Medindia LOGIN REGISTER
Medindia

Toxicology Test Will Give Me Answers-Benoit’s Dad

by Himabindu Venkatakrishnan on Jun 30 2007 4:53 PM

The father of pro wrestler Chris Benoit said Friday that he was eager to see whether chemical tests can help explain why Benoit killed his wife and son and committed suicide.

The bodies of the bodies of Chris, Nancy, and seven-year-old Daniel was found in their home in Atlanta, Georgia.

Lead investigator Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff’s Department has confirmed that the deaths were the result of a double murder-suicide.

His father Michael Benoit was in shock over the incident. ``We have no understanding of why it happened,'' he said. ``We need some time to gather our thoughts and wait and see. There's still more information that's going to come out from toxicology tests that will give us some understanding of why this happened.''

On the day of the incident Chris, The former World Heavyweight Champion was to appear at a pay-per-view event on Sunday night, but a “family emergency” prevented him from being there.

Chris Benoit strangled his wife and 7-year-old son, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before hanging himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home, authorities said. No motive was offered for the killings.

Several curious text messages sent by Benoit early Sunday morning prompted concerned friends to alert Richard Hering, the VP of Government Relations for WWE, Inc. who then spoke to Fayette County sheriffs Monday.

Advertisement
Anabolic steroids were discovered in Chris Benoit's home in an Atlanta suburb, leading officials to wonder whether the drugs played a role in the killings. Some experts believe steroids can cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as "roid rage."

Investigators had not yet discovered the bodies Monday when someone altered Benoit's Wikipedia entry to mention his wife's death, authorities said.

Advertisement
An anonymous user with the same IP address as the person who made the edits confessed early Friday on an online discussion page attached to the Web site, saying the changes were based on rumors and speculation, not hard evidence.

The authenticity of the posting could not immediately be confirmed On Thursday, federal agents said they had raided the west Georgia office of Dr. Phil Astin, said agent Chuvalo Truesdell, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. No arrests were made during the raid late Wednesday into Thursday. Calls to Truesdell and Astin's attorney about Friday's raid were not immediately returned. Hours before the first raid, Astin told the AP he had treated Benoit for low testosterone levels, which he said likely originated from steroid use.

Among other things, investigators were looking for Benoit's medical records to see whether he had been prescribed steroids and, if so, whether that prescription was appropriate, according to a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity because records in the case remain sealed.

Michael Benoit, who lives near Edmonton in Ardrossan, said the test results, which could take several weeks to be completed, ``could give us closure.'' He said his son had seemed fine when they spoke on Father's Day, and had even said he regretted having to work instead of spending the day with his family.

``That really wouldn't give you an indication of someone who would do what he did a week later,'' the father said.

Source-Medindia
BIN/M


Advertisement