Benoit Tragedy - the final word

[Prophet 451]

Well, the tox reports are in:

- Let the word go through the land. Chris Benoit was NOT using steroids. His tox results were completely clean. For all you lazy assholes in TV land, that mean's this could not possibly have been a roid rage incident.

- Benoit was found to contain "theraputic" levels of testosterone (i.e. the kind of level you get from legitimate medical use which jibes with Dr. Astin's story), a couple of commercial painkillers and Xanax (prescribed).

- The body of Nancy Benoit was found to contain the same commercial painkillers and Xanax. Plus a small amount of alcohol (although the coroner pointed out that decomposition makes that unreliable).

- Daniel's body was found to contain Xanax too. Since Xanax was not prescribed to Daniel and is not normally prescribed to children, it is the coroner's opinion that Daniel was sedated at the time of his murder.

- The WWE, having spent much of the last month being accused of routine steroid abuse, are understandably crowing about this since it proves their drug-testing program works. A little gloating on their part is slightly unsporting but understandable in the circumstances. However, WWE could also think about how one of their workers could slip over the edge without anyone noticing and should consider adding psychological counselling to their "Wellness Program".

- Debra Marshall, Marc Mero and Jim Hellwig, we expect you to shut the fuck up now.

- Word is gradually leaking out that Benoit's closest friends (such as Chris Jericho) have suspected Benoit to have been struggling with mental issues for the last year or so. What seems likely is that those issues were either touched off or exacerbated by the sudden death of Eddie Guerrero (one of Benoit's closest friends) in November 2005.

In short, there was NOTHING in Benoit's system which would have explained the murder of his family but there might well have been something in his mind which would. This wasn't roid rage. As far as we can tell, this was a very sick man on a downward spiral who finally reached the end of his rope.

Hopefully, this will now be the end of the Benoit saga. May they all rest.

[Orrex]

1. Who will play him in the inevitable tv movie?

What a sad and tragic story.

[Prophet 451]

10. I'm hoping there won't be one

A TV movie would be a mistake for several reasons:
1. Why make one? There's nothing of worth to be said from this case.
2. No way you could find anyone who looked anything like Benoit. He was a weird looking man.
3. Movie representations of wrestling never, ever, ever get it right.
4/ It would be just plain tacky.

[realisticphish]

2. that makes me even more interested

maybe it's the psych degree talking, but I want to know what was going on in his head. This incident NEVER sounded like "roid rage" to me.

[Prophet 451]

4. Nor I, but...

...I've spent the last month being told that it was "obviously" roid rage and Benoit MUST have been on steroids (because he was a wrestler) despite the fact that this was miles away from the typical "rage murder".

I'd imagine that as time goes on, those close to Benoit will talk to investigators, the media and so on and we'll start to get a slightly better idea of what was going on in Benoit's head. Roddy Piper (already struggling with Hodgkin's Lymphoma) is already blaming himself (he was supposed to have dinner with Benoit the week before the murders but begged off because he didn't feel up to it).

[AngryAmish]

3. My two cents - multiple concussions

This is wild speculation but as you well know professional wrestling can cause you to be concussed. Medically, any time there is a blow to the head causing a change in consciousness it is a concussion. Ever had your "bell rung"? I'm sure you did as have I a lot in various sports. That is a concussion. These things build up over time and each one is worse for you than the previous. They can cause serious personality changes, dementia and many psychological conditions - usually depression but paranoia, etc.

Benoit wrestled so hard - everything was stiff. He hit that flying head butt in almost every match. 4 matches a week x 52 weeks x 10-12 years in the business. I'm sure he got knocked silly many, many times.

I hope they do a brain biopsy to find out if he was suffering from brain damage.

I was a Benoit fan - big time. If there was no "cause" (and I'm wrong) then I have to go by the facts. The facts being he was a murdering turd. We may never know.

[slj0101]

5. I believe that as well.

Unfortunately (this is kinda gross), the coroner claimed that Benoit's brain was in no condition to be examined. Remember, it was kinda hot in his house.

[AngryAmish]

7. Shoot - we'll never know

[Prophet 451]

8. That's possible

Benoit had several documented concussions and those were just the serious ones. Wrestlers habitually work through minor concussions (from personal experiance, I've been knocked goofy more times than I care to remember) and I personally saw Benoit knock himself goofy with that diving headbutt at least half-a-dozen times (and smashed his nose at least twice).

I'm not sure what to think of Benoit right now. As a performer, he's one of teh best ever but as a person...? I honestly couldn't say.

[flvegan]

6. Thanks for posting this.

I hope that the friends and family of the departed can get whatever additional answers they need without the steroid boogeyman hanging over them.

It's almost funny how the media wanted SOOOOO badly to get the 'roid rage finding, and folks bought into it on that alone.

[Prophet 451]

9. Tell me about it

I've spent the last month telling people that this really didn't look like a roid rage murder but as soon as a wrestler dies or does something awful, everyone with a grudge against the business crawls out of the woodwork, the lazy assholes in media start blaming everything on roids and on and on.

The case is still ongoing in the sense that investigators are going to be talking with those who knew the family but now that the "roid rage" theory has been categorically ruled out, we can expect it to die down (and for Marshall, Mero and Hellwig to disappear from Faux).

[Omphaloskepsis]

11. What does a "roid rage murder" look like?

I have never heard the details of one.

[Prophet 451]

12. Like most "rage murders"

A "rage murder" is an unofficial category used by criminologists (hobby of mine). General features include:
- A sudden "snap" loss of temper
- Weapons, if used, will be things convieniently to hand (kitchen knives, household objects, etc)
- The victim may well be random (unusual in murder)
- The crime will be over in a matter of seconds
- Typical MO includes things like bludgeoning, pushing the victim downstairs/out of windows
- There is never sexual assault (there is such a thing as "rage rape" but that's a completely different profile)
- Usually, no effort will have been made to conceal the body or weapon.

A roid rage murder combines those features with an abuse of steroids, leading to a depressed level of self-control.

This case doesn't fit for several reasons: The method suggests premeditation, not a sudden "snap"; the crimes took place over days, not moments; the murder of both nancy and Daniel were prepared and teh weapons were reloved from the house. Also, suicide of the perp, while not unknown, is unusual in rage murders.

[flvegan]

14. You likely never will

"Roid rage" is an unproven yet oft-speculated phenomena. I don't think that a murder has ever even been plead out on those grounds. Gordon Kimbrough might've tried it, but I don't think he actually ever blamed steroids for it. Craig Titus is standing trial right now, and steroids have never been brought into the reasoning. Even Bertil Fox, who I think is supposed to hang for his alleged crimes didn't raise it as a defense, I don't believe.

[Prophet 451]

16. A couple of people have tried it, I think

This is from memory so I'm open to correction but I seem to remember that "roid rage" has been raised as a mitigating circumstance in a couple of murders. I think it was thrown out every time though.

You're right that it's unproven. There's any number of anecdotal stories about it but it's never actually been tested or examined by anyone qualified to do so.

[underpants]

13. I haven't followed this and stopped watching wrestling several years ago

I didn't know Gurerro was dead

Anyone trying to blame this on steroids in the first place is an idiot. I have never done them but I knew people who did "cycles" and that is purely for the long term (as they have chosen to deal with it) plans. I know that most of them use steroids or supplements but they use them they don't burn out on them like say a Mark Maguire no they manage it. Hell, you won't hear this on the air, the NFL has a list of okay items for players to use. The NFL players association is the reason 'roids are mostly out of the league or at least dimished-it isn't in the players longterm best interests to have to use to get into or stay in the league. Wrestling has nothing close to such a player rep situation.

Clearly this was a mental problem-you don't strangle STRANGLE people let alone your own kid without there being serious mental problems.

[Prophet 451]

15. Eddie G is one of wrestling's saddest stories

If you saw the guy, you know how talented he was.

He became hooked on booze and painkillers which led to his firing from WWE and the breakdown of his marriage but when Eddie hit rock bottom, he bounced. He got himself clean and sobre, reconciled with his wife (they eventually remarried) and worked like a demon to get back to the top level. The day he died, he was scheduled to win the title again at that evening's TV taping.

On the day, he had breakfast with Chavo (his nephew) and a couple of friends and then went back to his room to shower and get dressed. When he didn't return after a couple of hours, they raised the alarm and Eddie was discovered dead of a heart attack in front of his bathroom sink. The heart attack was so sudden that he was apparently still clutching his toothbrush when he was found. Tox reports show that he was clean and sobre when he died which is hopefully some comfort to his family but there's something so cosmically unfair about it.

Chris Candido was even sadder. He (and Tammy Sytch, his other half) had a massive prescription drug problem for years and were at one point branded "unemployable" by the entire industry, even getting fired from ECW (which is an achievment in itself) but at some point in 2004, both quietly got themselves clean. He was gradually working his way back up the business again when he suffered a break to his left ankle which required minor surgery. A blood clot from the surgery travelled to his heart and killed him. Total fluke with no connection to his previous issues. He was only 33. Predictably, Tammy has gone to pieces since.

This...? I'm not sure what to say about this, it still boggles the mind. Benoit had such a rep as the nicest guy, straight-shooter, Mr. Clean and then you discover that not only was he having mental issues but he murdered his family and killed himself...? Just blows the mind.

[Blue Diadem]

17. but but but..this AP article says steriods were found..

I just happened upon this article and was surprised to see it being called steroids.



http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/connecticut/ny-bc-ct--wrestlerdead0718jul18,0,1161438.story?coll=ny-region-apconnecticut

AP Connecticut
Investigators find steroids in body of wrestler
By GREG BLUESTEIN
Associated Press Writer

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July 18, 2007, 4:47 AM EDT

DECATUR, Ga. -- Pro wrestler Chris Benoit had more than 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his system when he killed his wife and young son and hanged himself, but investigators could not say if it played a role in the killings.

Besides the heightened level of testosterone, a synthetic version of the primary male sex hormone that is considered an anabolic steroid, Benoit's body tested positive for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the painkiller hydrocodone, authorities said Tuesday.

snip:He said there was no evidence of any other steroids in the wrestler's body, and nothing to show that steroids played a role in the death of Nancy and Daniel Benoit. He also said Daniel, 7, appeared to have been sedated when he was asphyxiated, and Benoit's wife had a "therapeutic" level of sedatives in her body.

snip:"There is conflicting scientific data as to whether or not testosterone creates mental disorders or leads to outbursts of rage. There's data that suggests it and other data that refute it," he said. "Essentially, I think it's an unanswerable question."

[Prophet 451]

19. Can you say "horsecrap"?

I knew you could.

I'm going from the released tox reports.

- Testosterone is not considered an anabolic steroid by any body I know of. They are considered a performance-enhancing agent but that doesn't mean steroids.

- Benoit did NOT have "10 times the normal level of testosterone". I'm not sure where that came from. He did have a heightened level of testosterone but nothing like that amount and it seems to have been legitimatly prescribed to counteract a physical shortage of the hormone (possibly caused by previous steroid use). He may have been supplementing that with hormones illegally obtained, it's impossible to tell.

- Whether testosterone can lead to mental instability depends on who you believe. I don't know. However, since this doesn't fit the pattern of a "rage murder", that would seem to be irrelevant anyway.

- Anabolic steroids WERE discovered in the house and Dr. Astin was prescribing them at vastly more than the usual levels. However, since Benoit's tox results came back clean (as did his WWE tests in April), he obviously wasn't using them. Current theory is that he was injecting them into his son but the child's body proved too decomposed to test.

[cwydro]

23. yep, this is posted on SI's website

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/more/07/17/bc.wrestlerdead.ap/index.html

same article I think. 10 times the amount of testosterone is reported.

Other steroids were found in his house also.

[Connonym]

18. Xanax is used in treatment of anxiety

I use it myself when I have panic attacks. Xanax is a pretty potent sedative and makes me very spacey so I try to avoid it as much as possible because even taking a fraction of a pill I'm zoned out and lose time. Personally, I find a little bit of comfort in hearing that the son was sedated because it probably means that he was oblivious. The think about this that broke my heart was the thought of that little boy being aware that his father was killing him. Makes sense to me too now the time lapses. Benoit was very possibly unconscious between the killings.

[Prophet 451]

20. Possibly

I'm not familiar with the dosages for Xanax but Benoit was found to have a level of 50mg per litre, Nancy was 23mg (both reported to be within theraputic levels) and Daniel was 100mg per litre so he would either have been unconscious beforehand or completely oblivious.

[skygazer]

21. One more interesting thing about Xanax

Like any other medication, it affects different people differently. I don't know how long he may have been taking them but my ex-husband was highly unpredictable on even small doses of Xanax. We jokingly called them "Gorilla pills" because they made him ugly - irritable and unpredictable rather than calming him down. After a couple of unpleasant incidents, the doctor changed his prescription.

[Prophet 451]

22. That's interesting

Of course, we may be looking for a reason where there is none here but that's a very interesting twist.

No-one yet knows how long Benoit had been on Xanax. That hasn't been released because his doctor (Dr. Astin) is still under investigation.

[skygazer]

27. Yeah, I certainly wouldn't say, "Oh, it must be the Xanax"

It's just something that immediately leaped into my mind because of my experience. But I will say that it sounds like the boy was sedated which is a small relief - poor kid. It would be even more awful than it is to think he knew his dad was killing him.

[JoDog]

24. Not a doctor, or a wrestling fan

but sister/roomie's boyfriend is a fan, so I've heard some things about this case. The AP story and posts on the topic have left me with some questions:

1. How do doctors define "theraputic levels of testosterone"? Even if the reports of a hormone level 10 times that of an average person can be discounted, it does seem that Mr. Benoit's hormone levels were significantly elevated. Wouldn't replacement therapy just, well, replace the hormones only, bringing them up a level similar to that of an average man, and not drastically elevate them? Were Mr. Benoit and his doctor still trying to calculate the appropriate dosage?

2. What exactly does the WWE wellness program test for? Athletes have long been known to avoid drug detection simply by finding out what substances testers are looking for and avoiding those drugs, turning to other drugs and techniques no one is looking for. It happens in horse racing, too. For instance, professional and Olympic sports have tested for steroids for years. Some of those athletes turned to the so-called "blood doping" process for an advantage. Is it possible that the WWE does not include testosterone in its routine checks, possibly making it an attractive option for some of the athletes?

3. The lawyer for Mr. Benoit's doctor was on the Dan Abrams show last night. He claimed that Benoit's friends told him that Benoit had been keeping a journal for several years. However, in searches of the house, the journal has not been found. Has anyone heard about this from any other sources?

Frankly, I think we will never know exactly what led to this tragedy. Mr. Benoit was probably very ill, and never managed to get the help he needed. May they all rest in peace.

[Prophet 451]

26. To take them in order

1. How long Benoit had been on testosterone (and therefore, whether the appropriate dosage was still being worked out) is unknown right now since Dr. Astin (who prescribed the hormones) is still under investigation. However, it is possible that Benoit was supplementing his prescribed hormones with illegally obtained ones (we know he was a customer of an internet pharmacy busted a few months back but we don't yet know what he brought).

2. The "Wellness Program" is run by the same agency that deals with the NBA (WWE just pays the fees) and on similar lines. It checks for steroids, HGH, certain recreational drugs, prescription medication (which is often abused in wrestling) and so on. Granted, it is possible to hide drug use from such tests but at that point, I think WWE has done everything they could reasonably be expected to. According to Ken Kennedy (current performer), the tests allow a 4:1 ratio of testosterone to ephestrogene (spelling?) which is the exact same level the NBA allows. However, there is a loophole which means that if you have a prescription for the drug, the test for that drug will be officially classed as "negative" so if you can get a dodgy doctor to sign off on it, you're in the clear. I offer that purely as information, not a suggestion.

3. No-one else has mentioned a journal and one hasn't been found so either the lawyer was inventing it/misunderstood or it was lost/destroyed. Frankly, either one is a reasonable theory.

[JoDog]

30. Thank you

for the info. And BTW, I agree with your statement that the instant allegations of "roid rage" are a symptom of a lazy media. Such suspicions do nothing to help the families and friends of the Benoits heal and hopefully move forward with their lives, and also don't help the medical establishment try to prevent future tragedies like this.

[Serial Mom]

25. FYI

You may not understand about drug use, but NOT having the "DRUG" in your system does not mean

"For all you lazy assholes in TV land, that mean's this could not possibly have been a roid rage incident."

When a drug is withheld, steriods included, sometimes a personality change will take place so roid rage can happen after a person has been off them for a while AS WITH ANY DRUG USE. It's called WITHDRAWAL SYMPTOMS and somebody who has used drugs with possibly an underlying mental illness can lose control.

[Prophet 451]

28. I understand withdrawal symptoms perfectly

I'm a painkiller addict (been clean for years).

However, examine the facts: Benoit's last steroid test was April 10th, that came back clean. The tox results indicated no drugs in his system. Logical inference is that he was not using steroids (and before you say "he might have been", ask yourself if you'd make that assumption for anyone other than a wrestler). Secondly, Nancy Benoit was bound hand and foot, laid (or fell) on the floor and was strangled from behind with a length of cable. I'm quite well read on the mechanics and psychology of murder and that's NOT a rage attack, that's deliberate and probably pre-meditated. Daniel was sedated and asphyxiated, that's definately premeditated.

This was NOT a roid rage attack. Steroids may or may not have played a role (especially with exacerbating a mental illness) but he was quite certainly not on them at the time and the facts refute the allegation of "roid rage murder" so I am perfectly within the bounds of logic to haul off on a lazy media who heard the word "wrestler" and instantly started screaming about roid rage.

[Taverner]

29. As I understand it, "roid rage" rarely leads to actual violence

A lot of anger, screaming and yelling, but studies show that actual violence from roid rage is rare.