Benoit's father, doctor speculate wrestler had brain damage

[DemocratSinceBirth]

The father of Chris Benoit and a doctor who examined brain matter from the former pro wrestler said Wednesday that brain damage caused by multiple concussions might have contributed to the deaths of Benoit, his wife and his son.

Authorities say Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, on June 22 and then killed their son, Daniel, the next day before taking his own life at their Fayetteville home.

• More Fayette news



Dr. Julian Bailes, chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery at West Virginia University and a founding member of the Sports Legacy Institute, told ABC's Good Morning America Wednesday that damage to the wrestler's brain was "striking and maybe shocking."

Bailes showed images of Benoit's brain matter, and said the images showed "dead brain cells" and damage that mimicked that found in Alzheimer's patients.

He said his study had found brain damage that was "very abnormal and something you shouldn't see in a 40-year-old."

Asked whether previous concussions could have led to the damage, Bailes said, "We think we have great anatomical damage here from previous trauma," Bailes said. "Whether it had a psychiatric or behavioral expression, we certainly think that's most likely."

Benoit's father, Michael Benoit, said his son suffered "quite a number" of concussions during his wrestling career.



http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/fayette/stories/2007/09/04/benoitbrain_0906.html

[hlthe2b]

1. I feel so bad for the father...

but those incredibly high levels of testosterone are more persuasive as a cause to me... If it brings him some peace to think the son was the "victim of brain damage," so be it.

[Prophet 451]

3. They shouldn't be

I presume you're talking about "roid rage". Small problem there is that this blatantly wasn't a rage murder. There was at least 12 hours between each murder, Nancy was bound hand and foot and strangled with a length of cable and Daniel was sedated prior to being asphyxiated. That's not a rage murder in either case. The circumstances of both suggest premeditation.

Word is also leaking out from those close to the family that Benoit had been suffering from severe depression since the sudden death of Eddie Guerrero in late 2005. Chris Jericho (a close friend of both) has stated that he feels Benoit was lapsing into full-blown paranoia. Nancy confided to friends that she suspected Benoit was having or about to have a breakdown. Their marriage was also in deep, deep trouble, to the extent that Benoit had rented and often stayed at an entirely seperate apartment.

Add up a mentally unstable man with money troubles and a wife he hated and you don't need a hypothesis about "roid rage" to explain his behaviour.

[hlthe2b]

5. Why do you say he hated his wife?

I don't follow these stories closely, but many who are facing divorce may experience anger with each other, but that doesn't automatically mean they "hate" each other.

[Prophet 451]

6. Hmmm

OK, "hate" may have been a poor choice of words on my part. However, it is known that the two argued constantly (sometimes violently), accused each other of adultery regurly (both were married to other people when their relationship started). Benoit often accused Nancy of causing their money worries and similar things. Nancy also filed for divorce citing domestic violence in 2003 but the petition was withdrawn (and the surreal nature of modern wrestling meant precisely no-one knew about it).

As I said, "hate" may have been a poor choice of words and I'll hold my hands up to that but it's fair to say that the marriage was falling apart and that there was a lot of very extreme emotion about that on both sides.

[AngryAmish]

2. I suspected this

This is a little I told you so. I was a fan of Benoit so my judgment may be off but this crime is so bizarre it seemed like he was mentally ill. I am familiar with the damage concussion can do and Chris Benoit wrestled in such a way that concussions were inevitable.


Also read the other article that is linked on the bottom. There is going to be a nasty fight about the inheritance.

[Prophet 451]

4. he WAS mentally ill

It turns out Benoit had been suffering from severe depression since Eddie Guerrero's death. Nancy confided to friends that she thought he was having or about to have a breakdown and Chris Jericho has said that he felt Benoit was lapsing into full-blown paranoia.

Of course, the repeated concussions may have something to do with it but he was mentally ill.