Chris Benoit found DEAD!

[Endless Wake]

CNN is reporting that Benoit's wikipedia page was updated with the news of his wife's death before the authorities discovered the bodies. The IP address of the person who changed the page was in Stamford, Connecticut, which is also where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.

[Wolverine1]

Originally Posted by Primal

Yeah...rumors & conspiracy theories are running rampant.

Yeah, that was that Geraldo Riveras doing....

[Primal]

Originally Posted by Wolverine1

Yeah, that was that Geraldo Riveras doing....

I actually watched him saying that and was like, "Wtf?!?!? He's got his facts screwed up."

[Tony Coca]

ESPN.com has an article on the possibility of researching Chris Benoit's head to determine whether he suffered from some form of brain trauma that could possibly explain what triggered the alleged murders of his wife and son. However, a source tells ESPN that Benoit's brain might be too damaged to examine.

Investigators found the bodies of the Benoit family on Monday afternoon, and Benoit's body had already been in a state of decomposition for over one day following his alleged suicide on Sunday morning. They said the sweltering 93-degree heat in the basement/weight room where Benoit was found hung from a piece of exercise equipment hastened the rate of decomposition. ESPN.com writes that a source close to the local coroner's exam, the body was virtually "liquefied."

A group of researches, including former WWE wrestler Christopher Nowinski, have asked for a sample of the brain to study the state of the brain at the time of death. They were told initially that the brain was in no condition to be examined, but they hope to obtain enough brain tissue to conduct a study, similar to the study they performed on former NFL player Andre Waters's brain. That study yielded results that showed he had the equivalent brain of an 85-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease. They concluded that several concussions had "severely worsened" Waters's neurological state.

[Car50n]

i'm ignoring a lot of this now. it's too nuts. i think i'll just remember the awesomeness of White Pegasus vs. Black Tiger, Super J Cup 1994.

[Tony Coca]

WWE News
BENOIT STORY: Benoit's use of date-rape drug GHB could explain deaths, says AP
By James Caldwell, Torch columnist
Jul 1, 2007, 10:29
Email This Article - Printer Friendly Page - Back to Main Listing


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The AP has a new article on the Benoit story, asking the question of whether the date-rape drug GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate, an illegal drug considered as a Schedule I controlled substance) was in Benoit's system at the time of deaths. Says the AP: "In the wake of the lurid events that played out in suburban Atlanta last weekend, the New York Daily News has learned that another drug may have been part of a deadly ****tail that could have caused Benoit to snap."

They quote an unnamed source that relates the story back to Chris Adams, who took GHB with Benoit during their careers until Adams died in 2001. "Benoit was a GHB user and he did it with Chris Adams," the source told The N.Y. Daily News. "The question is, does GHB use play into what happened?" The report takes the question further, and looks at the whole of the wrestling business where drug use and abuse runs rampant. "Everybody in the wrestling business had a liking for GHB back (in the '90s)," says a Benoit family friend. "The whole business was on it."

To explain the effects of using GHB or withdrawal from the drug, the article quotes a former L.A. detective on his experiences analyzing the effects of the drug. "You see guys that are on (GHB) who go on rages," says Trinka Porrata, a retired Los Angeles police detective and president of Project GHB and who has counseled and detoxed GHB addicts, including several professional wrestlers. "But another possibility, which is more likely, is GHB withdrawal. If (Benoit) tried to stop using it and went into withdrawal, that would explain the bizarre behavior — the text messages, the Bible and the suicide especially. You can suffer a terrible depression coming off this stuff. It's not a quit cold turkey drug."

Porrata says the psychotic effects of GHB, tied with a mental illness or other drugs creates irrational acts. "It doesn’t excuse it, but you can’t explain it on your own moral values." The report says it would be difficult for a toxicology report to point to GHB in Chris Benoit's system at the time of death, as they would have to analyze a hair sample to find a conclusive result.

The story talks in-depth about Chris Adams's death, and includes quotes from Mickey Grant, who recently completed a documentary on Adams.

[joefixit2]

In todays paper, there was an article about Lex Luger. It said he is now dead broke and sleeps on a used bed in a friends house. Wow, it didn't seem like that long ago that he was still wrestling. It also said that he was dating Miss Elizabeth back in 2003 when she died of a drug overdose.

[patrickwm68]

Steroids found in Chris Benoit's body, but really no questions answered

by Dave Meltzer

Dave@wrestlingobserver.com

The toxicology reports on Chris, Nancy and Daniel Benoit were announced this afternoon by Dr. Kris Sperry at a press conference in Atlanta this aftenoon.

Benoit was found with the drugs testosterone cypionate, Xanax and Hydrocodone in his system at the time of his death. The Hydrocodone was not at an elevated level to the point there was indication of using it in above theraputic dosages. The level of testosterone cypianote was such that he would have failed any sports drug test (level was 59-1, normal levels are 1-1, sports drug test failures are usually 4-1), although he was prescribed the steroids by Dr. Phil Astin due his body producing a low level of testosterone, likely from his decades of steroid usage. It is virtually impossible to detect Growth Hormone usage in such tests. There was no evidence of any other steroids in his system. Although there was an empty bottle of wine in the weight room, he did not have elevated alcohol levels detected.

Sperry noted that due to decomposition, by the time authorities found the bodies, it was enough to hurt in rendering findings from the test.

Nancy Benoit also had Xanax, Hydrocodone and Hydromporphone in her body, all at theraputic levels, noting she was recovering from major surgery.

Daniel Benoit had Xanax in his system, which police believe was administered by Chris to put him to sleep before killing him. There was no evidence of what substances may have been injected into his arm from the needle marks evident.

Sperry said that it was impossible for the tests to determine whether or not Daniel Benoit had Fragile X syndrome, so that, like most things involved with this case, remains a technically unanswered question.

[rychehitman]

The Associated Press has issued the following statement regarding the status of Chris Benoit's estate:

Father of late wrestler says verbal agreement over estate reached

ATLANTA --A verbal agreement has been reached in the fight over the estate of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, who killed his wife, 7-year-old son and then himself in June, Benoit's father said Wednesday.

"In principle, it's there. It just needs to be documented," Michael Benoit said in a telephone interview from Alberta, Canada.

Benoit said the agreement calls for the proceeds from the estate to "pretty much" be evenly split between his son's two children from a previous marriage - a 15-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl - and the family of his slain wife Nancy. Michael Benoit, who has been acting on the children's behalf, declined to provide the exact terms.

Benoit said attorneys fees and expenses of roughly $500,000 to $600,000 will reduce the ultimate value of the estate, which consists of two homes, several bank and investment accounts and other assets. One estimate of the estate has put its value at $1.5 million to $3 million.

"There's lots of things that need to take place, properties that have to be disposed of, tax returns that have to be filed, a whole number of things over the next three to five months," Benoit said.

Cary Ichter, Michael Benoit's attorney, and Richard Decker, an attorney for Nancy Benoit's mother, did not return several phone calls Wednesday seeking comment.

Lawyers for Nancy Benoit's mother, Maureen Toffoloni, filed a petition in August asking a court to determine the order of the deaths, which they argued could affect whether she was entitled to any of the estate.

Investigators have repeatedly said that Chris Benoit killed his wife, then their son and himself during the weekend of June 22, 2007, at their suburban Atlanta home.

District Attorney Scott Ballard has said the wrestler used a cord to strangle his wife, then killed his son with a choke hold, then placed Bibles next to the bodies and hanged himself on a piece of exercise equipment.

Under that scenario, the estate would pass to Benoit's surviving two children, according to Ichter.

But if the boy was killed first and then the wife, under Georgia law at least some of the estate would pass to Toffoloni, lawyers in the case have said.

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.

Ichter has said that if the boy was killed first, the estate would pass to the wife and, since she was killed, it would then pass to her family.

An attorney for Toffoloni, of Daytona Beach, Fla., has said he doesn't believe the order of deaths is clear, and that is why he asked the Fayette County court to make a determination based on the law.

Michael Benoit said Wednesday he always believed the Toffoloni family should get some of the estate.

"It's beyond me why we needed to spend $600,000 to get here," he said.

Investigators have not given a motive for the killings, but the question of whether steroids played a role has lingered. Anabolic steroids were found in Benoit's home, and tests showed Benoit had roughly 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his system when he died.

Some experts believe that use of testosterone can contribute to paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as "roid rage."

Benoit's father believes years of head trauma his son suffered while in the ring contributed to the killings.

"It goes far beyond the steroid issue," Michael Benoit said Wednesday.

[madjazz]

This bothered me in a way that very few news stories do. Maybe because I used to be such a fan and felt that one of my "happy places" had been intruded upon.

After all this time, this still sucks.