Head Trauma A Factor In Wrestler Killings?

(CBS/AP)  Pro wrestler Chris Benoit suffered head trauma from his years in the ring that could help explain why he killed his wife, son and himself, a doctor who studied his brain said Wednesday.

The analysis by doctors affiliated with the Sports Legacy Institute suggests that repeated concussions could have contributed to the killings at Benoit's suburban Atlanta home, though there was no way to know for sure.

"Whether it is the sole factor, I believe, is speculation, and I will not go there," said Dr. Robert Cantu, a member of the Waltham, Mass.-based institute, which researches the long-term effects of concussions.

The level of brain damage Benoit had could have caused depression and irrational behavior, said Cantu, who also is chief of neurosurgery service at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass.

The wrestler's father, Michael Benoit, said he agreed to the testing of his son's brain because murder-suicide was so out of character.

"Chris Benoit, our son, that was not the person that could have committed the horrendous acts that took place on that weekend in June," Michael Benoit told CBS' The Early Show on Thursday.

"We lost our daughter-in-law, we lost our grandson, and we lost our son that we love very much. There had to be something else that contributed to this and we were searching for answers."

He said his son complained about suffering concussions, but that he knows of no medical records or records kept by the wrestling league to support the diagnosis.

Steroid use also has lingered as a theory behind the killings, since anabolic steroids were found in Chris Benoit's home and tests conducted by authorities showed Benoit had roughly 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his system when he died.

Some experts believe that use of testosterone can contribute to paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as "roid rage."

Dr. Wendy Wright, an intensive care neurologist at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta who was not involved in the study of Benoit's brain, said multiple concussions could cause long-term brain injuries, but the symptoms were unclear.

"This isn't something you would expect to see turn on one day and have someone fly into a vicious rage," she said.

Michael Benoit, who lives near Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, told the Early Show that after the killings, he discovered a diary written by his son that "clearly showed that this was a man that really needed some help at that time."

Benoit said his son "seemed very depressed. He seemed depressed by the fact there were so many of his friends that were dying at a very early age. And it also seemed that some of the writings were very troubling, to say the least."

The father said he has not discussed with his attorney whether to take any legal action against World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. or anyone else in the case.

"I think it's the extreme that is in the wrestling industry today," he told reporters. "The human skull is not built to get hit by a chair or something."

A lawyer for Stamford, Conn.-based WWE did not immediately return a call Wednesday seeking comment. The company has maintained steroid use did not cause Benoit to snap.

Richard Decker, an attorney for the mother of Benoit's slain wife, said the brain test results "don't make a lot of difference to us."

"Even if the theories about the effects of continuing trauma on Chris' personality are accurate, they don't rule out Chris' excessive steroid use, which we know he was involved in, as a factor in the murders," Decker said. "In either case, it wouldn't excuse his conduct."

Prosecutors have said Benoit, 40, strangled his wife with a cord, used a choke hold to strangle his 7-year-old son, placed Bibles next to the bodies and hanged himself on a piece of exercise equipment the weekend of June 22.

Authorities have said Benoit's personal doctor, Phil Astin, prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids to Benoit every three to four weeks between May 2006 and May 2007. Astin has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of improperly prescribing painkillers and other drugs to two patients other than Benoit.

[michellem99-2009]

We can ask why
We can ask who.
Or a host of things.
We can blame TV.
We can blame the church.
We can blame the family.
We can blame the sport.
We can blame the doctor.
We can blame the medicines/drugs.
None make sense if we think about it.
He did the behaviuor and him.
He put the stuff in his body.
Greed may be part of it.
Some can''t lose and will
pay the price if that means loved ones.
Yet children who may look up to him,
don''t understand.
A handicapped child died at his hands.
Why he took that to his grave.
Some can''t lose gracefully.
May his wife and son rest in peace.
He died with no honour and stall
Answer to a higher Power.
Verse by Barbara Ann

[michellem99-2009]

Sorry . Stop pandering to the like of him. If that man trully love his loved ones,he would never have killt them. Don''t blame the stuff he put in his body. I see a bas*****. He put the stuff in his body and wanted the phony body just to beat up or kill. They will use all kind of reasons to look like a punk to bully. He look so mean. High tail it ladies.

[kailumego1]

whatithink "Yet, nobody is using that as an excuse for him and his case only involved dogs, NOT HUMANS."

CORRECT, EXCELLENT POINT!

Although I was appalled at Vick''s behavior, because I am an animal lover, and I also own two dogs, but I positively agree with your assessment, most of these white posters are "hypocrites" and phonies.

They can "rake" an alleged black criminal over the "coals", label his/her behavior felonious and contemptuous,while labeling a white male/female that has committed an identical crime as a misdemeanor.

I found Vick''s behavior disgusting and reprehensible, but I also found the majority of white folks posting here behavior just as contemptuous and belligerent as Vick, because of their hypocritical stance.

[kailumego1]

whatithink "EXCELLENT"! "I''''m sure you''''d be afraid to walk down the street in the neighborhood that Michael Vick grew up in, yet you don''''t let him use it as an excuse."

You missed the article about the "white" woman who had falsely accused a Hispanic male of rape, which he served two years in prison, as the D.A., law enforcement failed to take a DNA test that would have exonerated him.

They took her word without getting an DNA test, which it was discovered later on that she had an affair with a "convict" and tried to cover it up by falsely accusing a Hispanic male for a bogus crime.

A known drug meth-addict habitual criminal''s word was taken over a more reliable citizen, because as law enforcement stated, she appeared to be telling the truth.

But the clincher here "seven" pages of benign post compared to the 80+ pages of Micheal Vick, the Duke assault, O.J. Simpson, etc. of outrage expressed by vehement white posters.

Parallel to those posting here, excuses, excuses, excuses, rationalizations, etc. I read only a couple of post that demonstrated the identical vehemence as Micheal Vick, O.J., Duke, etc.

It will also be interesting when Phil Specter is acquitted to see how "white" America responds.

[galaxiana]

If repeated blows to the head cause people to murder, then Mike Tyson''s friends better be on guard, too.

[Krazcarl]

cryonbrial take another hit you''ll feel better but you''ll still be stupid eveyone knows your white because black people aren''t that stupid.

[cryonbrian]

No excuse! Chris was just doing what the white man has been doing forever! Killing!

[cryonbrian]

No excuse! Chris was just doing what the white man has been doing forever! Killing!

[Krazcarl]

By the perscriptons he was getting he had obvious medical care. Roid rage he''d been on them for years and knew the side effects what I hear gave them to the child. A mental break that''s a given no rational man would destroy his family. The fact of the stress of a handicapped child we all know parents of handicapped children that have been a model to the rest of us. We''ll never know why all we know is that afterward he took his own life so he was sane enough to know society would have no place for him. When your older you see this from time to time just egomaniacs they don''t want to go alone and for some reason have given up. Like placing a bible by them like that would make it OK. I''m sure his friends saw sighns. He was a loose cannon there is no excuse.

[whatithink-2009]

godofredo29,

Even if the world is wonderful, things like this happen!!

I''m sure you''d be afraid to walk down the street in the neighborhood that Michael Vick grew up in, yet you don''t let him use it as an excuse.

Why should we use this as an excuse for the wrestler?

All I''ve been hearing are excuses: head injury, steriods, yada yada yada.

If Michael Vick said he grew up hearing gun shots every night, seeing drug addicts beating up people to get their drugs, seeing people being stabbed for looking wrong at another, seeing women with black eyes on a daily basis, being raped because he had the misfortune of being alone in the house with his uncle...

You''d tell him to get over it.

But, in your opinion, having a handicap child is a good reason to snap.