After reading some very biased, and badly written blogs about Chris Benoit, I felt I had to write my own blog on this very controversial subject.

I have been praised for my blogs, as they are informative, and I try my best to be unbiased in my views.
I can admit that I was a big Chris Benoit fan when he was alive, he didn't need to be great on the microphone, he did not need a gimmick which transcends beyond wrestling. The only thing Benoit needed, was the ability to put on some of the best technically sound matches in professional wrestling history.

Now onto the actual double murder/suicide case. Here is some information from Wikipedia:

The Chris Benoit double murder-suicide occurred over a three-day period ending on June 24, 2007. World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) professional wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife, Nancy Benoit, strangled his seven-year-old son, Daniel, and subsequently committed suicide by hanging. Autopsy results showed that Benoit first murdered his wife, Nancy.

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.

Daniel Benoit was suffocated and killed in his bedroom, and a copy of the Bible was left by his body.The boy had internal injuries to the throat area, showed no bruises. Daniel's exact time of death is unknown. The reports determined Daniel was sedated with Xanax and likely unconscious when he was killed. A large butcher knife was found underneath Daniel's bed, but the knife was not used in either murder.

Chris Benoit placed copies of the Bible alongside the bodies of his wife and son, as well as a third copy of the Bible on his weight lifting machine.

benoit-and-son.jpg

Chris Benoit's behaviour

Since Eddie Guerrero died in 2005, Chris Benoit began reading the bible a lot, and he would write passages to Eddie Guerrero.
Benoit had always been a private person, however he was always known as a family man, and would sometimes confess to his fellow wrestlers how much he misses his son Daniel.

Montel Vontavious Porter, had grown close to Benoit while working in the WWE, and had admitted in interviews, that in the weeks leading up to his death, Benoit had been acting strangely. Read this >> http://wrestleheat.com/mvp-discusses...ce-on-him=6583

MVP has explained how Benoit was crying out for help, that he was losing his mind, but MVP didn't think it was anything too serious. MVP clearly regrets not doing something about it, which is why he still pays tribute to his mentor.

False Reasons

How many times have you read something about Benoit, and someone has blamed it all on steroids?
Although the double murder/suicide brought around a massive debate over steroids in wrestling, steroids has been ruled out as a cause for Benoit's behaviour.

It has been stated that steroids may give someone "Roid-rage", which makes the person angry, and act in a way they wouldn't normally.
However it has been noted that Roid Rage would never cause someone to kill another person, in Bret Harts own words, "Someone with Roid Rage is more likely to go and topple a car over", and that the effects of Roid Rage would never become that severe no matter how much the person took.

Although the house in which they died, had a number of prescribed drugs, they were also ruled out as a cause.

Dr Astin, Chris Benoit's doctor, had prescribed him and other wrestlers drugs in excess. Dr Astin admitted to illegally supplying prescribed drugs and would soon be imprisoned and fined. It was never confirmed whether the drugs he prescribed to Benoit had an adverse effect on his brain chemistry.

Past Incidents

It was reported at one point in Chris and Nancy's marriage, that he had become aggressive. Nancy would file for divorce, and got a restraining order out on Chris Benoit. She would claim that he would throw furniture around, and it seemed like he was acting like Dynamite Kid did towards his wife.

It is possible this may have been down to Roid Rage, but the reasons for Benoit's behaviour was never disclosed, as Nancy would soon cancel the divorce suit, and the restraining order on Chris.

BenoitandNancy.jpg
WWE's reaction

I remember the day clearly in my mind. I began watching Raw live, in the early hours of the morning (I am from England), and Vince McMahon would announce the death of Chris Benoit.

The following two hours would be a tribute to Benoit and his career, and had video packages from many WWE wrestlers. A lot of the wrestlers were in a state of shock, just like when Eddie died, they all said their farewells, and they told us how Chris Benoit was not just a legendary performer, but outside the ring he was one of the nicest guys you could ever know.

It was truly a heart breaking show, however not long after the show had ended, the WWE had gathered word that it was in fact Chris Benoit who had murdered his family, and killed himself. They would cut the Raw Chris Benoit tribute completely, and they would begin to erase all mentions of Chris Benoit from their company history.

The government had already looked into steroid abuse in wrestling, but with Benoit's death being linked to steroids, it created a much more urgent need to address the problem. Vince McMahon once again was subject to creating changes in his company to avoid any negative press, he had to make sure that the WWE was not to blame, therefore it was only right for business to erase Chris Benoit from its history books.

Benoit Documentary - "A Fight til the Death"

For those who have never seen this documentary, I very highly recommend you watch all the parts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilMSCWC-Yvs

This documentary has been completely dismissed by Vince McMahon, the WWE refuse to comment on the findings in this documentary.

Benoit's father, Bret Hart, Christopher Nowinksi, other wrestling legends, and actual doctors, look into what could have caused Chris Benoit to do this.
Benoit's father allowed doctors to examine Chris Benoit's brain, and this is what they found.

bnoit-brain.jpg

Wiki Info: 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."
He was reported to have had an advanced form of dementia, similar to the brains of four retired NFL players who had suffered multiple concussions, sank into depression, and harmed themselves or others. 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 crime.
He also confirmed that his son was quietly cremated, but what was done with the ashes is not public knowledge.

Conclusion

Chris Benoit spent decades doing moves like Flying Headbutts, he would be one of those wrestlers who would take chair shots to the back of the head.
Benoit never knew when to stop, he would carry on wrestling despite being injured, or having a concussion.
It was common for wrestlers to work through concussions, there was no medical evidence to show that concussions could be fatal in the long term, and they often went untreated.

Benoit had a passion for the wrestling industry, it was all he really knew, he loved to entertain the fans, and he was one of those guys who wanted to mentor younger talent, he often put other talents over and had high standards for them.

It has been stated many times by those who were close to Benoit, that he loved his family more then anything, and he would miss them a lot while working. They cannot understand why Benoit did the things that he did.
This is why a lot of people have turned to the autopsy results, it has hard evidence that Benoit may have been suffering from severe dementia, and that this would lead to severe behaviour changes.

I have seen Alzheimer's first hand, my grandmother was diagnosed with it a year before she died, and it was a hard time for our family. My grandmother would often forget the simplest of things, and she would even forget who I was, and my sisters, it is something which happens sadly.

It seems that those who call Benoit a murderer, fail to listen to the facts, they focus on the fact that his wife and his son died, and label him as a murderer. Although the facts do point to the fact that he physically did kill them, and him self, did he mentally do it? Was Chris Benoit in complete control of his actions? It is very possible that he was not, dementia can make you feel like your in a dream state, where anything is possible.

Imagine if you had a dream, and you killed your family, but then you woke up and found out that it wasn't a dream. Would you be a murderer? Would that fact lead you to kill yourself? What if you could see yourself doing these horrible things, but you couldn't stop yourself?

This is why Chris Benoit will always be controversial, as we will never know if Benoit killed his family in cold blood(which makes no sense to most), or if he killed them due to dementia causing him to do it?

Let me end this by saying.. If a tree falls in the woods, and there's no one around, does it make a sound?
Benoit killed his family, and himself, but he was never tried in a court, the details of the case will never be 100% confirmed, so at the end of the day, its up to you, to decide whether he is a cold blooded murderer, or whether he is a victim of decades of professional wrestling.