Chris, Nancy, & Daniel Benoit found dead

[Guest teke184]

Alex Marvez is running with the Fragile X stuff and has further info.

 

X: There are other details soon to surface nationally about the murder/suicide that include Nancy Benoit meeting with (Benoit family personal physician Dr. Phil) Astin the day before her murder to try and gain information about treating her son Daniel. WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt told me Daniel was suffering from Fragile X, which is an inherited mental impairment that causes autistic-like symptoms [more information about the disease can be found at FragileX.org]. McDevitt said it’s believed that Nancy Benoit was struggling trying to cope with Daniel after undergoing neck surgery. One question that can be posed is this: If Chris Benoit killed his wife in a fit of rage stemming from a confrontation about Daniel, did he later kill his son because of concerns about who would take care of a needs child while he was in prison? While this doesn’t make Benoit’s actions any more justifiable, the scenario may shed some light on why Chris Benoit killed his son before taking his own life.

[Bix]

Y'know, I normally don't think this sort of thing could work, but...

 

Chris Nowinski asked the coroner to examine Chris Benoit's brain for various telltale signs of post-concussion syndrome. The coroner's response basically amounted to "LOL no."

 

I don't think we could sway Vince McMahon into fixing the wellness policy.

 

I DO think a grassroots campaign to get the small-town coroner working on a major case to check the brain for possibly vital evidence could work.

 

Whaddya think?

[Loss]

I think you rock, and I support the idea.

[Bix]

So the next step is finding contact information for the Medical Examiner's Office in Fayetteville County. So far I've had no luck with Google.

[Tim Evans]

Well the 5 O'clock power hour of Around the Horn and PTI covered the Benoit story. Basically putting blame on Steriods and bashing Vince Mcmahon. Jay Mariotti basically said the Toxicologists report doesn't matter.

[Bix]

Well, there aren't toxicology results yet, but technically he's right. As pointed out by Dr. Drew Pinsky last night on MSNBC, cycling off could have done serious damage, as well.

 

Nothing for the Fayetteville County sheriffs/coroner yet, but I did find the Peachtree City PD's site.

[MyOwnSummer]

emailing CNN or other media outlets and asking them to put pressure on the coroner might also have some effect. It'd be yet another angle for the media.

[anarchistxx]

I'll support a campaign to get to the bottom of this.

[Bix]

Ok, I just talked to some key people...

 

The main points:

 

- The case has been moved up from Fayetteville county office to the State level, so disgregard anything about Dr. Mowell.

- Chris Nowinski didn't talk to to the ME's office personally, the doctor who works with him did.

- They will have the samples of various parts of the brain, so no worry about it being destroyed soon.

- We should wait until tomorrow morning as WWE & Chris Nowinski are trying to get it done through normal channels.

- If nothing has happened by then, we should start doing what we can.

- It might not be the best idea to directly contact the state's coroner, so they don't construe anything as harrassment or get lots of calls from idiots. This also depends on if anything happens by the morning. The best move RIGHT NOW seems to be going through the media (wrestling & mainstream).

- Nobody knows how to get in touch with Benoit's parents to get permission, so if ANYONE knows how, email Dave Meltzer, Bryan Alvarez, and/or Alex Marvez.

 

I'm going to split this off into its own thread.

[Bix]

Justin Shapiro transcribed Meltzer's appearance on FightRadio...

 

"It's such a complex issue, but there are two different Chris Benoits. I think that's the key, because the one thing is is that the Chris Benoit that we all knew was not this guy, but this guy did change in the last year and I believe -- there's many issues -- but it was the preponderance of dealing with many deaths led to increased drug use and I think it drove him crazy.

 

But at the same time, there were seeds of this early because you look at the 2003 thing where Nancy got the protection order against him so it does go back before the death of Eddie Guerrero, the death of Johnny Grunge, the death of Victor Mar all in a seven week period, and I really look at that as the turning point of Chris's life where he lost his best friend, he lost his best friend in Japan, and he lost the guy that would make him laugh when he was in the worst mood possible.

 

It affects everyone, but the deaths affect Chris really bad, and I'm not just talking about those three guys, but if you look at from Davey Boy and Owen and Brian Pillman and Larry Cameron even though Larry Cameron was years ago, but if you look at guys that Chris was close with, even Stu even though Stu was old. The list is really long and I just think that that depression from all of that, you know a 40 year old guy. They were closer to him than to most people. Brian Hildebrand is another one. So many of his closest friends, most of his closest friends had passed away at a young age. And I am not making any excuses for what happened, but I am saying that these were the things to a guy who had a very dark side.

 

Chris loved professional wrestling, but at the same time he was not stupid, and I think that that was an inner conflict as well. I think that all of these deaths had to tell him that there was something horrible, even though he would always say you cannot blame wrestling, the fact is that he had to at some point go, what's happening here yet at the same time he loved wrestling so deeply and a lot of other things led to more and more paranoia. Chris had gotten incredibly paranoid about everything and his drug usage had upped most likely over the last couple of months, and everyone pins the point from Eddie and those other two deaths."

[Mad Dog]

I would say that things like forcing Muhammad Hassan to do 1000 hindu squats for making an off-handed comment toward Shawn Michaels, or throwing Matt Striker out of the locker room are things that in hindsight can be looked at as warning signs. Wrestling has its own rules which are conveniently altered all the time, so there's nothing about either of those incidents within WWE that would seem alarming.

 

My point isn't at all that WWE should have known at that point that the guy could be a murderer. However, that type of behavior is commended and encouraged in WWE locker rooms, and would be scoffed at in almost any other environment. I also acknowledge that there is some degree of hazing and paying dues for new athletes in any locker room in just about any sport.

I had been thinking about this a lot since it happened. I remembered there was a thread about a year ago where you and I went back and forth about his backstage behavior and how much of a bully it seemed like he had become over night. Thinking back to that really makes me wonder if it wasn't staring even us right in the face at the time. I wonder how many things people that know him are putting together in their heads right now and realizing they dropped the ball on saving his family from this.

[Loss]

Poor Animal. The guy was on MSNBC and was trying to make a point about the tough schedule and how more time off is needed and kept getting interrupted to talk about ROID RAGE. Animal said, "Roid rage is a term typically used for a violent, aggressive, unexplained outburst. In this case, over the course of 48 hours, you couldn't label it as roid rage. That is stretching what the term roid rage really means." He then mentioned that he and Benoit were recently discussing the need for more time off. Animal also mentioned that he's seen roid rage many times and it's a case of the user losing his temper for five minutes and then apologizing later. Animal then ripped into Bill O'Reilly (who, for the record, blamed Nancy, saying she should have known better than to associate herself with someone dangerous).

[pantherwagner]

I'm arriving late here, but damn, it's going to take a while until somebody else passes over Benoit as the worst human being to ever compete in a wrestling ring.

[Loss]

Lord. Geraldo Rivera should never be allowed to speak. He suggested that Benoit breaking Sabu's neck was not an accident, but rather ROID RAGE.

[Guest teke184]

Lord. Geraldo Rivera should never be allowed to speak. He suggested that Benoit breaking Sabu's neck was not an accident, but rather ROID RAGE.

Geraldo = dumbfuck...

 

 

That equation's been known since the Al Capone's vault fiasco in the 80s.

[Loss]

Some really fantastic insight into Fragile X Syndrome:

 

http://www.pwtorch.com/artman/publish/article_20689.shtml

[Strummer]

Jillian Hall comments:

 

Time to Speak

 

Well, by now the whole world knows of the horrible news that took place this week. With all of the comments and messages from people saying how sorry they are for our loss, I figured I would speak in general. I am 100% in agreeance with WWE and Mr. McMahon on completely erasing all tributes to Chris Benoit. While he had always been nice and polite to me and most of the WWE talent, what he did is completely disgusting and unforgiveable! This man who could have been a legend has demolished his reputation. My heart goes out to Nancy and the adorable Daniel and the family and friends they left behind!

 

I really hope she isn't fired over this

 

 

Victoria:

 

Hey All.

 

I had planned ..ing off talking about a recent trip to an arena football game, but I would be remiss not to address the Chris Benoit situation. Everyone who knew anything about wrestling knew of his in-ring contributions. I truly don't know what I can say and not get in trouble with the WWE. Anyone who reads my blogs regularly knows how much I love wrestling, and being part of the WWE. But I think what I have to say is more important. His son, Daniel, came to many shows. We bonded. He a was a cute little boy. What Chris did was selfish and hurtful. I fear that him being a superstar in some way glamorizes the situation. That's not what suicide is. It is selfish and hurtful. As long as you have a breath to breathe, you can make change to improve your life. You can talk to family, or friends, or clergy. And if you're not comfortable with any of them, here are two phone numbers for a Suicide and Crisis Hotline. 1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE) or 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK). They take calls 24/7. You always have options. Maybe someday I'll be able to forgive Chris, but not today.

 

God Bless Us All, Lisa Marie

[Guest teke184]

Jillian Hall comments:

 

Time to Speak

 

Well, by now the whole world knows of the horrible news that took place this week. With all of the comments and messages from people saying how sorry they are for our loss, I figured I would speak in general. I am 100% in agreeance with WWE and Mr. McMahon on completely erasing all tributes to Chris Benoit. While he had always been nice and polite to me and most of the WWE talent, what he did is completely disgusting and unforgiveable! This man who could have been a legend has demolished his reputation. My heart goes out to Nancy and the adorable Daniel and the family and friends they left behind!

 

I really hope she isn't fired over this

Somehow I doubt it...

 

Something like this will receive a favorable reaction from the public because they aren't just circling the wagons and protecting their own.

 

 

If Vince fires someone for saying something like this, he'll spur on more bad press.

 

 

(That doesn't necessarily mean Vince won't renew her contract, though, when it comes due.)

[Dylan Waco]

I had no clue that Benoit was close with Johnny Grunge.

[Jingus]

Considering what was said at DVDVR about Fragile X Syndrome's causes, that potentially opens a whole new can of worms.

 

When news agencies tire of running down the "OMG! ROID RAGE!" meme, they'll start looking into birth defects within the families of pro wrestlers.

Except that Fragile X Syndrome is a hereditary disorder which is passed down through the mother. Benoit could've been shooting up with radioactive snake urine and it still couldn't have possibly caused that particular disease in his offspring.

[sek69]

It's not unheard of for women who marry wrestlers to end up using the same drugs they do. Just saying.

[Jingus]

I know, Miss Elizabeth says hi, and if in fact Nancy was on the gas you could easily debate WHICH husband got her on them. But Fragile X is a genetic condition which is passed down through the mother's DNA. As far as I know, steroids have nothing to do with it.

[Loss]

Typically, yes, it is through the mother's genes. But there are also cases of drug cocktails in the male sperm creating the disorder.

[Loss]

McMahon calls Benoit a “monster”

 

 

 

 

By Alex Marvez

 

Email: [email protected]

 

Well, at least Vince McMahon didn’t try to slap a list of questions out of Meredith Viera’s hands.

 

That was one of the few positive developments for World Wrestling Entertainment after owner Vince McMahon appeared this morning on the Today show.

 

Before McMahon appeared, a news piece raising the possibility of a link between steroids and the Benoit murder/suicide as well as the deaths of some other wrestlers. That set the tone for the appearance.

 

Among the more pertinent exchanges between Viera and an even-keeled McMahon [Note: Viera never said NBC has a business relationship with WWE before conducting the interview]:

 

X: Viera called WWE on the carpet for issuing a press release Tuesday claiming that steroids couldn’t have been part of the reason for Benoit’s actions when the results of toxicology tests won’t be known for several weeks. McMahon tried to explain the press release was a reaction to “hysteria of the media” trying to link “roid rage” to Benoit’s actions.

 

“Obviously, this was not an act of rage,” McMahon said. “It was an act of deliberation … There were a number of prescription medications found in the house. Whether they contributed to this, who knows? Whether there was some other aspect for something to do with this behavior, hopefully we’ll find out in some way.

 

“What we’re about [in WWE] is putting smiles on people’s faces. We’re entertainers. We entertain all over the world. That’s the job description. It’s not something to be tainted and smear with this. It’s no different than a postal worker [shooting] up a post office. There was no indication whatsoever that this person turned into a monster and do what he did. Steroids may or may not have something to do with this. There were other pressures in terms of his son and wife. I don’t know, We may never know. But hopefully, we can put this to bed as best we possibly can and determine what happened once we have the real evidence.”

 

X: On WWE’s drug-testing policy: “Last February, we instituted a wellness policy to police for steroids or abuse of prescription drugs. We do urine and blood tests to determine as well as test the cardio aspect of things to test for heart disease and heart failure. It’s a comprehensive test. The last test he took of a random nature was in April and it was totally negative. That doesn’t mean he was not taking prescription medication or steroids when this happened. We don’t know.”

 

X: On 60 wrestlers under the age of 45 dying and what responsibility Vince McMahon feels toward their families: “We’ve had five individuals since we’ve been in business under contract to that died … I can only speak to those five.”

 

[Note: McMahon’s answer doesn’t take into account the long-term impact that steroid use could have had on performers before WWE instituted its wellness program. But in McMahon’s defense, some of those young deaths also feature performers that never worked for WWE or died of drug-related issues].

 

X: On what type of impact it would make if steroids were found in Benoit’s system: “I can only speak of our wellness program and how effective that is … All we can do is the best we can with anyone else and establish the wellness program the best we can … This is a horrific tragedy. There is a rush to judgment here as to what caused this. There’s almost a hysteria around us. I don’t know whether it’s justified or not. We won’t know until we get the toxicology reports back. Once we get those back, we’re dealing in real facts. There was no way to tell this man was a monster. He was a mild-mannered individual.

 

“Everyone in our organization are well-adjusted, family people. They go to work like anybody else except the definition of their job is to put a smile on everybody’s face. It’s important our organization continue to do that for our fans and move on as best as we possibly can not withstanding this devastating situation.”

 

Final comments: NBC did a better job than Nancy Grace and other CNN/FOX tabloid news shows have done in addressing this topic. But with a lack of knowledge about the wrestling business, Viera didn’t try to push McMahon on some of his answers like whether it was acceptable for wrestlers to take steroids if given a prescription or try to get much insight about what kind of person Benoit was. But I do give McMahon credit for appearing in this kind of forum to address the issue and handling himself professionally.

[Loss]

The media is really dropping the ball on this. They are so wrapped up in the ROIDRAGEROIDRAGEROIDRAGEWASITROIDRAGE talking point that they are missing the bigger story, and are making WWE look better than is really deserved. There's been almost no discussion of post-concussion syndrome, the wrestling schedule, no investigation into other wrestler deaths, no verifying of facts presented by WWE and other sources ... it has for the most part, sadly, all been very sensationalistic and narrow-minded. They are attempting to make this as simple and easily explainable as possible, and seem to be taken by surprise anytime a colleague of Benoit's suggests that he was a mild-mannered, easy going person.

 

I would love for someone to ask Vince how he can say Benoit was traditionally very mild-mannered, considering that he once threw a young wrestler out of the locker room for moving another wrestler's things so he could sit down and change, or that he made another young wrestler do so many hindu squats that he was rumored to be pissing muscle tissue, or that he never saw his kids from his first marriage and basically left them to run off with another married woman. Benoit was respected in wrestling, yes, but they are really taking everything told to them by those they interview at face value, and it's unfortunate. The truth is, while he would have been considered one of the "nice guys" in wrestling prior to this tragedy, he had his share of skeletons. And aside from Nancy's 2003 petition, and very slight (very slight) mention of his DUI in 1998, there hasn't been much attempt to get insight into his personal character.