Support NeoGAF

[borghe]

uh.. no they wouldn't.

you are utterly naive if you believe this. Of course we would be asking the same questions if this were a police officer, a factory worker or a housewife.

 

[Giganticus]

"Behind Dad's slaying of family": http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/06/20/MNGSLQIDEL1.DTL

Not an article about Benoit, but of a family in a similar incident. Choice quote:

Duwe said familicides were most prevalent in rural areas during the Great Depression.

"It was viewed with altruistic motives," Duwe said. "They were suffering to eat, and the man wore blinders and couldn't see any other option."

In a study co-authored by Resnick, researchers who focused on 30 cases in Ohio found that most of the homicidal parents "were motivated by the desire to alleviate real or imagined suffering from their children," the study reported.

"That's the tragedy of what they leave behind," Stanford's Levinson said. "They think they're putting an end to this unimaginable suffering. But someone survived all these people."

Sounds like someone who's brain is ****ed up to me. Most people don't consider murder to be altruistic.

 

[3kuSaS]

people have always described benoit as tightly wound and high tempered.

Wrong.

He was a great man, to everyone who knew him. Good people sometimes do reprehensible things. That's that.

you are talking about a guy who had a restraining order placed against him by his wife because she feared for her life after filing for divorce.

So if your wife wanted to leave you and take your mentally disabled son with her, you wouldn't be pissed off enough to hit her? And Benoit never did hit her, by the way.

 

[BirdBomb]

Wrong.

He was a great man, to everyone who knew him. Good people sometimes do reprehensible things. That's that.

never said he wasn't known as a great man (though i dont think he was known that way by many). never said good people don't do bad things. in fact i said sometimes people just snap.

So if your wife wanted to leave you and take your mentally disabled son with her, you wouldn't be pissed off enough to hit her? And Benoit never did hit her, by the way.

no? why would you hit someone you love? whether or not benoit did hit her is irrelevant. he destroyed parts of their house and threatened her with more violence. theres more than one type of abuse. bottom line is he was an asshole wound way too tight and finally snapped.

 

[Wrestlemania]

I'd like to take this opportunity to distance myself from whatever 3kuSaS is trying to say.

 

[Giganticus]

I'd like to take this opportunity to distance myself from whatever 3kuSaS is trying to say.

I'll go with this.

 

[whytemyke]

So if your wife wanted to leave you and take your mentally disabled son with her, you wouldn't be pissed off enough to hit her? And Benoit never did hit her, by the way.

True. He just killed her.

 

[Crayon Shinchan]

"Behind Dad's slaying of family": http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/06/20/MNGSLQIDEL1.DTL

Not an article about Benoit, but of a family in a similar incident. Choice quote:


Sounds like someone who's brain is ****ed up to me. Most people don't consider murder to be altruistic.

Because you simply don't have the empathy required to understand the depths that humanity can fall to.
It's not an empathy used to justify the ill actions, but an empathy that helps you understand the circumstances that arised to put the person into such a condition... ultimately allowing you to help reduce or help create awareness of these risk conditions for others.

 

[Giganticus]

What, me? I'm pretty sure I'm one of the guys going "it's not evil, it's mental illness".

 

[shpankey]

Making explanations! Hey guys, no explanation needed - Benoit was just an asshole! A wife strangling, child murdering, suicidal asshole. That's it. No mental illness, nothing. Just a guy who was such a dick he decided that it would be fine to murder his family.
Incredible post, good job.

two can play that game...

Making explanations! Hey guys, no explanation needed - Hitler was just an asshole! A genociding, child murdering, suicidal asshole. That's it. No mental illness, nothing. Just a guy who was such a dick he decided that it would be fine to murder an entire race.
Incredible post, good job.

 

[3kuSaS]

never said he wasn't known as a great man (though i dont think he was known that way by many).

Actually, I haven't heard anyone every say anything negative about Benoit, doesn't matter whether you believe it or not.

Disregard my opinion all you want, but my point still stands - anyone can snap. I admit, I sympathize with Benoit to a certain degree only because I understand that it can be painful to live with the kind of deep depression caused him to do this. It's just a sad story of a great man who's personal situations turned him into monster. But if we are going to remember the bad he did, then we should remember the good as well. And that's all I have to say about it.

 

[Wrestlemania]

two can play that game...

Making explanations! Hey guys, no explanation needed - Hitler was just an asshole! A genociding, child murdering, suicidal asshole. That's it. No mental illness, nothing. Just a guy who was such a dick he decided that it would be fine to murder an entire race.
Incredible post, good job.

Good one!

 

[Rabid Wolverine]

Vince on the Today Show. (trying to find a youtube'd version)

Vince McMahon appeared in the first segment after the news on The Today Show this morning. He was interviewed by Meredith Vierra after a recap of the Chris Benoit tragedy, where they mentioned that anabolic steroids were one of the focal points of the investigation. They showed a short clip with Lex Luger, who told them that mixing alcohol and steroid use is a bad combination. They mentioned the death of Eddie Guerrero in 2005 and linked it to steroids. They showed Curt Hennig and said his father blamed his son's death on drug and steroid use.

Vince was then interviewed and was very somber. He was asked about WWE's role in alerting authorities to a potential problem at the Benoit home. Vince said that Chris missed a house show on Saturday in Beamont, TX, which is very unlike him. He said that the office then contacted Chris to rearrange his travel to get him to the PPV. When he didn't show up on Sunday, they knew something was drastically wrong. Vince said that Benoit was a consummate professional from a business perspective so they knew there had to be a problem. Vince said that he heard that Benoit contacted his friends early Sunday morning with strange text messages. He said that they decided to contact the authorities.

He was asked if he contacted police. He said he didn't. He oversaw how WWE handled it.

He was asked about the steroids found in the home. Vierra mentioned that the police said they didn't know if steroids played a part in the tragedy and then mentioned that WWE almost immediately released a statement after the press conference saying that steroids were not related to the death. She asked Vince how they could possibly know that since the toxicology reports hadn't come in yet. Vince said they didn't say that. Vierra countered by saying she had just read the exact quote, which made Vince look bad.

He said, "I understand" and then went on to say that their reaction was to the hysteria of the media. Vierra again asked how they could say that steroids "were not and could not be related to the cause of death" when they have no way of proving that. Vince said that they were referring to steroid rage when they wrote that. He said that the crime happened over three days so it wasn't steroid rage. He added that it's all speculation until the toxicology reports come back.

Since Vince was ignoring her question, she flat out asked why they were so defensive about steroid involvement being linked to the crime. She mentioned steroids were found in the home and pointed to the 2003 protection order that Nancy Benoit filed to show that Benoit had a history of violence. She mentioned that steroid use also causes depression and paranoia. Vince agreed and pointed to the other medications found in the house and mentioned that there could have been other factors.

He said he hoped they could find out why it happened and was basically saying he wasn't jumping to any conclusion. He said that the whole thing goes against what WWE does. They are entertainers who bring smiles to people's faces. He didn't want this to "taint and smear" his company. He compared what Benoit did to a postal worker who commits a crime, saying it wasn't the Post Office's fault and that you still use them for your mail. He said that Benoit does not represent what WWE is about and he doesn't know why Benoit turned into a "monster". He said WWE wants to know what happened as well and whether steroids played a part in it in any way. He said it could have been the pressures of his son's illness that caused the tragedy.

Vierra said that steroid use has always been suspected among wrestlers. She asked Vince how he deals with it. He said that now they have implemented the Wellness Program. He talked about it and said it was a blood and urine test, plus cardiovascular tests to check their hearts. He said Benoit was tested in April and it came back negative. He added, "That doesn't mean he wasn't taking prescription medication and perhaps even steroids when this happened, we don't know." He added that it will be determined by the authorities.

Vierra then came back to how Vince said his business was tainted by this. She used that as a segue to talk about early deaths in wrestling, saying it was "almost an occupational hazard". She read the early death stats that always make their way out to the media (and you all probably know how I feel about those stats by now). She asked Vince what his responsibility was to the people who he makes so much money from. He said that they have had five people who were under contract to them pass away. He said he can't comment on the others and didn't even know if the stats were accurate. He told Vierra, "nor do you". Vince appeared to be getting agitated at this point.

She rolled her eyes and said, "It's disingenuous to say that you don't believe there is suspected steroid use within the wrestling community." Vince said he never said that. He said that he can only speak about the five people under contract to WWE that died on his watch. He mentioned that Benoit's death was a suicide, Owen Hart was an accident and said that the other three died of heart failure.

Vierra asked if steroids are found to have been in Benoit's system, what impact will it have on wrestling and him in particular. Vince again mentioned the Wellness Program and said how effective it is. He said that if you ask his performers, they would tell you the same thing. He said all WWE can do is establish the program and do what they can to help the wrestlers. He was asked if Benoit had steroids in his body, will it do anything to make him change his approach. Vince said he thinks people are rushing to judgment here and they won't know what is what until the toxicology reports come back.

He said that WWE is not trying to hide from the fact that Benoit was a part of their organization. "Unfortunately, he was," Vince said. He said, "There was no way of telling this man was a monster." He mentioned Benoit never gave off any signs of this kind of behavior. Vierra asked if the business creates monsters and Vince said no. He said they are well adjusted people and performers. He said that he and his company need to move on as best as they can for themselves and their fans.

They shook hands and that ended a very fair interview where Vince came off pretty well.

 

[FightyF]

A possible reason why Benoit left Bibles by his wife and son is perhaps because he felt guilty, and later wanted both to go to Heaven. He kills his wife, and then decides it's best for his son to join her, and then places Bibles beside each of them hoping they'll both go to Heaven.

I know that apparently Benoit wasn't religious at all, but then again, there's a possibility that he wasn't himself when all of this occurred.

 

[Mustaphadamus]

Actually, I haven't heard anyone every say anything negative about Benoit, doesn't matter whether you believe it or not.

Disregard my opinion all you want, but my point still stands - anyone can snap. I admit, I sympathize with Benoit to a certain degree only because I understand that it can be painful to live with the kind of deep depression caused him to do this. It's just a sad story of a great man who's personal situations turned him into monster. But if we are going to remember the bad he did, then we should remember the good as well. And that's all I have to say about it.

you knew him (benoit) personally?

 

[BirdBomb]

Actually, I haven't heard anyone every say anything negative about Benoit, doesn't matter whether you believe it or not.

i didnt say people say negative things about him. i said i dont think many people who knew him considered him a "great man", because everyone says he was very quiet and unless you were in his small inner circle of friends, you didnt really know him. furthermore, who cares? tell his dead wife and kid what a great man he was.

Disregard my opinion all you want, but my point still stands - anyone can snap. I admit, I sympathize with Benoit to a certain degree only because I understand that it can be painful to live with the kind of deep depression caused him to do this. It's just a sad story of a great man who's personal situations turned him into monster. But if we are going to remember the bad he did, then we should remember the good as well. And that's all I have to say about it.

i already said anyone can snap. what good did he do? you act like he cured AIDS or something. he was a "wrestler" and i use that term very lightly. so he entertained a lot of people, oh well. doesnt make up for being a murdering bastard.

 

[White Man]

Wrong.

He was a great man, to everyone who knew him. Good people sometimes do reprehensible things. That's that.

Um, neighbors reported that Ted Bundy was a good guy, too. We have to accept that we really don't know what the man from the TV was like when all doors were closed. And someone earlier in this thread mentioned that he grew up in an ugly domestic situation with his father, but to everyone outside of the family, the dad was super peachy keen.

 

[C.Dark.DN]

nothing will ever justify what he did. ever. what he did was sick. he had time to think about his actions, and then proceeded to kill his son after he killed his wife. he even tied up his wife at some point so killing her wasn't impulsive either.

his wife apparently tried to file for divorce 4 years ago. sadly a mentally and probably physically abusive man kept her in the relationship for selfish reasons when she rightfully feared her life, later to only have her fear come true.

i’m willing to bet he promised to fix things about himself for her to stay. he didn’t did he? hell, it’s safe to say she may have even decided it was time to leave his bastard ass again when she wound up dead.

 

[vas_a_morir]

nothing will ever justify what he did. ever. what he did was sick. he had time to think about his actions, and then proceeded to kill his son after he killed his wife. he even tied up his wife at some point so killing her wasn't impulsive either.

his wife apparently tried to file for divorce 4 years ago. sadly a mentally and probably physically abusive man kept her in the relationship for selfish reasons when she rightfully feared her life, later to only have her fear come true.

i’m willing to bet he promised to fix things about himself for her to stay. he didn’t did he? hell, it’s safe to say she may have even decided it was time to leave his bastard ass again when she wound up dead.

He probably bottled up his rage, and just exploded one day. Total Coach Scott move. One other person on this forum will know what the hell I'm talking about.

 

[BlackMage]

What's with the people defending Chris and acting like they were close personal friends to him? Are WWE fans so out of touch, that they think they personally know all these wrestlers because they watch RAW every week? Come back to reality, please.

 

[borghe]

who the hell is defending him? You guys need to stop beating that poor strawman to death. All some of us are saying is that he probably wasn't some cold calculating killer who had been planning to execute his family for months or even years as nothing from this tragedy comes off that way. This screams of a guy with psychological problems (possibly induced from steroid use) who snapped and went postal on his family. I am pretty sure there's not a damn person in here excusing what he did and certainly not defending him. About the only defense I see offered is what kind of a person he was before all of this happened, which is perfectly reasonable. Maybe he was a great guy who just crumbled under depression, or maybe he was a violent wife beater. But "defending" his character prior to this is no less inappropriate or silly than defending your presumption that he was some evil twisted man this entire time.

edit - though I have to say this thread has definitely run its course. It has pretty much devolved into those wondering what drove him to this and those with the response "Because he was an evil wife beater". Guess it's time to move on.

 

[SCReuter]

Not sure if this has already been posted yet, but...

Death of Nancy Benoit rumour posted on Wikipedia hours prior to body being found

Just heard about it on the news.

 

[Kano on the Phone]

Are WWE fans so out of touch, that they think they personally know all these wrestlers because they watch RAW every week?

Yes.

 

[koam]

Not sure if this has already been post yet, but...

Death of Nancy Benoit rumour posted on Wikipedia hours prior to body being found

Just heard about it on the news.

What? The? Fruck?

 

[GoutPatrol]

Please look at the other edits this IP did. This was done as a joke.

 

[Wrestlemania]

What's with the people defending Chris and acting like they were close personal friends to him? Are WWE fans so out of touch, that they think they personally know all these wrestlers because they watch RAW every week? Come back to reality, please.

This fictional defending must end now!

 

[MassiveAttack]

...

What? The? Fruck?

Further investigation shows that the IP address used to make the first edit is located in Connecticut, but the IP address is not linked to any computers or servers used by the WWE, but according to Cary Bass, Volunteer Coordinator for the Wikimedia Foundation, the IP address matches a location in Stamford Connecticut where the WWE headquarters is located. Bass also informed the local authorities in Atlanta about the unusual edits, but it is not known if the edits were investigated by the police. The second edit was made by a computer in Australia from a wireless network.

 

[dskillzhtown]

That entire Wikipedia thing is weird. Either someone knew and posted it, or someone was trying to be funny and the joke turned real.

 

[Lost Fragment]

...wha? That is some ****ed up shit.

someone was trying to be funny and the joke turned real.

I'm going with that one.

Or, someone heard the announcement while watching Vengance, and assumed the worst about his "personal issues."

 

[Osorio]

None of us are saying it's not his fault either. None of us are saying it excuses anything. Get it through your thick head.

We're looking for a reason - not because we want to say "Oh Chris Benoit was great after all because he just had a wonky brain when he killed his family!" - but because we want to say "X had a massive hand in causing this tragedy, let's try and work to find a way of preventing/lowering X". We're not justifying anything, we're explaining it.

Exactly. Now go over to the freakin UFO thread and shut those people up. :lol

 

[Chiggs]

A possible reason why Benoit left Bibles by his wife and son is perhaps because he felt guilty, and later wanted both to go to Heaven. He kills his wife, and then decides it's best for his son to join her, and then places Bibles beside each of them hoping they'll both go to Heaven.

That's some of the stupidest logic ever, and by the way, I'm not referring to you offering your theory, just the man's actions. If Benoit, who, like you said wasn't religious, actually thought that, then it just goes to show you there truly are no atheists in foxholes, but there sure are a lot of idiots.

What, is the Bible some sort of Golden Ticket to the afterlife? Where the hell does it even say that in the text? He really was out of goddamn mind.

 

[Keyser Soze]

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13588187/detail.html

Smiling Benoit Photographed Just Hours Before Murders

ATLANTA -- WSB-TV Channel 2 has obtained a photograph of a a smiling Chris Benoit at his doctor's office Friday afternoon just hours before he went home and killed his wife and son and then committed suicide.

The picture was snapped by a wrestling fan at Dr. Phil Astin's office in Carrollton.

Federal drug agents and sheriff's officials raided that office Wednesday night in search of records and other items in a warrant.

The fan who took the picture described Benoit as soft-spoken and "nice." He signed an autograph for the woman.

... And an image of the t-shirt he seemed to be wearing

 

[Fifty]

That's pretty creepy

 

[Brobzoid]

Because you simply don't have the empathy required to understand the depths that humanity can fall to.
It's not an empathy used to justify the ill actions, but an empathy that helps you understand the circumstances that arised to put the person into such a condition... ultimately allowing you to help reduce or help create awareness of these risk conditions for others.

needed to be quoted.

 

[krypt0nian]

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13588187/detail.html

... And an image of the t-shirt he seemed to be wearing

Holy Mindfuck Batman! Every time I think this cannot get weirder...

 

[Lelielle]

Just a quick statistic, since it seems to be related to this story . 34% of female murder victims over the age of 15 are killed by a current or ex husband or boyfriend. there is something really wrong with that...........

 

[Forgotten Ancient]

Just a quick statistic, since it seems to be related to this story . 34% of female murder victims over the age of 15 are killed by a current or ex husband or boyfriend. there is something really wrong with that...........

That can't be right. That seems like a very, very, very low percentage of murders.

.34%

or 34%

?

 

[Lelielle]

sorry quotation error, 35%

 

[Ripclawe]

That's Bruiser Brody on the shirt who was murdered in Puerto Rico.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruiser_Brody

 

[woodchuck]

it looks like the AP picked up the wikipedia story

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/28/wrestler.ap/index.html

ATLANTA (AP) -- Investigators are looking into who altered pro wrestler Chris Benoit's Wikipedia entry to mention his wife's death hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their 7-year-old son.

Benoit's Wikipedia entry was altered early Monday to say that the wrestler had missed a match two days earlier because of his wife's death.

A Wikipedia official, Cary Bass, said Thursday that the entry was made by someone using an Internet protocol address registered in Stamford, Connecticut, where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.

more at the link

 

[Chiggs]

it looks like the AP picked up the wikipedia story

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/28/wrestler.ap/index.html



more at the link

The WWE is going to be in for some really, really dark times.

 

[krypt0nian]

The WWE is going to be in for some really, really dark times.

That is beginning to look like an understatement.

 

[Ripclawe]

http://www.wrestlingobserver.com/wo/news/headlines/default.asp?aID=20031

Meltzer may get wrapped up in it.

--In a really bizarre story regarding the story going around everywhere about Wikipedia at 4:01 a.m. on Monday posting that Nancy Benoit had passed away, long before authorities knew, and it was removed 20 minutes later due to a lack of confirmation, my belief is that it was nobody who knew anything. The edit came from Connecticut, but not from WWE headquarters.

My feeling is that this is just a bizarre coincidence. The WWE later found that on its chat line at 8:41 p.m., during the PPV, after Benoit missed the show, someone on a WWE chat said that he missed the show due to his wife dying. Later, when the person was asked where he heard the story, he said, "Meltzer reported it."

An hour later after the Wikipedia entry was taken down, someone from Australia edited it and again put that Nancy Benoit had passed away, attributing it to "several pro wrestling web sites." I didn't know of this until today when questioned by WWE who asked if Benoit had called me, which he hadn't, nor did I report it or know anything until Monday afternoon, after the WWE wrestlers were told.

It appears it was a hoax started by someone and given credibility by usage of my name, no more than the daily fake stories people make up on MMA and pro wrestling chat boards, the appear to have led to the Wikipedia edit, this become a big story, and it may be nothing more to the story other than an eerie irony.

 

[Raistlin]

MSNBC doing lots of reporting ... weird shit.


Beyond what Ripclawe just posted ...


... Benoit was being treated for low testesterone right before this happened. The Doctor treating him has not commented on what medication he was taking for this. The Doctor has also had some shady stuff go on in the past.

 

[Snaku]

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/13588187/detail.html

... And an image of the t-shirt he seemed to be wearing

Wow, this shit is getting even more creepy. Dunno how that's possible. =/

 

[Quazar]

Bret Hart is on FOX right now talking about death.

 

[Snaku]

Bret Hart is on FOX right now talking about death.

So is Chyna. :lol

 

[Quazar]

So is Chyna. :lol

Yea :lol

 

[Snaku]

Yea :lol

She says she's never used steroids!

FOX NEWS ALERT!: Manjaw never used steroids people! :lol

 

[krypt0nian]

She says she's never used steroids!

FOX NEWS ALERT!: Manjaw never used steroids people! :lol

How would she like to explain her 6 inch clitoris?