Chris Benoit’s double murder-suicide of his wife Nancy and their 7-year-old kid David is likely WWE’s biggest scandal. It was a turning point for the wrestling organization, prompting them to rethink and reform their “Wellness Policy” to condemn steroid abuse among wrestlers.
Despite the fact that it has been 15 years since the tragic event, some continue to doubt Benoit’s motivation for the killings. The media speculated that the deaths were caused by steroid-induced aggressiveness, which had little merit.
While no one knows what set Benoit off, his acts can be linked to a number of undiscovered physical and mental illnesses.
Chris Benoit Did Not Murder His Wife and Son in a Steroid-fueled Frenzy
Benoit murdered his family and committed suicide in their Atlanta, Georgia home over the course of three days over a weekend in June 2007.
Benoit died with a large number of drugs in his system, including Xanax and hydrocodone, as well as a high level of testosterone. The elevated testosterone level was identified as a side effect of his treatment for a “deficiency caused by earlier steroid misuse,” according to the medical examiner.
His heart was also three times larger than it should have been, which might have naturally caused his death within the next ten months, according to the autopsy.
Despite the fact that illegally obtained anabolic steroids and other medication were discovered in his residence, no traces of steroids were identified in his body. The news media went crazy over Benoit’s alleged ‘roid rage’ murder of his wife and son.
Because of the toxicology findings (which found no signs of steroid-induced wrath in his body) and the planned nature of the murders, the steroid argument is frequently discounted. Nancy’s feet and wrists were bound with cables and duct tape before Benoit strangled her with a cord on June 22, 2006.
He medicated his son David with Xanax the next day and strangled him while he was unconscious. Benoit placed Bible copies beside both bodies, which could be regarded as a gesture of sorrow. All of this suggests that the murders were planned and do not match the definition of fury.
The WWE stated that Nancy was “asphyxiated rather than battered to death,” adding:
“The physical results presented by officials show deliberation rather than fury. According to the authorities, there were significant spans of time between the deaths of the wife and the boy, implying intentional thought rather than rage.”
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In the Months Before the Killings, Benoit May Have Had Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTA), Which Produced Dementia
Benoit’s father, Michael, agreed to let the non-profit Sports Legacy Institute (formerly known as the Concussion Legacy Foundation) do testing on his brain to look for untreated concussions and his son’s mental state in his final days.
The study, conducted by Julian Bailes, the head neurosurgeon at West Virginia University at the time, revealed that Benoit’s brain “resembled that of an 85-year-old Alzheimer’s patient,” which is not typical in a 40-year-old person.
The testing also revealed that his brain was seriously injured as a result of the numerous untreated concussions he sustained during his wrestling career. This was hardly surprising given that Benoit’s finishing technique was the ‘dive headbutt,’ in which he jumped headfirst on his opponent from a ladder.
Benoit’s brain scan revealed the spread of dead cells throughout his brain as a result of head trauma and progressive dementia. Untreated concussions have been related to the early onset of dementia, which can lead to behavioral problems and depression.
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is thought to be the root cause of Benoit’s disruptive conduct, which resulted in the killings. WWE, though, dismissed the claims as “speculative”.
“We have now proven many concussions are part of his medical history, combined with clinical symptoms associated with CTE. “The CTE findings in Chris Benoit show that there may be a prevalent syndrome among players who sustain many head injuries in contact sports,” Bailes added.
Benoit’s mental state deteriorated after the death of his longtime close friend and fellow wrestler Eddie Guerrero two years ago, according to friends and family members. Prior to the incident in June 2007, there were unverified reports of his paranoia and despair.
FAQs
What Was Chris Benoit’s Best Friend’s Name?
Chris Jericho is one of his more famous friends. Jericho traveled with Benoit, was like a second father to Benoit’s children, and was one of Benoit’s closest friends. Benoit was mentioned strongly in Jericho’s previous novel.
What Did the Wwe Have to Say About Chris Benoit?
Benoit’s name has not been discussed within WWE since he tragically murdered his wife and son before committing suicide in 2007.
Chris Benoit, What Did You Do to Your Wife and Child?
Chris Benoit, a 40-year-old Canadian professional wrestler employed by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and living in Fayetteville, Georgia, murdered his wife Nancy, and their 7-year-old son, Daniel, during a three-day period from June 22 to 24, 2007.