Benoit Death Notice Posting May Have Been Coincidence
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The computer used to make an anonymous posting early Monday morning announcing the death of wrestling wife Nancy Benoit at least 13 hours before police discovered her body — and which was again used Friday to post a "confession" claiming it was just a coincidence — is located in or near an apartment complex 2.75 miles northeast of the headquarters of World Wrestling Entertainment in Stamford, Conn., FOXNews.com has determined.
The bodies of Nancy Benoit, her husband Chris and 7-year-old son Daniel were found Monday at 2:30 p.m. by police in Fayetteville, Ga., a suburb outside Atlanta. Police have ruled their deaths a murder-suicide.
FOXNews.com reported Thursday that someone using a computer in Stamford published an entry on Monday, June 25, at 12:01 a.m., on Chris Benoit's Wikipedia.org page that read:
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"However, Chris Benoit was replaced by [[Johnny Nitro]] for the ECW Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy." The new information was published in red.
Wikipedia confirmed the authenticity of the time stamp and said the entry was made by someone using an IP address registered in Stamford, Conn., where World Wrestling Entertainment is based.
The anonymous user acknowledged being from Stamford, but claimed no connection to WWE.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Wikinews, an online news source connected to Wikipedia, reported Friday that someone using that same IP address posted a "confession," claiming that the Nancy Benoit death notice was a "coincidence" based on rumors and speculation.
The authenticity of the posting could not be confirmed as of Friday night.
An IP address is a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}• Click here for the entry-modifier's "confession."
"I just can't believe what I wrote was actually the case, I've remained stunned and saddened over it," the user wrote.
• Click here for Chris Benoit's current Wikipedia entry.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}• Click here for the archived version of the Benoit entry that first mentioned his wife's death.
Wikipedia referred all further questions to authorities investigating the deaths. Messages left for Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard were not immediately returned Friday.
Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales told The Associated Press on Friday that officials of the site became aware of the posting Tuesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"The guy who's admitted to doing it said it was just a coincidence," Wales said. "He said he was hearing rumors. I wonder where those rumors came from. I guess the police will figure that out eventually."
Police said Chris Benoit strangled his wife last Friday, then suffocated his son on Saturday, 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.
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.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}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.
Meanwhile, Chris Benoit's father said Friday that he was eager to see whether chemical tests can help explain why his son killed his wife and son and committed suicide, acts the wrestler's father said he had no clue were coming.
Michael Benoit said by phone from his home in Canada that his family is shocked and in disbelief over the slayings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We have no understanding of why it happened," he said. "We need some time to gather our thoughts and wait and see. There's still more information that's going to come out from toxicology tests that will give us some understanding of why this happened."
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 can cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as "roid rage."
On Thursday, federal agents raided the west Georgia office of a doctor who prescribed testosterone to Benoit, said agent Chuvalo Truesdell, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration. No arrests were made during the raid at Dr. Phil Astin's office late Wednesday into Thursday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hours before the raid, Astin told the AP he had treated Benoit for low testosterone levels, which he said likely originated from 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 June 22.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Associated Press contributed to this report.