The Chris Benoit double murder-suicide occurred over a three-day period ending on June 25, 2007. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy Benoit, strangled their seven-year-old son Daniel, and subsequently committed suicide by hanging. Autopsy results showed that Benoit first murdered his wife. She was bound at the feet and wrists and died of asphyxiation some time on Friday, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard told a news conference. She was wrapped in a towel and some blood was found under her head but Ballard said there were no other signs of a struggle.

The couple's son, who also died of asphyxia, was apparently killed as he lay in bed on Saturday morning, hours before Benoit committed suicide by hanging himself in his weight room. Chris Benoit placed copies of the Bible alongside the bodies of his wife and son, as well as a third Bible on his weight lifting machine.[1][2] Since Benoit's suicide, numerous explanations for his actions have been proposed, including brain damage,[3] steroid abuse,[4] and a failing marriage with his wife.[5] The murder led to numerous media accounts, and federal investigation into steroid abuse in professional wrestling.

Murder and suicide

Nancy Benoit

 

On Friday, June 22, Chris Benoit killed his wife Nancy in an upstairs office. 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. Blood was also found under her head, suggesting she may have tried to fend off Benoit. However, officials stated there were no signs of immediate struggle.[6] Police were able to determine when she was murdered due to her body having already started decomposition upon discovery.[7]

Between the two murders

At about 3:30 p.m. EDT on Saturday, June 23, fellow wrestler Chavo Guerrero[8] received a voicemail message from Benoit's phone stating that he overslept and missed his flight and would be late for that night's house show in Beaumont, Texas. Guerrero called Benoit back and Benoit sounded tired and groggy as he confirmed everything that he had said in his voice message. Guerrero, who was "concerned about Benoit's tone and demeanor", called him back twelve minutes later. Benoit did not answer the call and Guerrero left a message asking Benoit to call back.

At 3:44 p.m. EDT, Benoit called Guerrero back, stating that he did not answer the call because he was on the phone with Delta Air Lines changing his flight. Benoit stated that he had a stressful day due to Nancy and Daniel "being sick of food poisoning". A co-worker who often traveled with Benoit called him from outside the Houston airport and Benoit answered. Benoit told the coworker that Nancy was vomiting blood and that Daniel was also vomiting.

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 and the fifth said that the family's dogs were in the enclosed pool area also noting a garage side door was left open.

During this time Benoit called and left a voicemail for an unknown friend. Benoit later called WWE's talent relations office stating that his son was vomiting and that he and Nancy were at the hospital with him. He also stated that he would be taking a later flight into Houston where he was scheduled to face CM Punk for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship at Vengeance: Night of Champions, but would not make the live event in Beaumont.[9]

Daniel Benoit

Daniel Benoit was suffocated and killed in his bedroom, and a copy of the Bible was left by his body.[10] The boy had internal injuries to the throat area, showed no bruises.[11] Daniel's exact time of death is unknown.[12] The reports determined Daniel was sedated with Xanax and likely unconscious when he was killed.[13][14] A large butcher knife was found underneath Daniel's bed, but the knife was not used in either murder.[citation needed] Daniel's body had also just started to show signs of decomposition but was not as far along as his mother's body.[7]

It was later alleged that Daniel had Fragile X syndrome, and that this was the cause of domestic problems in the Benoit family.[10] It was also suggested that needle marks in Daniel's arms were the result of growth hormones given to him because Benoit and his family considered him undersized due to Fragile X.[15] Benoit's coworker and best friend, wrestler Chris Jericho, stated that from his own research on the condition, the symptoms "fit Daniel to a tee, all across the board." With regard to those who had publicly stated that they had no knowledge of Daniel having the condition, Jericho said, "If Chris had decided that he wanted to keep it to himself, you wouldn't have been able to pry that out of him with anything."[16] Despite Chris Jericho's initial statements regarding Daniel, he later stated in his 2011 book Undisputed, "It turned out that Daniel didn't have fragile X, but at the time it made sense because I was grasping at straws."[17]

However, District Attorney Ballard later released a statement saying that a source with access to Daniel's medical files found no mention of any pre-existing mental or physical ailments. Likewise, Daniel Benoit's educators reported that he was on par with other students and not about to be held back as previously thought.[18] Whether Daniel had Fragile X Syndrome has never been officially established.

Chris Benoit

 

Chris Benoit, according to District Attorney Ballard, committed suicide by hanging.[12] Benoit apparently used a weight machine cord to hang himself by creating a noose from the end of the cord. When Benoit released the weights — approximately 240 pounds (110 kg), a total weight six pounds greater than that of Benoit's body[citation needed] — the move caused his strangulation. Ballard said the pull-down bar had been removed and Benoit was hanging from a pulley.

Discovery of the bodies

On Monday, June 25, WWE was notified of the text messages sent to Chavo Guerrero and Scott Armstrong. The company asked the Fayette County Sheriff's Department to check on the Benoit family. After discovering the bodies, the police notified WWE around 4:15 p.m., informing them that they had discovered three bodies at the Benoit home and the house was now ruled as a "major crime scene".[9]

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 was sent to his first wife. According to Benoit's father Michael, "There was a note that was found in a Bible by the mother of Chris’s two children (Martina Benoit) that lives in Canada... The Bible was mixed in with Chris’s personal belongings that were shipped to them. He had a hand-written notation in there saying "I'm preparing to leave this Earth".[19][20]

Possible motives

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt appeared on Live with Dan Abrams on July 17, 2007 and 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.

Former wrestler Christopher Nowinski stated that Benoit may have been suffering from repeated, untreated concussions throughout his wrestling career, ultimately leading to an unstable mental state. Nowinski was quoted as saying that Benoit "was one of the only guys who would take a chair shot to the back of the head ... which is stupid."[21] Tests were conducted on Benoit's brain by Julian Bailes, the head of neurosurgery at West Virginia University, and results showed that "Benoit's brain was so severely damaged it resembled the brain of an 85-year-old Alzheimer's patient."[22] Tests conducted on Benoit's brain tissue revealed he did in fact suffer from severe chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE),[23] and had brain damage in all four lobes of the brain and brain stem.[24] Bailes and his colleagues concluded that repeated concussions can lead to dementia, which can contribute to severe behavioral problems. Benoit's father suggests that brain damage may have been the leading cause of the double murder-suicide.[25] A statement released by WWE dismissed this idea as "speculative".[26]

Nancy Benoit had filed for divorce in May 2003, allegedly after domestic abuse from Chris, but had withdrawn it in August 2003.[27] In February 2008, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported that Nancy may have suspected her husband of having an affair with a WWE Diva, 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.[28]

Speaking on the matter in his autobiography The Hardcore Truth, Bob Holly speculates the main influence in Benoit's actions was more so alcohol abuse rather than steroids. Holly and Benoit traveled together on the road during their time together in WWE and Holly did not believe steroids played a factor and that Benoit had tended to drink more than he normally would consume when issues with Nancy would arise.

Responses

World Wrestling Entertainment

The event was first reported to fans of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) on their WWE Mobile Alerts Service and posted to their official website soon after. On their website, the company released the following statement:

“    World Wrestling Entertainment is deeply saddened to report that today Chris Benoit and his family were found dead in their home. There are no further details at this time, other than the Benoit family residence is currently being investigated by local authorities. Tonight’s Raw on USA Network will serve as a tribute to Chris Benoit and his family. WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family’s relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy.[29]    ”

WWE canceled the scheduled three-hour-long live Raw show on June 25 (which, coincidentally, was supposed to be a scripted memorial for the Mr. McMahon character), and replaced the broadcast version with a tribute to his life and career, featuring past matches, segments from the Hard Knocks: The Chris Benoit Story DVD, and comments from wrestlers and announcers from the Raw, SmackDown! and ECW brands. Shortly after the program aired, many of the aired comments were posted on WWE.com. It was not until the program was nearly over that reports surfaced that police were working under the belief that Benoit murdered his wife and son before killing himself.

The next night, after some of the details of the deaths became available, the company aired a recorded statement by its Chairman Vince McMahon before their ECW broadcast:

“    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.    ”

After learning about the full details of his and his family's deaths, WWE quickly distanced itself from Chris Benoit:

    With the exception of his results and listings in WWE's title history (though the summaries of his title reigns have been removed), and select press releases from WWE's corporate subsite,[30] the WWE website removed all past mentions of Benoit, including all news articles relating to the specific details of the incident, as well as his biography and the video tribute comments from Benoit's peers.
    WWE pulled the tribute episode from international markets which aired Raw on a tape delay basis. Several channels announced the episode was being withheld for legal reasons. A substitute Raw, hosted by Todd Grisham from WWE Studios, was created featuring recaps of John Cena's WWE Championship victories, mainly the ones that had occurred over the past year.
    Some countries that received WWE programming up to three weeks late had all Chris Benoit matches edited out.
    Their merchandising website, WWEShop.com, followed suit with regard to all Benoit-related merchandise.
    All mentions of Benoit have been removed from archived footage broadcast on WWE Classics whenever possible. This policy also originally included footage of Nancy Benoit, although footage of her appearances has since been allowed to air. Matches and other footage involving Benoit have appeared very sparingly on any new DVD releases by WWE, with all of them being footage involving multiple wrestlers such as a battle royal or a multiple-person tag team match. The upcoming WCW WarGames DVD by WWE, which will feature all of the WarGames matches, does include the 1997 WCW Fall Brawl WarGames match between the nWo versus the Four Horsemen, featuring Benoit (who wasn't involved in the finish of the match), but has commentary about Benoit edited out.[31] Though Benoit is referred to as a "mystery partner".
    Benoit, along with his "Crippler Crossface" and other signature moves, were removed from the WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 video game, after Benoit was originally included in the game as a playable character. However, starting with WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2010, the move was reinstated under "Crossface".[32] The Crossface would later be used by Triple H with some irregularity starting in late 2008.
    Benoit is listed in the WWE Encyclopedia, where his wrestling career up to where he lost the World Heavyweight Championship to Randy Orton is detailed, along with his title history.
    Benoit's name was removed from his previous theme song, Rabid, on the MP3 release of WWE Anthology.[33]

WWE have in the past did their best to not mention Benoit, usually when a number one entrant in their annual Royal Rumble match they mention 'only two superstars have won from number one' before mentioning Shawn Michaels and then quickly changing the topic. In a 2012 TNA interview on live TV, Kurt Angle compared Samoa Joe to a bigger version of Chris Benoit to the shock of viewers. WWE wrestler Daniel Bryan currently uses the Diving Headbutt and NO! Lock, which is similar to the Crippler Crossface, as signature moves.

Professional wrestling industry

Numerous individuals in professional wrestling, past and present, commented on the deaths and their aftermath:

    Semi-retired professional wrestler Hulk Hogan commented solely on the personalities of Benoit and his thoughts on the crime, saying: "He was peaceful and kept to himself" and "I think it had to be something personal, a domestic problem between him and his wife."[34]
    Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) employee and former WWF/E co-worker Kurt Angle chose to comment more on the frenzy created by the crime, stating "This is not WWE’s fault and this is not Vince McMahon’s fault. Chris Benoit was responsible for his own actions."[35]
    Eric Bischoff, on his website, also commented on the media frenzy, saying: "It's clear that the media wants to blame steroids, professional wrestling, Vince McMahon, or anyone or anything else that further sensationalizes this family tragedy. I refuse to join the choir. I don't have enough information. I wasn't there. I am not a psychiatrist. I just can't imagine how or why this could have happened."[36]
    Other wrestlers have also commented, including Lex Luger,[37] Marc Mero,[38] Ted DiBiase, Sr., Bret Hart, Lance Storm,[39] Chyna,[40] Steve Blackman,[41] Rob Van Dam, Ultimate Warrior, Chris Jericho,[42] and William Regal.[43] Vince McMahon and his wife Linda (WWE CEO) were interviewed (separate and jointly) by various news outlets.[44]
    Adam Copeland (Edge) and Chavo Guerrero, Jr. openly spoke about how Benoit's death affected them. Copeland said Benoit was one of the three people he was close to in the WWE and Guerrero said Benoit was a very private person yet a close friend to the Guerrero family.
    CM Punk, in a 2011 interview with GQ, briefly touched on the subject of the Benoit murder/suicide (which occurred over four years prior to the interview). He described it as "a pretty... low point in everyone's life. A lot of people don't like to talk about it. It still blows my mind."[45] At the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con International during an interview session with WWE Superstars including Punk, Sheamus, and Zack Ryder (the former being in WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling while the latter having just been called up to the main roster from FCW at the time of Benoit's death), Punk was asked if the WWE was trying to erase Chris Benoit from history. Punk responded that while he's in the history books and that can't be changed, the WWE doesn't want to promote Benoit any more due to the crimes Benoit committed.[46]

In 2003, Benoit had been inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame. As a result of the double murder-suicide, his induction underwent a recall election in 2008. Benoit was retained as a member by a narrow margin.

Media

When the news was released about Benoit's death, most mainstream news outlets covered the story, including MSNBC and Fox News Channel.[47][48] Benoit made the cover of People magazine. ECW Press announced on July 16 that noted wrestling writer Irvin Muchnick had written a book on the Benoit case, due out in 2008.[49] At the Comedy Central Roast of Flavor Flav in August 2007, Jimmy Kimmel joked to honoree Flavor Flav that "Chris Benoit is a better father than Flavor Flav", which drew a shocked, appalled response, and laughs from the crowd.[50]

Immediately following the deaths, WWE Classics On Demand, WWE's subscription video on demand service, began removing the likeness and mentions of both Chris and Nancy Benoit from archival footage.[51][52] They eventually returned Nancy to programming, but continue to remove Chris from bi-weekly uploaded episodes of WCW Monday Nitro.

Government

With Benoit and his death allegedly linked to steroid abuse, WWE is currently under investigation by the United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform regarding their talent wellness policy.[53] As of June 2009, Congress has taken no action against either the WWE or any other professional wrestling company. In January 2009, Henry Waxman, outgoing chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, requested that the Office of National Drug Control Policy chief, John P. Walters, "examine steroid use in professional wrestling and take appropriate steps to address this problem." In the letter, Waxman stated "In the first year of WWE's testing program, which began in March 2006, 40% of wrestlers tested positive for steroids and other drugs, even after being warned in advance that they were going to be tested." He also wrote about how wrestlers who test positive for performance enhancers receive light punishment and afterwards can often participate in wrestling events. The committee investigation also uncovered how easily wrestlers can secure "therapeutic use exemptions" (TUEs, permission to take banned substances for medical reasons) so they can continue performing while using steroids. When Waxman's staff interviewed Dr. Tracy Ray, a physician contracted by WWE, Ray claimed there was "shadiness in almost every [TUE] case that I've reviewed."[54]

Steroids debate

Background

Steroids were found in the home, leading some media organizations to hypothesize that a steroid-induced rage may be the cause of Benoit's actions, as some doctors have linked steroid use to uncontrollable anger, among other psychological issues which include paranoia.[47][55] WWE released a press-statement, challenging the "roid-rage" claims. One part of the statement reads:

“    The physical findings announced by authorities indicate deliberation, not rage. The wife’s feet and hands were bound and she was asphyxiated, not beaten to death. By the account of the authorities, there were substantial periods of time between the death of the wife and the death of the son, again suggesting deliberate thought, not rage. The presence of a Bible by each is also not an act of rage.[56]    ”

Prosecutors in New York investigated the deliveries Benoit received from Signature Pharmacy and MedXLife.com, which sold steroids and human growth hormone (HGH) over the internet.[57] Terence Kindlon, the lawyer for MedXLife co-owner Dr. Gary Brandwein, denied allegations that his client's company sold steroids to Benoit.[57] Brandwein plead not guilty to six counts in New York state court related to the criminal sale of a controlled substance.[58] According to a report from Sports Illustrated, three packages sent to Benoit were from Signature Pharmacy with the first one sent in December 2005 to San Antonio, Texas. The second package was sent on February 13, 2006 to an address in Peachtree City, Georgia and the third package was sent in July 2006 to Fort Walton Beach, Florida.[59] This followed eleven superstars that were announced in a Sports Illustrated steroids investigation that began March 2007, which included Kurt Angle, Eddie Guerrero, Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio, Jr.), Adam Copeland (Edge) and Gregory Helms, with Copeland receiving a high amount of steroids.[60]

WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt stated that "they believe the facts of this crime do not support the hypothesis that 'roid rage' played a role in the murders." They cite evidence of premeditation in addition to the lack of a toxicology report, and the fact that the steroids found within Benoit's home were legally prescribed.[56][61] Dr. Gary I. Wadler who currently serves on the World Anti-Doping Agency's Prohibited List and Methods Committee and has served on its Health, Medicine, and Research Committee agreed stating that "that was a premeditated act and that's not rage".[62] Investigators seized both Chris and Nancy's medical records. They also have medical records of Mark Jindrak, Hardcore Holly (Robert Howard), Lex Luger (Lawrence Pfohl), Rey Mysterio, Jr., Buff Bagwell (Marcus Bagwell), and Johnny Grunge (Mike Durham), all of whom were patients of Dr. Phil Astin.[63][64][65] The toxicology report on Chris Benoit's body was released Tuesday, July 17, 2007 at 2:30 p.m. EDT.[14][66]

Toxicology results

At the press conference held by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation at 2:30 p.m. EDT on July 17, 2007, it was announced that three different drugs were found in Nancy Benoit's system: hydrocodone, hydromorphone and Xanax. All three drugs were found to be at levels investigators considered normal for therapeutic treatment (as opposed to recreational use or abuse.) A blood-alcohol level was found at 0.184. Dr. Kris Sperry added it was impossible to say whether any of the blood findings was due to ingestion of alcohol or the post-mortem process.[7] It was also ruled out that Nancy was sedated by Chris before she was murdered.[67]

Xanax was found in Daniel Benoit's system. District Attorney Scott Ballard noted this was not a drug that would be given to a child under normal circumstances. It is believed that Daniel was sedated prior to being murdered, with Dr. Sperry ruling out that Daniel died of a drug overdose.[67] The GBI, however, said in the press conference that it could not perform tests for steroids or human growth hormones on Daniel because of a lack of urine.[68]

Xanax and hydrocodone were also found in Chris Benoit's system, at levels investigators called consistent with therapeutic use. Elevated levels of testosterone cypionate were found in his urine; investigators believed that the level found suggested it had been taken recently. No artificial steroids were found in Chris's urine (with the exception of this testosterone cypionate) nor was there evidence of GHB, contrary to speculation.[67] Benoit also tested negative for blood alcohol.[69][70]

Aftermath and legacy

In the years following the incident, it continued to be referred to in the media. The murders led to many fans and critics of WWE believing them to be the cause that led WWE to change their programming. Within a few months "Chair Shots to the Head" were banned in WWE, along with the use of coarse language, blood, and adult oriented situations and storylines becoming limited to nonexistent. This was finalized in late 2008 to early 2009 in the creation of WWE's switch from a TV-14 rating to its current TV-PG rating. In October 2009, Irvin Muchnick published a book, Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide.

On April 14, 2012, The Huffington Post interviewed Our Lady Peace. In the interview, the group discusses the fact that they have retired the song "Whatever", and was confirmed that the song has been retired from the band's catalogue. The song was Benoit's entrance theme in WWE.[82]

On July 26–27, 2012, the rap group Insane Clown Posse released a music video for the song called "Chris Benoit". The song and video, however, are not about Benoit himself, but a man's breakdown that's similar to Benoit's.[83] The song and music video, however, does include stock footage and a recording of Chris Benoit before his death. A remix with rappers Ice Cube and Scarface was later released.

The movie Crossface, which is based on the tragedy was announced around late 2011. Although there were many negative reactions such as the decision by the filmmakers to focus on the head trauma Benoit suffered in his job as a full-time professional wrestler for over two decades as a key factor that led to the atrocities and his premature death.[84] SRG Films, currently in talks with directors and actors, plans to begin filming in the fall of 2012, although the movie is set for release in 2013.[85]