samanthajane13
06-29-2007, 12:16 PM
Authorities probe Benoit Wikipedia entry
By HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - Investigators had not yet discovered the bodies of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old
son when someone altered Benoit's Wikipedia entry to mention his wife's death, authorities said.
Authorities said Thursday they are trying to determine who altered the entry on the collaborative reference site 14
hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their son.
Benoit's Wikipedia entry was altered early Monday to say the wrestler had missed a match two days earlier
because of his wife's death.
A Wikipedia official, Cary Bass, said the entry was made by someone using an Internet protocol address
registered in Stamford, Conn., where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.
An IP address, a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet, does not
necessarily have to be broadcast from where it is registered. The bodies were found in Benoit's home in
suburban Atlanta, and it's not known where the posting was sent from, Bass said.
Benoit strangled his wife and son during the weekend, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before hanging
himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home, authorities said. No motive was offered for the
killings, which were discovered Monday.
Also Thursday, federal drug agents said they had raided the west Georgia office of a doctor who prescribed
testosterone to Benoit.
The raid at Dr. Phil Astin's office in Carrollton began Wednesday night and concluded early Thursday, said
agent Chuvalo Truesdell, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. No arrests were made.
Hours before the raid, Astin told The Associated Press he had treated Benoit for low testosterone levels,
which he said likely originated from previous steroid use.
Among other things, investigators were looking for Benoit's medical records to see whether he had been
prescribed steroids and, if so, whether that prescription was appropriate, according to a law enforcement
official speaking on condition of anonymity because records in the case remain sealed.
Astin prescribed testosterone for Benoit, a longtime friend, in the past but would not say what, if any,
medications he prescribed when Benoit visited his office on June 22.
State medical records show that Astin's privileges were suspended for three months in 2001 at a
Georgia hospital for "reasons related to competence or character."
Astin did not return calls to his cell phone Thursday from the AP.
Anabolic steroids were found in Benoit's home, leading officials to wonder whether the drugs played a
role in the killings. Some experts believe steroids cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts
known as "roid rage."
Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said in a statement Thursday that he could not
immediately comment on the raid.
Benoit's page on Wikipedia, a reference site that allows users to add and edit information, was updated
at 12:01 a.m. Monday, about 14 hours before authorities say the bodies were found. The reason he
missed a match Saturday night was "stemming from the death of his wife Nancy," it said.
Reporters informed the Fayette County district attorney's office of the posting Thursday, and the agency
forwarded the information to sheriff's investigators, who are looking into it, a legal assistant said in an
e-mail to the AP.
WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said that to his knowledge, no one at the WWE knew Nancy Benoit
was dead before her body was found Monday afternoon. Text messages released by officials show
that messages from Chris Benoit's cell phone were being sent to co-workers a few hours after the
Wikipedia posting.
WWE employees are given WWE e-mail addresses, McDevitt said, though he did not know whether
Chris Benoit had one.
"I have no idea who posted this," McDevitt said. "It's at least possible Chris may have sent some other
text message to someone that we're unaware of. We don't know if he did. The phone is in the
possession of authorities."
On Thursday afternoon, the Wikipedia page about Benoit carried a note stating that editing by
unregistered or newly registered users was disabled until July 8 because of vandalism.
___
Associated Press writer Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this story.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I spent half the night thinking about this...and I may be grasping at straws, but-
Who altered the Wikipedia post???
Who else would have known the Benoits were dead BEFORE LE made the check on the house??
What if Chris WASN'T the one who used the cell-phones to text WWE???
What if it was someone else who placed those text from the family's phones?
All they would have to do was look at his contact list in the phone to find his co-workers, and text them. They weren't VOICE calls, which would have given them away-just voiceless-nameless texts.
It's remotely possible that another party altered the post, made the calls, and killed the Benoits. If someone had a grudge against Chris, they could have staged it to blame and discredit him.
If I were LE, I'd be looking for finger prints on the phones, any computers in the house, and re-examine the crime-scene for any additional evidence that there may have been someone else in the house. I'd also check the beer cans found in the trash and the wine bottle found near Chris's body for DNA and finger prints.
I'm just saying its a possiblity.
By HARRY R. WEBER, Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - Investigators had not yet discovered the bodies of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old
son when someone altered Benoit's Wikipedia entry to mention his wife's death, authorities said.
Authorities said Thursday they are trying to determine who altered the entry on the collaborative reference site 14
hours before authorities discovered the bodies of the couple and their son.
Benoit's Wikipedia entry was altered early Monday to say the wrestler had missed a match two days earlier
because of his wife's death.
A Wikipedia official, Cary Bass, said the entry was made by someone using an Internet protocol address
registered in Stamford, Conn., where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.
An IP address, a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet, does not
necessarily have to be broadcast from where it is registered. The bodies were found in Benoit's home in
suburban Atlanta, and it's not known where the posting was sent from, Bass said.
Benoit strangled his wife and son during the weekend, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before hanging
himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home, authorities said. No motive was offered for the
killings, which were discovered Monday.
Also Thursday, federal drug agents said they had raided the west Georgia office of a doctor who prescribed
testosterone to Benoit.
The raid at Dr. Phil Astin's office in Carrollton began Wednesday night and concluded early Thursday, said
agent Chuvalo Truesdell, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. No arrests were made.
Hours before the raid, Astin told The Associated Press he had treated Benoit for low testosterone levels,
which he said likely originated from previous steroid use.
Among other things, investigators were looking for Benoit's medical records to see whether he had been
prescribed steroids and, if so, whether that prescription was appropriate, according to a law enforcement
official speaking on condition of anonymity because records in the case remain sealed.
Astin prescribed testosterone for Benoit, a longtime friend, in the past but would not say what, if any,
medications he prescribed when Benoit visited his office on June 22.
State medical records show that Astin's privileges were suspended for three months in 2001 at a
Georgia hospital for "reasons related to competence or character."
Astin did not return calls to his cell phone Thursday from the AP.
Anabolic steroids were found in Benoit's home, leading officials to wonder whether the drugs played a
role in the killings. Some experts believe steroids cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts
known as "roid rage."
Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said in a statement Thursday that he could not
immediately comment on the raid.
Benoit's page on Wikipedia, a reference site that allows users to add and edit information, was updated
at 12:01 a.m. Monday, about 14 hours before authorities say the bodies were found. The reason he
missed a match Saturday night was "stemming from the death of his wife Nancy," it said.
Reporters informed the Fayette County district attorney's office of the posting Thursday, and the agency
forwarded the information to sheriff's investigators, who are looking into it, a legal assistant said in an
e-mail to the AP.
WWE attorney Jerry McDevitt said that to his knowledge, no one at the WWE knew Nancy Benoit
was dead before her body was found Monday afternoon. Text messages released by officials show
that messages from Chris Benoit's cell phone were being sent to co-workers a few hours after the
Wikipedia posting.
WWE employees are given WWE e-mail addresses, McDevitt said, though he did not know whether
Chris Benoit had one.
"I have no idea who posted this," McDevitt said. "It's at least possible Chris may have sent some other
text message to someone that we're unaware of. We don't know if he did. The phone is in the
possession of authorities."
On Thursday afternoon, the Wikipedia page about Benoit carried a note stating that editing by
unregistered or newly registered users was disabled until July 8 because of vandalism.
___
Associated Press writer Matt Apuzzo in Washington contributed to this story.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I spent half the night thinking about this...and I may be grasping at straws, but-
Who altered the Wikipedia post???
Who else would have known the Benoits were dead BEFORE LE made the check on the house??
What if Chris WASN'T the one who used the cell-phones to text WWE???
What if it was someone else who placed those text from the family's phones?
All they would have to do was look at his contact list in the phone to find his co-workers, and text them. They weren't VOICE calls, which would have given them away-just voiceless-nameless texts.
It's remotely possible that another party altered the post, made the calls, and killed the Benoits. If someone had a grudge against Chris, they could have staged it to blame and discredit him.
If I were LE, I'd be looking for finger prints on the phones, any computers in the house, and re-examine the crime-scene for any additional evidence that there may have been someone else in the house. I'd also check the beer cans found in the trash and the wine bottle found near Chris's body for DNA and finger prints.
I'm just saying its a possiblity.