said this is being treated as a homicide.

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Originally Posted by herbhub

I was told that on Fox News they said this is being treated as a homicide.

Not that I trust FNC, but thats very plausible.

I was checking out some of the haunts I used to frequent in the IWC, and what I was reading there was that Benoit skipped last night's pay per view where he was supposed to be in a title bout to be with his family, who were reportedly vomiting up blood on Friday.

[blastingoff]

The AP is reporting that it was NOT a homicide but a double murder/suicide. The bum killed his family and then killed himself. It appears the wife and kid were killed late Saturday or on Sunday and he had only been dead sometime on Monday. I hope that it isn't true, but that is the latest I read.

[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.

[hork]

news around here today hasn't revealed any details other than he, his wife, and their little son were all found dead in their apartment. investigation is still on going.

[hork]

here's a link from the AJC