The following information is from The Sun Online:
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2003560001-2007300340,00.htmlBenoit Wrestle Hold Killed SonBy SIMON ROTHSTEIN of THE LILSBOYS
July 02, 2007
WRESTLER Chris Benoit murdered his seven-year-old son with his WWE finishing move, police have said.
Cops in Georgia are speculating that Benoit, 40, ended Daniel's life with a version of the Crippler Crossface hold the morning after strangling his wife Nancy, 43, to death. Later that day Benoit committed suicide.
The Crippler Crossface was a move Benoit used in almost all his wrestling matches, including when he beat Triple H for the heavyweight title at WrestleMania XX.
Police were originally confused by bruising on the young lad that wouldn't have been there had he been strangled.
Then an officer watched a wrestling tape, quickly realising that the marks on Daniel's body matched the application of a version the Crossface.
The version Chris used in WWE rings involved him placing an arm of a floored opponent between his legs before locking his hands around their face and pulling back to stretch their neck.
In the context of a wrestling match the move was lightly applied, with Benoit's foe 'selling' it with his facials to make it look like he was really hurt.
District Attorney Scott Ballard said: "A choke hold was used to strangle the boy, rather than hands, because there's no bruising consistent with strangulation by hands."
Respected American wrestling writer Dave Meltzer added: "There was bruising consistent with the Crippler Crossface on one arm and Daniel's face. There were no bruises on his neck
"The police don't believe, because of the size difference, that the hold was applied exactly as it would be in a pro wrestling match.
"Benoit would have been in more of a kneeling position, sort of straddling Daniel while using one leg to pull back on his arm."
More details of what turned a quiet man into a killer are also emerging.
Chris's mental state deteriorated after the recent deaths of grappling pals Eddie Guerrero, Mike 'Johnny Grunge' Durham and Victor 'Black Cat' Mar.
They came on the back of the loss of other friends in the business including Brian Pillman, British Bulldog Davey Boy Smith, Owen Hart and Brian Hildebrand - as well as his trainer and mentor Stu Hart.
He was also becoming increasingly paranoid and deluded due to a lethal mix of steroids, pain killers, anti-depressants and the medication he was taking for his blood pressure brought on by decades of steroid abuse.
The full results of a toxicology (blood) test is still several weeks away.
Meltzer - who has spent a week speaking to police and Chris's friends for his Wrestling Observer publication - concludes that is unfair to point the figure at the wrestling industry or steroids.
But he adds: "An absolutely horrible question to deal with in this situation, as well as many of the other deaths of wrestlers, is would these young men and women still be alive if they were never pro wrestlers or tied to another profession?
"Perhaps in some circumstances, the answer is no.
"But looking on this case, and going back to people who I knew very well and talked with regularly, who are no longer alive, if they had never gotten into wrestling, I can't help but believe with all my heart, that every one of them would still be alive."
