Chris Benoit

~~[MERIT]~~ · 03-28-2011, 09:44 PM

What are everyone's thoughts on the Chris Benoit murders/suicides? For those who don't remember, I'll piece it together for you.

-Chris Benoit was a Canadian professional wrestler.

-His body was found, along with the bodies of his wife and son in their home in June of 2007.

It is speculated that he murdered his wife and son by drugging them, and then suffocating them. He then supposedly hanged himself using a weight-lifting machine.

There are several factors that seem odd in this case:

-The death of his wife, Nancy Benoit, was reported on Wikipedia before it was even discovered that there had been a murder/suicide.

-The IP address of the person posting the news was traced to a computer in Stamford, Connecticut, where the headquarters of the WWE are located (the company that he worked for).

-Chris' body was found in his basement surrounded by nearly two dozen empty beer cans and multiple empty bottles of wine, yet he had ZERO blood-alcohol content when tested.

-Chris supposedly hanged himself on a weight-lifting machine, specifically a Lat Pull-Down bar. He weighed over 220 pounds. If you've ever used a Lat Pull-Down bar, you know that it is virtually impossible to pull the bar down, detach the bar from the cable, wrap it around your neck, and the let go (with the counter-weight being more than his body weight).

I'm not saying he is innocent, but I believe that the case should be re-opened and looked into deeper. The WWE has pulled all mentions of him from their catalog (DVD's, photos, Title reigns, his signature moves, his catch-phrases, etc.). I realize that with no witnesses and all parties dead, that it is sort of a moot point and more conjecture than anything, but I honestly believe that there are too many holes in the story. It is not right to post-humously vilify the man's memory.

Quote:

On June 25, 2007, police entered Benoit's home on a "welfare check" after several missed appointments, leading to concerns.[99] The officers discovered the bodies of Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their 7-year-old son Daniel at around 2:30 p.m. EDT.[100] Upon investigating, no additional suspects were sought by authorities.[101] It was determined that Benoit had committed the murders.[102]

Over a three day period, Benoit had killed his wife and son before he hanged himself.[14][15] His wife was bound before the killing. Benoit's son was drugged and likely unconscious before Benoit strangled him.[103] Benoit then committed suicide with a weight machine.[102]

WWE canceled the scheduled three hour long live Raw show on June 25, and replaced the broadcast version with a tribute to his life and career, featuring his past matches, segments from the Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story DVD, and comments from wrestlers and announcers.[104] However, once the details of the murder-suicide became apparent, WWE quickly and quietly began distancing itself from the wrestler by removing merchandise and no longer mentioning him. The June 26 episode of ECW began with Vince McMahon addressing the television audience about the circumstances and announcing that there would be no mention of Benoit that night other than his comments. There was no mention of Benoit at all the following Friday on Smackdown.

Toxicology reports released on July 17, 2007 revealed that at their time of death, Nancy had three different drugs in her system: Xanax, hydrocodone, and hydromorphone, all of which were found at the therapeutic rather than toxic levels. Daniel was found to have Xanax in his system, which led the chief medical examiner to believe that he was sedated before he was murdered. Benoit was found to have Xanax, hydrocodone, and an elevated level of testosterone, caused by a synthetic form of the hormone, in his system. The chief medical examiner attributed the testosterone level to Benoit possibly being treated for a deficiency caused by previous steroid abuse or testicular insufficiency. There was no indication that anything in Benoit's body contributed to his violent behavior that led to the murder-suicide, concluding that there was no "roid-rage" involved.[105] Prior to the murder-suicide, Benoit had been given illegal steroids not in compliance with WWE's Talent Wellness Program in February 2006. Benoit received nandrolone and anastrozole. During the investigation into steroid abuse, it was revealed that other wrestlers had also been given steroids.[106][107]

After the double-murder suicide, former wrestler Christopher Nowinski contacted Michael Benoit, father of Chris Benoit, suggesting that years of trauma to his son's brain may have led to his actions. Tests were conducted on Benoit's brain by Julian Bailes, the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, and results showed that "Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient."[108] He was reported to have had an advanced form of dementia, similar to the brains of four retired NFL players who had suffered multiple concussions, sank into depression, and harmed themselves or others. Bailes and his colleagues concluded that repeated concussions can lead to dementia, which can contribute to severe behavioral problems.[109] Benoit's father suggests that brain damage may have been the leading cause of the crime.[110] He also confirmed that his son was quietly cremated, but what was done with the ashes is not public knowledge.

Chris Benoit - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Quote:

Wikinews has learned through an investigation that anonymous edits on the Wikipedia article Chris Benoit were added about the death of his wife Nancy Benoit 14 hours before police entered the Benoit home to find the former professional World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Canadian wrestler and his family dead.

Death of Nancy Benoit rumour posted on Wikipedia hours prior to body being found - Wikinews, the free news source

Quote:

The Chris Benoit double murder suicide occurred over a three-day period ending on June 24, 2007, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife, Nancy Benoit, strangled his seven-year-old son, Daniel, 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 some time on Friday, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told a news conference. 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 in his weight room. Benoit placed copies of the Bible alongside the bodies of his wife and son, as well as a Bible on his weight lifting machine.[1][2] Since Benoit's suicide, numerous explanations for his actions have been proposed, including concussions,[3] steroid abuse,[4] and a failing marriage with his wife.[5] The murder led to numerous media accounts, and federal investigation into steroid abuse in professional wrestling.

Chris Benoit double murder and suicide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

EvilChuck · 03-29-2011, 06:17 AM

What are you suggesting? That he was killed by someone from WWE?

If you remember, he was supposed to be at a PPV show on the sunday night, but didn't show up. The commentators said on the night that he'd had a family emergency. Its not out of the realms of possibility that he explained the severity of the emergency, and had told those in charge that his wife had died. If WWE officials (the McMahons) knew she had died because he'd told them, its not crazy to think that news spread around the headquarters quickly, with someone deciding to update the wikipedia page before it was taken down (by whom? If I was to guess, I'd say someone who thought it was a hoax like so many other celebrity deaths posted on wikipedia).

I seem to recall the reason why the police even went to the Benoit house was because of a text that had been sent to Chavo Guerrero, saying something like"someone will need to let the dogs out", which raised alarm bells in Chavo's head, calling for the police to investigate and discover the three dead bodies

Then the rest is as known. Raw was a tribute show, by the next night police had determined that Benoit himself had killed his family before killing himself, and WWE took the understandable decision to distance themselves from him.

I am of the opinion that nothing sketchy was done by anyone but Chris Benoit, who was a fantastic wrestler but ultimately will be remembered as the wrestler who killed his wife and son, before killing himself.

~~[MERIT]~~ · 03-29-2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EvilChuck

What are you suggesting? That he was killed by someone from WWE?

If you remember, he was supposed to be at a PPV show on the sunday night, but didn't show up. The commentators said on the night that he'd had a family emergency. Its not out of the realms of possibility that he explained the severity of the emergency, and had told those in charge that his wife had died. If WWE officials (the McMahons) knew she had died because he'd told them, its not crazy to think that news spread around the headquarters quickly, with someone deciding to update the wikipedia page before it was taken down (by whom? If I was to guess, I'd say someone who thought it was a hoax like so many other celebrity deaths posted on wikipedia).

I seem to recall the reason why the police even went to the Benoit house was because of a text that had been sent to Chavo Guerrero, saying something like"someone will need to let the dogs out", which raised alarm bells in Chavo's head, calling for the police to investigate and discover the three dead bodies

Then the rest is as known. Raw was a tribute show, by the next night police had determined that Benoit himself had killed his family before killing himself, and WWE took the understandable decision to distance themselves from him.

I am of the opinion that nothing sketchy was done by anyone but Chris Benoit, who was a fantastic wrestler but ultimately will be remembered as the wrestler who killed his wife and son, before killing himself.

I'm not suggesting that the WWE had a hand in it, I'm just saying that the wikipedia post which was traced back to a computer that was used by WWE employees is a little odd, and that the police basically disregarded that fact in the investigation, belittling it as nothing more than a hoax that happened to be true.

All of Chris' correspondence with the WWE during his absence was done by text message, rather than an actual phone call. A text message could be sent by anyone using his phone and claiming to be him.

I realize that I sound like a conspiracy nut, but there are just too many inconsistancies with the story for me to accept the conclusion that the police formed about the events.

Also, the fact that this was seen as an open-and-shut case, despite all of these inconsistancies makes me all the more suspicious.

Where's the motive? I realize that Benoit's mental status was in question due to year's of head and brain trauma, but that doesn't mean that he would just go off and kill his family and himself for no reason. They had no money problems, he loved his son more than life itself, and he was happily married (according to all accounts given by family members and friends). They ruled out 'roid-rage' as he wasn't juiced up at the time. He wasn't drunk, as he had no alcohol in his blood. I just don't see any motive.

With 3 dead bodies, the only factors that they really have to go on to determine a sequence of events are the times of death. With Chris dying last, they assume he was responsible for the previous deaths/murders.

Chris sent out a text message saying that someone needed to 'come let the dogs out.' The door to his house was found unlocked when the police arrived. That's pretty convenient that there are 3 dead bodies, no motive, the families dogs are corralled and shut off from the rest of the house, and the door is found unlocked.

I'm not sure what happened, but I believe that there needs to be a more thorough investigation.

~~Dirty~~ · 03-29-2011, 05:05 PM

I saw this when it happened, I'm pretty interested in anything that happens in American sports and originally it looked like this was a steroid story of sorts. I just went back and re-read some thing and I still think this was a double-murder suicide. It makes sense to me. I find it too coincidental that Benoit had called Guerrero earlier in the day and said about his wife and child being sick and told a co-worker that his son or wife was vomitting blood. Then later in the day they were found suffocated. That's extremely coincidental to me.

Seems like his wife was drunk, making her easier to handle and suffocate. His son was drugged. He had already told the WWE that he would miss the event for "personal reasons" and a guy at their headquarters updated his wikipedia to say his wife died, and that was his personal reason. That's coincidental too but I don't think the WWE had anything to do with it, which is the only explanation for someone at the headquarters knowing. I really do think some guy just updated his Wiki and it happened to be true. It wasn't like he went into detail or anything or mentioned his son.

There isn't a clear motive, but Benoit's brain ended up looking like that of an 85 year old Alzheimer's victim. He probably wasn't in a good mental state. Maybe he was having marital problems. Nobody knows why it happened but the main reason I think it wasn't some sort of frame job or outside murder is that nothing was stolen.It would have to be an absolutely epic frame job to do something like this. No theft, death by suffocation instead of something quick like a gunshot. How would anyone subdue and hang Benoit? He wasn't drugged up or drunk or anything to my knowledge.

It seems open and shut to me, everything points to Benoit killing his family then committing suicide.

crukster · 03-29-2011, 05:32 PM

Meh it wouldn't surprise me, they do say everything in pro-wrestling is fixed.

~~[MERIT]~~ · 03-30-2011, 03:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crukster

Meh it wouldn't surprise me, they do say everything in pro-wrestling is fixed.

As horrible as this comment is in the current context, it did make me laugh, which made me feel bad about laughing about a double murder/suicide.

Bravo/Shame on you.

midnight rain · 03-30-2011, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oojay

I'm not suggesting that the WWE had a hand in it, I'm just saying that the wikipedia post which was traced back to a computer that was used by WWE employees is a little odd, and that the police basically disregarded that fact in the investigation, belittling it as nothing more than a hoax that happened to be true.

Study up, it was just a coincidence:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wikipedia

A statement regarding Nancy Benoit's death was added to the Chris Benoit English Wikipedia article fourteen hours before police discovered the bodies of Benoit and his family. This seemingly prescient addition was initially reported on Wikinews and later on Fox News Channel. The article originally read: "Chris Benoit was replaced by Johnny Nitro for the ECW World Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy." The phrase "stemming from the death of his wife Nancy" was added at 12:01 a.m. EDT on June 25,[67] whereas the Fayette County police reportedly discovered the bodies of the Benoit family at 2:30 p.m. EDT (14 hours, 29 minutes later). The IP address of the editor was traced to Stamford, Connecticut, which is also the location of WWE headquarters.[68] After news of the early death notice reached mainstream media, the anonymous poster accessed Wikinews to explain his edit as a "huge coincidence and nothing more."[69][70]
Police detectives "seized computer equipment from the [man held] responsible for the postings" and called the posting an unbelievable "hindrance" to their investigation, but believed he was otherwise uninvolved, declining to press charges.[71][72] The man had found several rumors on-line[73] which supported his theory about the Benoit "family emergency" as reported in wrestling news; the IP from which he made the edit in question has been tentatively traced to vandalizing the Wikipedia entries for Ron Artest, Stacy Keibler, and Naugatuck, Connecticut.[74]

Chris Benoit double murder and suicide - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Howard the Duck · 03-30-2011, 11:16 PM

it sounds about the same as the conspiracy surrounding Kurt Cobain's suicide to me - some PI is still conducting an investiagtion that Courtney killed him by contract

03-29-2011, 06:17 AM	#2 (permalink)
EvilChuck #based Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: (Near) London, England Posts: 443	What are you suggesting? That he was killed by someone from WWE? If you remember, he was supposed to be at a PPV show on the sunday night, but didn't show up. The commentators said on the night that he'd had a family emergency. Its not out of the realms of possibility that he explained the severity of the emergency, and had told those in charge that his wife had died. If WWE officials (the McMahons) knew she had died because he'd told them, its not crazy to think that news spread around the headquarters quickly, with someone deciding to update the wikipedia page before it was taken down (by whom? If I was to guess, I'd say someone who thought it was a hoax like so many other celebrity deaths posted on wikipedia). I seem to recall the reason why the police even went to the Benoit house was because of a text that had been sent to Chavo Guerrero, saying something like"someone will need to let the dogs out", which raised alarm bells in Chavo's head, calling for the police to investigate and discover the three dead bodies Then the rest is as known. Raw was a tribute show, by the next night police had determined that Benoit himself had killed his family before killing himself, and WWE took the understandable decision to distance themselves from him. I am of the opinion that nothing sketchy was done by anyone but Chris Benoit, who was a fantastic wrestler but ultimately will be remembered as the wrestler who killed his wife and son, before killing himself.

03-29-2011, 05:05 PM	#4 (permalink)
~~Dirty~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: USA Posts: 981	I saw this when it happened, I'm pretty interested in anything that happens in American sports and originally it looked like this was a steroid story of sorts. I just went back and re-read some thing and I still think this was a double-murder suicide. It makes sense to me. I find it too coincidental that Benoit had called Guerrero earlier in the day and said about his wife and child being sick and told a co-worker that his son or wife was vomitting blood. Then later in the day they were found suffocated. That's extremely coincidental to me. Seems like his wife was drunk, making her easier to handle and suffocate. His son was drugged. He had already told the WWE that he would miss the event for "personal reasons" and a guy at their headquarters updated his wikipedia to say his wife died, and that was his personal reason. That's coincidental too but I don't think the WWE had anything to do with it, which is the only explanation for someone at the headquarters knowing. I really do think some guy just updated his Wiki and it happened to be true. It wasn't like he went into detail or anything or mentioned his son. There isn't a clear motive, but Benoit's brain ended up looking like that of an 85 year old Alzheimer's victim. He probably wasn't in a good mental state. Maybe he was having marital problems. Nobody knows why it happened but the main reason I think it wasn't some sort of frame job or outside murder is that nothing was stolen.It would have to be an absolutely epic frame job to do something like this. No theft, death by suffocation instead of something quick like a gunshot. How would anyone subdue and hang Benoit? He wasn't drugged up or drunk or anything to my knowledge. It seems open and shut to me, everything points to Benoit killing his family then committing suicide.

03-29-2011, 05:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
crukster Music Addict Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 181	Meh it wouldn't surprise me, they do say everything in pro-wrestling is fixed.

03-30-2011, 11:16 PM	#8 (permalink)
Howard the Duck Live by the Sword Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Posts: 9,075	it sounds about the same as the conspiracy surrounding Kurt Cobain's suicide to me - some PI is still conducting an investiagtion that Courtney killed him by contract