TheTrenchcoat Chronicles

Author: Trench Reynolds

  • Dispelling still more Benoit rumors

    Investigators in the Benoit Murder Case React to Internet Reports:

    Here we go again. At least investigators are finally speaking out about internet allegations.

    ATLANTA (FOX 5) – Investigators in the Benoit murder case reacted Thursday night to an internet report that Nancy Benoit feared for her life. The report also claimed that Chris Benoit had recently moved out of the family home because of trouble, but investigators said such reports proved to be frustrating.

    Fayette County detectives said there was no truth to a report that was posted on the website, prowrestling.com that said that Nancy had written what the website called, “a strange note” before her death that stated that if something happened to her then Chris would be to blame.

    Investigators said a safe deposit box, which the website reported contained the note, actually held typical documents and had no personal writings from Nancy Benoit in it.

    Detectives say this kind of internet report is typical of what they call conspiracy theories that have been phoned into the Sheriff’s office from as far away as California since the bodies were discovered.

    Got it? There was no strange note written by Nancy Benoit. As much as I love the dirt sheet websites they are really starting to piss me off.

    Speaking of pissing me off…

    After Nancy, Chris Benoit Drank, Prayed Before Killing Daniel, Mag:

    If you ever thought the National Ledger website was a legitimate news source you may want to rethink that.

    An investigation by the National Enquirer’s investigative team uncovered what they report as the “real” story of what happened on the tragic weekend that superstar wrestler Benoit snapped – killing his family and then himself. Many have blamed steroids but the report claims that there was booze involved.

    The online item claims that Chris was guzzling beer and wine in agony and the popular grappler made sad, slurred phone calls to friends as he prepared to snuff out his life. “When he killed his wife, his life was over and he knew it,” an insider told the weekly magazine. “But he still had his beloved son, and who would take care of him? That’s why it all ended in the ultimate tragedy.”

    Yeah. When I want the “real story” the first source I go to is the National Enquirer. I guess they figured they can’t be sued by dead people.

  • Thomas White given continuance

    Rally held for Thomas White; continuance allowed:

    This is, in my opinion, a very biased but well-written article about the rally that was held for Thomas White yesterday.

    Again, white is the teen gunman who fired a MAC-90 round into his school’s ceiling then pointed the gun at his principal while pulling the trigger after the gun jammed.

    First off let me say that people who drag their kids to protests or rallies, no matter what the protest/rally is about, are asshats. It makes you look like you’re exploiting your kids. Not only that but you never know when a protester is going to clash with police putting your kids in danger.

    But getting back to the matter at hand, Thomas White’s mother Norma was at the rally…

    Norma White, pictured, who stood nearby often close to tears, expressed remorse that she didn’t do more to protect her child whom she said came home with a “swollen hand” and other signs of school abuse. Subsequently, she had discovered, she said, that a teacher’s remedy for handling bullies was to “turn and walk away.”

    She also was sorry that she was not more outspoken earlier, but that she was following the advice of her son’s former attorney Chuck Lonardo who said to “keep quiet.” “I decided that just wasn’t working,” she said. She hopes that speaking out will get more community support.

    A swollen hand? That’s it? So he brought a gun to school over a swollen hand? His generation really does have its fair share of over-sensitive marshmallows. And in my opinion, I don’t think that she decided it was time to talk. I get the feeling that certain advocacy groups whispered in her ear. That’s not an allegation. It’s just a feeling I have. If Norma White wanted to do more maybe she should have gotten rid of the illegally owned guns in her house.

    The hearing to see if Thomas White will be sent back to juvenile court has been delayed two weeks.

    While Judge Mouton expressed concern over delaying the case in order, as requested by the defense, to present further testimony from three unnamed witnesses, he granted a two-week continuance in support of Thomas White’s rights. His decision was made against the strong objection of the APA. In setting the criminal motion hearing for Friday, July 20 at 1:30 p.m., Moulton was offering the defense another opportunity to make their case.

    The people at the rally shouldn’t delude themselves though. I’m sure that the rally had nothing to do with the judge’s decisions to allow a continuance.

  • Woman disappears after meeting craigslist date

    2 Sought in Calif. Missing Student Case:

    Authorities said Friday they want to question two men in the disappearance of a 19-year-old college student who had met one of the men on the Internet.

    San Diego State University student Donna Jou was last seen by her brother on June 23 getting on a motorcycle with a man she had met on the Web site Craigslist.com, said Orange County sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino. He said the man had been identified only as Kyle or “Skinny Puppy.”

    Investigators also were looking for registered sex offender John Steven Burgess, who rents the house where Jou apparently went that night for a party.

    “We’re not calling them suspects at this stage, but we want to question them,” Amormino said.

    The day after Jou left for the party, her mother received a text message from her cell phone saying she was coming home, but she never arrived, Amormino said.

    And yet no state attorney general inquest into craigslist yet. Why is that?

  • Rally for Thomas White

    Rally planned for teenager accused in school shooting:

    The “Won’t someone think of the children” people are at it again. Today a rally was planned to be held in front of the Jasper County Circuit Court in Joplin, Missouri this morning in honor of Thomas White. To refresh your memory White was the teenage gunman at Memorial Middle School in Joplin who fired a round from a MAC-90 into the ceiling of the school, the gun jammed, and White kept pulling the trigger while the gun was pointed at the school’s principal.

    Supporters of the boy, who was 13 at the time of the alleged offenses, have planned a rally outside the Jasper County Courts Building before the hearing. White’s mother, Norma White, will attend the rally, according to an announcement issued by a group calling itself Justice for Thomas White.

    The boy has received an outpouring of support in recent months from a number of juvenile-advocacy groups, including Justice for Juveniles, the Anti-Bullying Coalition and Bully Police, U.S.A., who argue that the boy is too young to stand trial as an adult.

    Yeah, because it worked so well the last time.

    White’s parents have said he faced bullying by other students, contributing to what they say was his dread of school and an effort to get himself expelled by taking a loaded gun there.

    School officials have said White and his parents never took any complaints of bullying to administrators before the shooting incident.

    There are other ways to get yourself expelled that don’t involve firearms. Hell, bring a joint to school. That should work with a lot fewer complications. Not that I’m buying that story anyway.

    How did the rally go? No clue because I don’t care. It probably didn’t do any good anyway.

  • Benoit insurance policy

    Chris Benoit Took A New Life Insurance Policy, More:

    This is the latest from the Benoit rumor mill. The headline wants you to believe there was some nefarious reason for Benoit taking out the insurance policy but the article, as short as it is, says otherwise.

    The Wrestling Observer Newsletter are reporting that Chris Benoit took out a new life insurance policy, which listed his ex-wife and oldest child David, 14, and Megan, 10, as the beneficiaries. Nancy apparently confronted Chris about it and he refused to change it. Nancy also found out that Chris Benoit set up a new bank account in the name of his ex-wife in Edmonton.

    Remember kids, dirt sheets, like The Observer, base their business models on rumor and speculation. Which is fine for an upcoming wrestling storyline or a wrestler changing companies but as far as a real-life murder goes they need to leave the crime reporting to the professionals. And no I don’t consider myself a professional.

    So to recap from the dirt sheets and irresponsible media we have 3 motive allegations. “Roid Rage”, the Benoits arguing over Daniel’s Fragile X Syndrome which he may or may not have had, and now the insurance policy.

    This just goes to show you just how ridiculous and uninformed not only the wrestling press can be but the mainstream press as well.

  • Did computer addiction cause Columbine?

    Study links computer denial to Columbine:

    This is one of the more sensible explanations for Columbine I’ve heard in a long time.

    Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold went on a killing rage at Columbine High School in 1999 because they were abruptly denied access to their computers, an Oregon psychiatrist says in a published study.

    The two young men relied on the virtual world of computer games to express their rage and to spend time, and cutting them off in 1998 sent them into crisis, said Jerald Block, a researcher and psychiatrist in Portland.

    “Very soon thereafter – a couple of days – they started to plan the actual attack,” Block said.

    Block published his research in the current issue of the American Journal of Forensic Psychiatry, a peer- reviewed journal.

    The paper is likely to generate debate, said Cheryl Olson, co-director of the Center for Mental Health and Media at the Massachusetts General Hospital.

    Block sifted through thousands of pages of documents released by Columbine investigators and said he believes both Harris’ and Klebold’s parents banned them from their computers after the two were caught breaking into an electrician’s van in 1998.

    Harris and Klebold had each previously been temporarily kept off computers at school or at home, and after each incident, Block said, the boys’ writings or behavior became more violent.

    Block said he worries about people immersing themselves so deeply and also about cutting them off cold-turkey.

    “How do you pull them out, without triggering homicidal or suicidal behavior?” he asked.

    Personally, I don’t think that was the only reason but it very may well have been a major one. However, those two cowardly scumbags were so selfish and spoiled that Dr. Block may be on to something.

  • Dispelling some Benoit myths

    Control issues cited instead of ‘roid rage’ in Benoit killings:

    Can we finally drop the whole “roid rage” issue? No. Ok, if you won’t listen to me how about some expert professionals?

    Domestic violence experts downplay the possible role of steroids in the Chris Benoit killings, saying the tragedy was more about Benoit’s anger over control issues at home.

    Steroid usage has been linked to angry outbursts called “roid rage,” and depression when usage stops.

    But in the case of Benoit, who apparently killed his wife and 7-year-old son during the weekend of June 24 before committing suicide, “that was a premeditated act and that’s not rage,” said Dr. Gary Wadler of New York, who studies the use of drugs in sports.

    “I would wonder whether there was some underlying psychiatric abnormality that was unmasked by being on steroids,” he said.

    “It’s sort of counterintuitive that he’s raging for three days straight,” said Nancy Grigsby, executive director of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. “Unfortunately, it looks like a garden variety domestic violence incident to me. It’s a decision, and they’re actually typically quite calm when they give themselves permission to do what they want to do.”

    The killings at the Benoit home occurred over an entire weekend, which does not point to rage, experts said.

    Penn State University epidemiologist Charles Yesalis, who has studied steroids for 30 years, said “anabolic steroid rage is a spontaneous behavior. From what I’ve read, the death of Benoit and his family wasn’t spontaneous. I don’t see steroids had much, if anything, to do with this.”

    Got it now?

    Benoit Used Crippler Hold to Kill His Son:

    I’m sorry but this is idiotic and sensationalist at best.

    This is a picture of Chris Benoit applying the Crippler Crossface.

    crossface

    His hands are clearly around the face of his opponent, not the throat. The crossface is designed to injure the opponent’s neck and back not the throat.

    District Attorney Scott Ballard says, “A choke hold was used, rather than hands. There’s no bruising consistent with strangulation by hands.”

    The crossface is not a chokehold hence the word crossface.

    Wrestling writer Dave Meltzer adds, “There was bruising consistent with the Crippler Crossface on one arm and Daniel’s face. There were no bruises on his neck.

    No offense to Dave Meltzer but you’re a wrestling writer, not a forensics expert. Consistent does not mean conclusive.

    “But police don’t believe, because of the size difference, that the hold was applied exactly as in a wrestling match.”

    Somebody wake me up when that comes from a legitimate news source and not a gossip rag or a dirt sheet.

    Due to Daniel’s size, I doubt Benoit could have locked his son’s arm between his legs. In my opinion, he used the stereotypical chokehold using one arm around the throat and using the free arm to apply pressure on the occupied arm.

    Was Benoit’s Son Really Sick?:

    A source having access to certain of Daniel’s medical reports reviewed those reports, and they do not mention any pre-existing mental or physical impairment. Reports from Daniel’s educators likewise contradict the claims that Daniel was physically undersized.

    Uh-huh. A source you say? That source better watch his ass because if that information is true leaking that information to the press without the permission of law enforcement violates a number of federal privacy laws whether the patient is deceased or not.

    And again I say wake me when this comes from a legitimate news source.

    Now don’t get me wrong. I am in no way excusing what Benoit did. I have dubbed him the Canadian Coward and I stand by that. However just because pro-wrestling is involved let’s not turn this into some conspiracy theory, over sensationalized crapfest in order to see who can be the first to break a detail about the case whether it’s true or not.

  • David Leonard gets 20 years

    Man gets 20 years in prison for sexual assaulting MySpace members:

    David Leonard, the sex offender from Connecticut with at least a dozen arrests…no, not that one, the other one…has been sentenced to only 20 years behind bars. He pleaded no contest to multiple sexual assault charges.

    The article states that he’s expected to enter other pleas for other charges. Hopefully, he’ll receive more sentences because 20 years for everything he’s done is a joke.

    Speaking of jokes look what his lawyer had to say.

    Leonard’s lawyer, special public defender Jeffrey C. Kestenband, said he “grudgingly” endorsed the plea bargain. He said Leonard is a considerate and intelligent person who is committed to addressing his problems.

    I wonder if he said that with a straight face.

  • Bartley’s plea appeal rejected

    UPDATE: Judge refuses to overturn Kenneth Bartley plea deal:

    Yesterday Judge Jon Kerry Blackwood rejected the motion for the Campbell County High School shooter, Kenny Bartley Jr., to withdraw his guilty plea.

    When the Judge Blackwood announced his decision, the courtroom filled with applause.

    That says a lot, doesn’t it? Not only that but the lawyer that helped him reach the deal testified against Bartley.

    Mike Hatmaker, Bartley’s former attorney who helped broker the plea deal testified the 15-year old knew what he was getting into.

    “He wanted to do this. Absolutely,” says Hatmaker.

    District Attorney General Paul Phillips asked during Monday’s proceeding, “Any question in your mind?”

    “No,” replied Hatmaker.

    Now a question that makes no sense from his new attorney…

    According to his new defense attorney, Bruce Poston, the teen didn’t completely understand them before taking the offer.

    Poston says, “On March 25th you turned down a deal that was 25 years for second degree murder and 10 years and 10 years for attempted second degree murder.”

    Bartley replied, “Yes sir.”

    “On April 10th you said I’ll take the deal. Why?,” asked Poston.

    Bartley answered, “I was scared cause I was looking at two life sentences.”

    It sounds like he understood exactly what he was doing. That’s why people take pleas, to avoid longer sentences.

    Bartley has 30 days to appeal. I’m sure there will be an appeal and I’m sure that one will be rejected too.

  • Weekend Benoit News

    Benoit “loving person,” ex-wife says:

    Chris Benoit’s former wife, Martina Benoit, said the star wrestler “was the most loving person anyone could imagine. I love him.”

    Reached at her home in Ardrossan, Alberta, Canada, Benoit called reporting of the killings in Fayette County “crap.” She did not elaborate before ending the call.

    Maybe to her and their kids, he was but obviously, he wasn’t to Nancy and Daniel.

    Benoit took ‘date-rape drug’:

    But in the wake of the lurid events that played out in suburban Atlanta last weekend, the Daily News has learned that another drug may have been part of a deadly cocktail that could have caused Benoit to snap. According to sources familiar with his drug regimen, Benoit was a known abuser of the drug gamma-hydroxybutyrate – or GHB, also known as the “date-rape drug.”

    GHB can also be used as a performance-enhancing drug along with steroids. Again I don’t think Benoit was on the so-called “roid rage”. What he did was methodical. While maybe not in his right mind I believe he knew what he was doing.

    Someone interviewed for the article offers a unique theory.

    Trinka Porrata, a retired Los Angeles police detective who is president of the non-profit Project GHB, adds that it is not uncommon for GHB users to add methamphetamine into the mix, and that meth abuse often contributes to bizarre acts involving religion.

    “The question everybody asks is, ‘How in the hell could you kill your son?’ Well, in a meth psychosis, your son could be the devil. That can happen quite easily,” says Porrata.

    I guess we’ll find out if he’s right when the tox reports come in.

    Police rule out hacker as Benoit family killer:

    US authorities have dropped an investigation into anonymous Wikipedia entries from America and Australia that posted news of wrestler Chris Benoit’s wife’s murder 14 hours before her body was discovered.

    Fayette County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Lieutenant Tommy Pope said he could no longer see “any relevance” in investigating the Wikipedia entries.

    Can we stop with the conspiracy theories now?