|
| “ | When you look at what Chris Benoit did as a symptom of some sort of medical problem, whether it's drug use or brain damage, I think that misses the point. Ultimately, the thing that is the core reason why this is happened is that Chris Benoit made a decision when he was a very young person to do absolutely whatever it took to succeed at his childhood dream of becoming a pro wrestling star. No matter what happened that weekend, Chris Benoit's story was going to have a tragic end. | „ |
| ~ Matthew Randazzo V |
Christopher Michael "Chris" Benoit (May 21, 1967 - June 24, 2007) was a Canadian-American professional wrestler who enjoyed a 22-year career with promotions such as Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and World Wrestling Entertainment, where he was a one-time World Heavyweight Champion. Benoit was regarded by many as one of the best workers in his profession.
During a three-day period in June 2007 (June 22 to 24) Benoit murdered his wife, Nancy, and their 7-year old son, Daniel, before committing suicide by hanging himself from a weight machine. Since then, WWE have refused any mention of Benoit or his accomplishments. Benoit's reasons for committing these actions remain unknown to this day.
Murder-suicide edit
Benoit murdered his wife, Nancy Benoit, on Friday, June 22. Her limbs were bound, and her body was wrapped in a towel. A copy of the Bible was left by her body. Injuries indicated that Benoit had pressed a knee into her back while pulling on a cord around her neck, causing strangulation.
The following day, Benoit murdered their son, Daniel. Benoit sedated him using Xanax and suffocated him. Like Nancy, a copy of the Bible was placed next to his body.
In between the two murders, Benoit's close friend, fellow wrestler Chavo Guerrero, received a voicemail message from Benoit's phone stating that he had overslept and missed his flight and would be late for that night's house show in Beaumont, Texas. Chavo called Benoit back and found that Benoit sounded tired and groggy as he confirmed everything that he had said in his voice message. Chavo, who was "concerned about Benoit's tone and demeanor," called him back 12 minutes later. Benoit did not answer the call, and Chavo left a message asking Benoit to call back. Benoit did so, lying to Chavo and saying he was changing his flight and also saying that his wife and son were sick with food poisoning. Benoit ended the conversation by saying "I love you" to Chavo, who has stated in interviews was out of character for him.
On Sunday, June 24, five text messages were sent to co-workers between 3:51 a.m. and 3:58 a.m. using both Chris Benoit's and Nancy Benoit's cell phones. Four of them were the Benoits' address; the fifth said that the family's dogs were in the enclosed pool area, and also noted that a garage side door had been left open. That day, Benoit had been scheduled to wrestle at WWE's Vengeance: Night of Champions pay-per-view event and win the vacant ECW World Heavyweight Championship against Phillip "CM Punk" Brooks. When Benoit didn't make it to the pay-per-view, John "Johnny Nitro" Hennigan filled in for him.
Benoit committed suicide later that day by hanging himself from his weight machine. According to investigators, he created a noose from the end of the cord from which the bar had been removed. When he released the weights, his neck had been broken almost instantly.
The WWE became worried when they hadn't heard from Benoit the following day. They contacted the Fayette County Sheriff's Department and requested that they conduct a welfare check, whereupon they discovered the bodies of the three Benoits. A suicide note was not discovered during the initial investigation, but a note was later discovered in another Bible that had been included in Benoit's possessions that were sent to his first wife. According to professional wrestling journalist Dave Meltzer, "There was a note that was found in a Bible by the mother of Chris's two children (Martina Benoit) who lives in Canada. The Bible was mixed in with Chris' personal belongings that were shipped to them." Chris Benoit's father Michael Benoit stated, "He had a hand-written notation in there saying 'I'm preparing to leave this Earth.'
WWE cancelled their regular broadcast of Monday Night Raw that night and instead aired a 3-hour long tribute show to Benoit. However, the company got the news later that same night that the case was being considered a murder-suicide. On the following day's broadcast of ECW, company chairman Vince McMahon made the following statement:
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Last night on Monday Night Raw, the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit's name tonight. On the contrary, tonight's show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world: entertain you."
Since then, Benoit's name and accomplishments have never been mentioned on WWE programming again.[1]
Motive speculations edit
Benoit's exact motive for committing the murders remains a mystery. Many who were close to Benoit, both inside and outside the wrestling business, were at a loss to explain Benoit's actions and still are to this day.
Autopsy revealed that Benoit's brain was in catastrophically bad condition, and that it resembled the brain of an 85-year old Alzheimer's patient. This has been explained as due to being from multiple untreated concussions suffered during his wrestling career, as he was known frequently take unprotected chair shots to the head, which is considered very unwise in professional wrestling. In addition, one of Benoit's signature moves was a diving headbutt, which has been known to cause brain and spinal damage. Other tests conducted on Benoit's brain tissue revealed severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and damage to all four lobes of the brain and brain stem. Benoit's father said that brain damage may have been the leading cause of the double murder-suicide.[2]
Two years previously, fellow professional wrestler Eddie Guerrero, who was Benoit's best friend in the wrestling business, suddenly passed away due to heart failure caused by undiagnosed heart disease. Benoit was deeply affected by Guerrero's passing (most notably openly weeping on camera during WWE's tribute show to Guerrero on Raw in November 2005 - something that he rarely, if ever, did) and reportedly fell into a deep depression afterwards, with many people saying that he was so destroyed by Guerrero's death that he was never quite the same. Many people both inside and outside the wrestling business have stated that, if Eddie Guerrero hadn't passed away, the whole incident would most likely have never happened.[3]
Nancy Benoit had filed for divorce in May 2003, allegedly after domestic abuse from Chris, but had withdrawn it in August 2003.[4] In February 2008, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported that Nancy may have suspected her husband of having an affair with a female WWE wrestler, and that they may have also argued over a life insurance policy. The AJC claimed the source was a recently released report from the Fayette County Sheriff's Office.
Some have claimed that the incident was a result of a steroid-induced rage, as some doctors have linked steroid use to uncontrollable anger, among other psychological issues which include paranoia; some unconfirmed reports have suggested that Benoit had been acting paranoid during the last few months of his life. Even though steroids were found in the Benoit home, this is not likely, as "roid-rage" typically does not last for any longer than a few minutes, though in an appearance on Live with Dan Abrams on July 17, 2007, WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said that Benoit was prescribed testosterone as part of a treatment for testosterone replacement therapy, which McDevitt said was a common medical practice for people who had used steroids in the past, and had suffered testicular damage as a result.
During an appearance on an episode of Larry King Live, former pro wrestler-turned evangelical minister Ted DiBiase (known by his in-ring persona "The Million Dollar Man") speculated the possibility that Chris might have killed Nancy in a fit of rage during an argument, then afterwards, out of guilt, killed Daniel in a mercy killing before committing suicide, theorizing that a mercy killing, the suicide, as well as the bibles that were placed by the bodies of all three Benoits, were acts of contrition on Chris' part.
Videos edit
References edit
- ↑ WWE Shares Internal Timeline And Details Relating to Chris Benoit Tragedy, WWE Corporate
- ↑ Benoit's Brain Showed Severe Damage From Multiple Concussions, Doctor and Dad Say, ABC News
- ↑ Lawyer: Benoit's diary shows wrestler grieved friend, was depressed before killing wife, son, South Coast Today
- ↑ Benoit's History of Domestic Violence Exposed, TMZ