Web Post On Dead Wrestler Examined

A user of the Web site Wikipedia confessed to making edits to pro wrestler Chris Benoit's profile mentioning the death of Benoit's wife before authorities had found her body.

In a lengthy post added to the Web site early Friday, the anonymous user acknowledged being "deeply sorry" and called the situation a "terrible coincidence."

The edits were originally reported by Wikinews, an online news source connected to Wikipedia. Friday's post was added to a discussion page for the Wikinews story. According to Wikinews, the IP address of the individual is identical to that of the user who edited Benoit's profile early Monday morning.

"I was reading rumors and speculation about this matter online, and one of them included that his wife may have passed away, and I did the wrong thing by posting it on Wikipedia to spite (sic) there being no evidence," the user wrote. The poster did not identify himself or herself.

The individual acknowledged being from Stamford, Conn., the home of World Wrestling Entertainment. In the message, the individual claimed no connection to WWE.

The IP address connected to the individual has a history of editing wrestling-related articles on Wikipedia, according to Sandra Ordonez, Communications Manager for Wikimedia Foundation, the parent organization for Wikipedia.

"The IP address had a very consistent history," Ordonez said.

Ordonez also said the organization had verified the authenticity of the time stamps on the posts.

Ordonez referred all additional questions to authorities investigating the deaths.

A voicemail left for Fayette County, Ga., District Attorney Scott Ballard was not immediately returned.

"I feel incredibly bad for all the attention this got because of the fact that what I said turned out to be the truth," the user wrote. "I just can't believe what I wrote was actually the case, I've remained stunned and saddened over it."

Investigators had not yet discovered the bodies of 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 were 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, 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.

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.