Tag: murder-suicide

  • Still not roid rage

    Steroids did not act alone:

    This is an article from Jim Varsalone, the pro-wrestling editor of the Miami Herald. He’s kind of saying what I’ve been saying since day one of the Chris Benoit murder-suicides.

    Roid rage, a term associated with steroid use, is a quick, violent outburst. It leads to a punch, a kick, an assault, but not murder. The Benoit murders/suicide occurred over a two to three day period.

    With the rampant use of steroids in sports and the number of high-profile wrestlers who have died at an early age, no one — other than Benoit — has been linked to murder.

    Mr. Varsalone goes through numerous other aspects of steroids and Chris Benoit’s crime as well. It’s worth your time to read the whole article and get another perspective.

  • Concussions not steroids

    Brain Damage May Have Caused Wrestler Chris Benoit to Kill Family, Doctor Says:

    A doctor who examined the brain matter of pro-wrestler turned family annihilator Chris Benoit states that Benoit had brain damage consistent with Alzheimer’s patients.

    The Sports Legacy Institute, an organization that advances health and wellness of athletes, coordinated the testing using samples of Benoit’s brain tissue provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation — with the permission of Benoit’s father.

    Despite the results, Dr. Robert Cantu, a member of the institute and chief of neurosurgery service at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass., said there was no way to know for sure if the concussions Benoit suffered caused the murder-suicide.

    Cantu did say that the brain injury Benoit suffered can cause depression and irrational behavior.

    Decades of chair shots and flying headbutts can turn the brain to mush. Not that I’m excusing what the Canadian Coward did but can we finally get off the whole “roid rage” knee jerk reaction finally? This shows that there could have been a number of reasons that led Benoit to kill his family.

  • Order of death

    Order of Deaths Key to Wrestler’s Estate:

    The mother of Nancy Benoit, Maureen Toffoloni, has had her lawyer ask the court to determine the order of deaths of Nancy and her son Daniel. Why you may ask? Take a guess. I’ll give you a hint. It’s green, rectangular, and has the pictures of guys in powdered wigs on it.

    It’s widely believed that Chris Benoit killed his wife first and then his son. That would be bad for Ms. Toffoloni. If it’s determined that the order of deaths as they stand right now is correct Chris Benoit’s assets would belong to his two children from his previous marriage. If Nancy was killed last the assets would go to her family.

    That’s because of a forfeiture statute that takes into account the fact that Benoit was the killer. As such, the law for purposes of estate distribution would consider Benoit to have died before his wife and son.

    Chris Benoit’s living children are 14 and 10. It takes a real humanitarian to take some financial security away from them.

    Not only that but do you really think that Nancy Benoit would have allowed her only son to be killed and not have fought back?

  • Roid rage inconclusive

    Questions still loom in Benoit case:

    Again, if you won’t believe me that roid rage in the deaths of the Benoit family is not a foregone conclusion then how about Georgia’s top coroner?

    Pro wrestler Chris Benoit had more than 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his system when he hanged himself in his home after killing his wife and 7-year-old son last month. But did that have anything to do with the slayings?

    “I think it’s an unanswerable question,” said Dr. Kris Sperry, Georgia’s top medical examiner.

    Test results released Tuesday neither bolstered nor entirely debunked speculation that anabolic steroids might have led Benoit, a wrestler with a family-man image, to commit the shocking crimes. Some experts believe steroids can cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as “roid rage,” but Sperry noted that there is no consensus on the issue.

    Even the high levels of testosterone should not be overanalyzed, Sperry warned. They could indicate the wrestler was being treated for “testicular insufficiency,” he said.

    Well, I think we know that Chris Benoit had “testicular insufficiency” because only a nutless coward is capable of killing his family but I digress.

    In the end, he said, authorities will never know whether the steroid could have caused the murderous outburst.

    Not only that but if roid rage is as prevalent as some people falsely claim then how come there isn’t a murder a week coming out of Major League Baseball or the NFL?

  • Benoit family toxicology report released

    GBI: Benoit had steroids in system:

    Yeah yeah yeah. Chris Benoit had steroids in his system. No big shock there. He was a professional wrestler after all. But before all of you roid rage zealots start pointing fingers at me with your “I told you so” attitudes you may want to unbunch your panties for a second. Chris Benoit also had Xanax and Hydrocodone in his system, a sedative and a pain-killer. Now I’m not a doctor, I don’t even play one on the internet, but I’ve been prescribed both drugs, luckily not at the same time. Taking either one has pretty much knocked me on my ass. I’m not a small guy either. I’m over 6 feet tall and I hover around the 200 lb. mark. Not as big as Benoit but not a small guy either. So in my estimation, I think the inclusion of the Xanax and Hydrocodone pretty much precludes any ‘roid rage’ that so many of you have been shouting from the rooftops.

    Nancy Benoit also had Xanax and Hydrocodone in her system as well. Daniel Benoit had Xanax in his system which leads me to believe that Chris Benoit sedated his son before killing him. What a freakin’ humanitarian.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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.

  • 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?

  • Benoit’s in-laws dispute Fragile X claim

    Benoit Story: Parents of Nancy Benoit dispute that Daniel had Fragile X or any medical condition:

    The parents of Nancy Benoit are saying that their grandson, Daniel Benoit, not only did not have Fragile X Syndrome but didn’t have any kind of medical problem.

    The parents of Nancy Benoit were contesting a widely-reported aspect of the case — that Daniel Benoit had an inherted genetic developmental disability.

    On Friday, Nancy Benoit’s parents said through their attorney that they were unaware that their grandson had a rare medical condition called Fragile X Syndrome, an inherited form of mental retardation often accompanied by autism.

    Atlanta-based lawyer Richard Decker, who represents Paul and Maureen Toffoloni, told ESPN.com’s Elizabeth Merrill that the grandparents babysat often for Daniel and noticed no medical issues.

    “To them, he’s always been a normal, healthy, happy child with no signs of illness,” Decker said. “And that’s not from a distance. That’s from day-to-day contact.

    This could just be the words of proud grandparents blinded by grief. As the PWTorch article states in an interview that Chris Jericho did, Jericho said that he didn’t know that Daniel had Fragile X Syndrome but once he heard what the syndrome entailed he said that it fit Daniel to a T.

    If Chris Benoit killed his family and himself over Daniel’s alleged Fragile X Syndrome it not only makes him a coward it also makes him a quitter.