Man that's totally f'd up. Apparently he killed his wife and kid, then himself. He used to be one of my favourite wrestlers back in the day when I watched, and he's Canadian too no less.



Associated Press
ATLANTA — Canadian pro wrestling legend 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 today.

Investigators also found prescription anabolic steroids in the house, Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department said. He would not comment on Benoit’s state of mind or possible motive.

Steroid abuse has been linked to depression, paranoia, and aggressive behaviour or angry outbursts known as “roid rage.”

“We don’t know yet (whether there was a connection between the deaths and steroids). That’s one of the things we’ll be looking at,” said Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard.

Benoit, a Montreal native whose nickname early in his career was the "Canadian Crippler,” was one of the stars of the WWE wrestling circuit and was known for his wholesome family man image.

His wife, Nancy, was a wrestling stage manager who worked under the name “Woman.” They met and fell in love when their wrestling story lines intertwined.

When he won the world heavyweight championship, Benoit hoisted the belt over his head and invited his wife and son, Daniel, into the ring to celebrate.

Autopsies showed all three died of asphyxiation, Pope said.

Benoit’s wife 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, was likely killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, Ballard said.

Benoit apparently killed himself several hours and as long as a day later, Ballard said. Benoit was found in a downstairs weight room, his body hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.

The prosecutor said he found it “bizarre” that the WWE wrestling star spread out the killings over a long weekend 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. “I don’t think we’ll ever be able wrap our head around that.’’

Nancy Benoit filed for a divorce in May 2003, saying their three-year union was irrevocably broken and alleging “cruel treatment.”

But she later dropped the complaint, as well as a request for a restraining order in which she charged that Benoit had threatened her and had broken furniture in their home.

In the divorce filing, she said Benoit made more than $500,000 a year as a professional wrestler and asked for permanent custody of Daniel and child support. In his response, Benoit sought joint custody.

Fayette County Coroner C.J. Mowell did not return calls seeking comment. The answering service for his funeral home said he was out of town.

Asked about the condition of the interior of the house, sheriff’s Sgt. Keith Whiteside said investigators found “nothing really out of the ordinary.”

Benoit has two other children from a prior relationship.

Neighbours said the Benoits led a low-key lifestyle.

“We would see Chris walking in his yard from time to time. He wasn’t rude, but he wasn’t really outwardly warm,” said Alaina Jones, who lives across the street.

Jimmy Baswell, who was Benoit’s driver for more than five years, placed a white wreath at the Benoits’ gate. “They always seemed like they were the happiest people,” he said.

World Wrestling Entertainment said on its website that it asked authorities to check on Benoit and his family after being alerted by friends who received “several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning.”

The WWE, based in Stamford, Conn., said authorities asked that it not release further information on the deaths.

Benoit was a former world heavyweight champion, Intercontinental champion and held several tag-team titles.

At five-foot-11 and 220 pounds, Benoit was often described as a rabid wolverine in the ring. Sometimes known early in his career as the “Canadian Crippler,” he had a chiselled physique and was known for his superior technical skills.

The “Crippler Crossface” was one of his signature moves, along with a flying headbutt from the top rope and triple German suplex.

Fellow wrestlers admired Benoit’s hard-nosed attitude.

“Chris was the type of guy you’d want to go to war with,” said WWE champion John Cena. “He was a good man, he truly lived for the business. He did everything for it.”

Benoit held several titles over his career but realized his dream at Wrestlemania 20 in 2004, defeating Shawn Michaels and champion Triple H in a triple threat match at Madison Square Garden to win the WWE world heavyweight championship for the first time.

Benoit’s wife managed several wrestlers and went by the stage name, “Woman,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

They met when her then-husband drew up a script that had them involved in a relationship as part of an ongoing story line on World Championship Wrestling, the newspaper said.

Benoit became a standout at an early age among many wrestling prospects who trained in the famed dungeon basement of the home where fellow Canadians and professional wrestlers Owen and Bret Hart trained.

Owen Hart was killed in a freak stunt accident during a wrestling pay-per-view event in 1999.

“He was like a family member to me, and everyone in my family is taking it real hard,” Bret Hart, a five-time champion with the now-defunct World Wrestling Federation, said. “It’s almost like reliving the whole Owen (Hart) death over again.”

Benoit was scheduled to perform at the “Vengeance” pay-per-view event Sunday night in Houston, but was replaced at the last minute because of what announcer Jim Ross called “personal reasons.”

The WWE cancelled its live “Monday Night RAW” card in Corpus Christi, Texas, and USA Network (the Score in Canada) aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast.

On the show, fellow wrestler Adam Copeland of Toronto (known as “Edge”), said he loved getting into the ring with Benoit. “We put on some terrific shows,” he said. “We were like a couple of Canadian boys fighting over the last beer.”

Benoit maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling. The Fayette County Tax Assessors Office lists the value of the house, situated on more than 3.4 hectares, at nearly $900,000.

http://www.thestar.com/article/229864
http://www.thestar.com/article/229863
http://www.thestar.com/article/229549
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/

I Blame Canada.

It is a bit messed up. I couldn't believe all the sympathy for him. I'm not sure about all the "roid rage" but I just don't know how much sympathy I can give to a man who kills his family and then himself. It's still very tragic though, very sad...

I don't know the guy, but it's an awful story

yeah, the funny thing is, WWE and friends talk about what a great man he was, and that they love him still and sheit... if i knew that my friend killed his family, despite if he's "suicided" himself or not, I would hate that sunuva biatch ! I would kick him so hard in the nutts until he spits em out !

well the problem was that inital reports iddnt say anything about him commiting suicide or even a potential murder...shitty situation for the WWE

yeah, thats why u cant find any benoit stuff on the WWE shop anymore...

Yeah i was watching this on the news, thats so fucked up and so not like him

I have his DVD set where he talks about his life and career and he almost cries after everything that he talks about, which means hes a very caring / sympathetic person. and thats sooo strange and unlike him to kill people.

when i first saw it on WWE.com i was like ... oh sure, this is just another storyline like how they said vince was dead. turned out to be true.


RIP Benoit.

Benoit’s son suffered from Fragile X Syndrome; speculation over whether pressure was too much
Written: June 27, 2007

WWE.com learned from an interview conducted Tuesday by Vancouver’s News1130 that Chris Benoit’s son Daniel possibly suffered from Fragile X Syndrome, a genetically passed-on condition that results in impairments ranging from physical and learning disabilities, to more severe cognitive or intellectual disabilities.

In the interview with News1130, Pam Winthrope, whose own 12-year-old son suffers from Fragile X Syndrome, recounted how she and her husband talked to Benoit about the condition five years ago.

“We talked to him because I was trying to set up a support group in B.C. and in Canada; we only have a couple of them,” she said. “My husband was struggling when we got diagnosed with our son, and Chris was struggling with his. They talked for a few minutes, and then he said he didn’t want to be a public face for Fragile X. He just wanted to keep it really, really quiet.”

A source close to Benoit recalls similar conversations with him, where he described his son’s condition as “a learning disability much like autism.” This source quotes Benoit as saying “Daniel wasn’t capable of interacting with other children and was afraid of other children. Daniel also had a hard time making eye contact with everyone, which was another symptom of his disability.” Benoit also claimed that his son was on medication for this condition.

Winthrope discussed the pressures facing parents of children diagnosed with Fragile X syndrome. During her interview with News1130, she stated that families can be torn apart by the disease because it's very difficult to find help and support. Winthrope added, "You as a parent have to go out there and find what's available and it's not easy -- they don't tell you."

A co-worker and long-time friend of the Benoits speculates that perhaps the pressures of home and Daniel’s illness had gotten to him, causing him to snap and take the lives of his wife and son before taking his own.

“Is it possible that after Chris killed Nancy (for whatever reason), he felt Daniel wouldn't be able to get the care and attention he required as a special needs child (if that is indeed true) with no mother and a father either in jail or dead? Did he then decide that the only way he could protect and take care of his son was to take him to the next world and go with him? In his warped and twisted state, did he think this was the only way to shield his son from a difficult life of pain and hardship? It doesn't condone or justify a damn thing, but it's the best reason I can think of. I'm trying to put together some semblance of logic for his actions, but it's an impossible task trying to explain this.”

http://www.wwe.com/inside/news/benoitpressures

That dude is fucking fucked up. He, the situation and the shit he has been taking.

yeah i herd about it on fox news, fuck sake i donno weither to be sad or angry but one things for sure, im really shocked...

what the hell, where did my post go ???

I can see where this is going to go, the media is going to turn it into yet another steroid scandal. Steroids are the media's focus right now ever since the baseball congressional hearings, and now steroids and accusations of steroids are all over the place.

One thing that really annoys me with the media is how any kind of "performance enhancing drug" gets labelled under a blanket term as "steroids" now a days. There are legal "performance enhancing drugs" and there are illegal ones. Almost every athlete takes some kind of "drugs". Maybe it's as simple as natural energy supplements with Ginseng, maybe it's something like Creatine, but they are not all "steroids".

I'm sure Benoit was taking many supplements, every wrestler does. But to suggest he did steroids and suddenly killed his family in a fit of "Roid Rage" I think is overly simplistic and irresponsible by the media. If that were the case, why didn't he do it a year ago? Two years ago? How many other wrestlers have done steroids over the years? There's many documented cases of them dieing young, but i've never heard of them going and killing their family. Killing your wife, then waiting and killing your son the next day, placing Bible's beside both of them, and then killing yourself the following day is not an act in a fit of "rage".

Almost every parent tries to live vicariously through their children. That's why you hear of so many parents (mainly fathers) flipping out at their childrens sports games. Is this an act of "Roid Rage" as well? Benoit's kid supposedly had a growth decease and some kind of learning disability. They have speculated that Benoit may have been injecting growh hormones into his son. Benoit's wife also supposedly filed for divorce a few years ago, then withdrew the divorce papers.

What it would seem like to me is that Benoit as an athlete who is in absolutely incredible physical shape was frustrated by his son's condition. Imagine a professional baseball/basketball/football player who wants to teach his son their sport but can't due to their condition. This frustrated Benoit, and he tried to do something about it (possibly secretly from his wife). This probably built up a lot of tension and pressure between them and on Benoit himself. His wife possibly found out that he was doing something to his son or threatened him with divorce or some other legal action. Benoit may have planned it, or perhaps he snapped and killed her and then after realizing that he would be jailed and his son would grow up in a foster home without the special care he needed, the son of a murderer. He may have then decided to kill him and himself rather then live with what he'd done.

That's just my theory on it, but again I see no way that steroids was connected with it. Even if it is found that he had steroids in his body, I still don't attribute that to his actions (although the media certainly will). Could it have heightened his aggressiveness in a tense situation (a fight with his wife for example)? Possibly. But so could alcohol and any other number of substances. I'm sure we've all been out drinking with a friend who got loud and beligerant because of drinking too much. They still had enough sense not to go home and kill their family I'm sure. There is a much deeper answer to this that we may never know. However, I'm sure we'll be fed an easy answer that will further certain peoples own personal agendas (Dick Pound, Bill O'Reilly, Congress, just to name a few).

I found a couple interviews with fellow Canadian Bret Hart:
MSNBC Video
http://video.canada.com/Global_VideoContentHTML.aspx

there is also oxygene doping (process of blood consuming more oxygene = energy then normally, wont say the method, was an athlete myself)... even as simple as that, its "illegal" @ sportsevents... everything is relative to what is illegal and what not doping is

Oh My god !!!!


http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/06/ ... ?from=top5

Jano Gibson
June 29, 2007 - 10:16AM

Police investigating the double-murder suicide involving pro wrestler Chris Benoit are reportedly examining Wikipedia updates from a US and a Sydney-based computer which revealed the death of Benoit's wife 14 hours before police discovered their bodies.

Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their seven-year-old son, Daniel, were found dead in their Atlanta home on Monday afternoon [US time].

Police believe the 40-year-old - whose nicknames included the Rabid Wolverine and the Canadian Crippler - strangled his wife and son on either Friday or Saturday and placed Bibles next to their bodies before hanging himself from a cable on his weight machine.

But in a bizarre twist, reports have surfaced that Benoit's Wikipedia page was altered to include details about his wife's death well before police knew about the crime.

"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," a report on Wikinews says.

The first edit to Benoit's Wikipedia page regarded a competition he had been due to take part in at the weekend.

"Chris Benoit was replaced by Johnny Nitro for the ECW Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy," the anonymous editor wrote.

That post has since been traced to a location in Connecticut where WWE has its headquarters.

About an hour later, the post was taken down by a Wikipedia moderator, who said: "Need a reliable source. Saying that his wife died is a pretty big statement, you need to back it up with something."

Then, an hour later, a second anonymous editor added more information about Benoit's no-show, saying "... which according to several pro wrestling websites is attributed to the passing of Benoit's wife, Nancy".

The edit has since been traced to a computer hooked up to the Australian-based wireless internet service provider UnWired.

The Herald understands that the computer belongs to a Sydney resident.

Twenty minutes after the Australian-sourced edit appeared, the Wikipedia moderator again reversed the post, because "saying 'several pro wrestling websites' is still not reliable information."

Wikinews says Cary Bass, a volunteer co-ordinator for the Wikimedia Foundation, has informed Atlanta police about the unusual edits.

"It didn't become apparent until someone put the pieces together and realised that the comment was made by someone who apparently knew about the murders," Wikinews quoted Bass as saying.

The Associated Press says police are trying to determine exactly who edited Benoit's Wikipedia page.