DEA Raids Pro Wrestler Chris Benoit’s Doctor; Why Did “Canadian Crippler” Kill Wife, Son, Self? Did Steroids Make Him Do It?
Chris Benoit, World Wrestling Federation star, aka Canadian Crippler, Killed Wife, Son, Self
ATLANTA (AP) — Federal drug agents and sheriff’s officials raided the office of pro wrestler Chris Benoit’s personal physician in search of records and other items, authorities said Thursday.
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 in Atlanta. The search warrant had been obtained in connection with the Benoit investigation, he said.
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.
No arrests were made and Truesdell was unable to say what was seized. He said records were among the items being sought, but he could not be more specific.
Astin did not return repeated calls to his cell phone from The Associated Press on Thursday.
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 Friday.
Benoit strangled his wife and smothered son during the weekend, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before hanging himself on the cable of a weight-machine in his home. No motive was offered for the killings, which were discovered Monday.
Anabolic steroids were found in Benoit’s home, leading officials to wonder whether the drugs played a role in the slayings. 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.
Also Thursday, Ballard told the AP that 10 empty beer cans were found in a trash can in the Benoit home. An empty wine bottle was found a few feet from where Benoit hanged himself, Ballard said.
It could take several weeks for toxicology tests to be completed on Benoit to see what medications, if any, were in his system.
In the days before the killings, Benoit and his wife argued over whether he should stay home more to take care of their mentally retarded 7-year-old son, according to an attorney for the WWE wrestling league.
The child suffered from a rare medical condition called Fragile X Syndrome, an inherited form of mental retardation often accompanied by autism.
June 28th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Art, the saddest thing to me about this story is the little boy with fragile X. These are such wonderful children, it is a lost to the special needs community.
June 29th, 2007 at 1:27 am
Absolutely awful. It just tears me up inside. I wonder if there will be steroids in his system. I wonder if it had anything to do with his killing his family. I think it is totally bizarre his son was being injected with HGH.
June 29th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Who gets the photo credit here?
The visual epitome of masculinity, a brawny brute!
Once a role model for little boys, a monster instead of a man.
You said it, Art, “Having a challenged child is a strain on the best of relationships.”
June 29th, 2007 at 3:41 pm
Dear Art,
You said,”Benoit strangled his wife and smothered son during the weekend, placing Bibles next to their bodies, before hanging himself…”
If he’s dead, how do they know?
Just Curious.
June 29th, 2007 at 7:51 pm
reading jane site bout the murder of a poster’s sister, and hearibng about these murders, that have been happening lately, the childre, the wives the husbands, makes the howard k stern plight look very frivilous. how could i have let the rest of the world go by, and be so immersed in this frenzy, of i love howard.
June 30th, 2007 at 9:11 am
Dear Art,
Did his wife work? How was her health?
Did they have medical/health insurance?
Did they have a financial plan?
Were they planning for the future?
How much did they ‘owe?’
June 30th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
MY WORDS ARE WEAK, BECAUSE I HAVE NOTHING, TO BACK THEM UP.
I get so tired of waiting.
July 1st, 2007 at 11:38 pm
Why something as sadistic as beating up people for amusement is tolerated, is incomprehensible to me. That beastiality needs to be outlawed.
That bible BS as a culmination of his deed, makes it obvious Benoit’s brain had been smashed once too often. People ought to have more respect for their body.
July 1st, 2007 at 11:43 pm
Just Curious:
Maybe the people who investigated the deaths came to that conclusion because it was not their first time investigating.
October 2nd, 2007 at 7:21 pm
i would like to know exactly how he killed his wife and son. rumour has it that it was with his own personalised wrestling moves. if this is the case then it calls into question the role of this violent ’sport’ in the murders and its effect on the it’s viewers.??????????????????
February 28th, 2008 at 9:32 am
So is there no truth in this being a murder rather than a suicide?