All posts containing the tag: "chris benoit"
Posted May 12th 2009 12:53PM by TMZ Staff
The doctor who prescribed steroids for late wrestler Chris Benoit is going to prison for ten years.
Dr. Phil Astin was sentenced today in Georgia after he pled guilty to 25 counts back in January, including illegally distributing prescription drugs.
It's still unclear whether Astin-prescribed steroids caused Benoit to go berserk in 2007 -- when he killed his wife and child, then took his own life.
Astin was also linked to another wrestling tragedy -- Michael Durham died in 2006 with toxic levels of Soma and hydrocodone.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, Talk Sports
Tags: chris benoit, ChrisBenoit, phil astin, PhilAstin
Posted Sep 24th 2007 2:16PM by TMZ Staff
In the wake of the death of wrestler Crush (aka Brian Adams), and the murder-suicide involving wrestler Chris Benoit, World Wrestling Entertainment sent a letter to more than 500 former WWE performers offering to pay for drug and alcohol counseling and rehab treatment, if they need it.
The letter, sent last week from WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, urges performers in need to get help and encourages wrestlers to support one another. "If you do not have a drug and/or alcohol problem, but know you know a former WWE performer who does, we are asking you try to help them by encouraging them to take advantage of this opportunity."
When contacted, a rep for the WWE said the organization had no additional comment.
Filed under: Wacky & Weird
Tags: chris benoit, ChrisBenoit, vince mcmahon, VinceMcmahon, wwe
Posted Sep 5th 2007 9:14AM by TMZ Staff
The father of dead WWE star Chris Benoit says that it might have been the effect of multiple concussions, not steroids, that drove Chris to kill his wife and son and then hang himself.
Michael Benoit told Diane Sawyer on this morning's "Good Morning America" that after the tragedy, he turned over part of his son's brain to Julian Bailes, a neurologist at the Sports Legacy Institute. Tissue analysis, said Bailes, showed that Benoit's brain tissue revealed damage similar to those of Alzheimer's patients, suggesting that he was suffering from a form of dementia, which could have led him to snap.
Benoit's dad told Sawyer that his son suffered "multiple concussions," and Dr. Bailes said that just three could lead to serious consequences. Whatever the case, said Michael Benoit, "The person that did this is not the man we know and love."
Filed under: TV, Talk Sports
Tags: Chris Benoit, ChrisBenoit, Michael Benoit, MichaelBenoit
Posted Jul 23rd 2007 10:47AM by TMZ Staff
There is a line you can cross when roasting Flavor Flav -- and Jimmy Kimmel was the one who crossed it.
During last night's four-letter fest in honor of the "Flavor of Love" star, Kimmel was poking fun at the fact that Flav has several children with several different women, when he said that "Chris Benoit is a better father than you." What, too soon?
A TMZ staffer who was at the roast (airing August 12 on Comedy Central) just happened to be sitting next to two censors for the network. When Kimmel made the crack, the censors looked at each other and laughed while shaking their heads "no." One immediately put down "Chris Benoit" on a list of jokes to cut. Another joke to make the list came at the end, when the Queen of Mean, Lisa Lampanelli, called the "Flavor of Love" girls sprinkled throughout the audience "nappy headed bitches."
C**t, c**ksucker and ni**a were fine -- but current events, ixnay?
Filed under: TV
Tags: Chris Benoit, ChrisBenoit, Flavor Flav, FlavorFlav, Jimmy Kimmel, JimmyKimmel
Posted Jul 17th 2007 2:33PM by TMZ Staff
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says steroids were found in the body of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, who killed his wife and young son last month before hanging himself.
Benoit's wife Nancy had "therapeutic levels" of Xanax and hydrocodone -- a generic Vicodin -- in her system when she died.
Investigators said they did find extremely elevated levels of testosterone in his bloodstream -- enough to say that Benoit was using the hormone when he died. They claim this is evidence that the wrestler was injecting himself with the steroid.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice
Tags: chris benoit, ChrisBenoit
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 3:54PM by TMZ Staff
A loyal TMZ reader has informed us that all merchandise related to the dead wrestler has been pulled from the WWE website, you can still find Chris Benoit (or at least his action figure) at your local Target store.
Even more unbelievable, we found this little gem on the toy aisle at a Target in Atlanta, which is less than fifty miles from where the murders/suicide took place. Note the toy's now-prophetic title: "Micro Aggression." Eek.
The toy set comes complete with the evil Kane, the Undertaker (insert bad taste joke here), and alleged double murderer Benoit. Steroids not included.
Calls to Target reps have not been returned.
As we mentioned, this story came from an anonymous source. If you are inside the wresting community with a real story to tell, email us. All information will be completely confidential.
Filed under: Wacky & Weird
Tags: Chris Benoit, ChrisBenoit, Target, WWe, WWE olls, WweOlls
Posted Jul 3rd 2007 1:34PM by TMZ Staff
The Chris Benoit double murder/suicide is still rocking the WWE, as they announced the cancellation of all Canadian events for the next month -- all because of the former "Canadian Crippler." While WWE sources claim that the "postponements" are to show sensitivity to the fans of Chris "Rabid Wolverine" Benoit, the WWE has a track record for bailing on the Great White North when troubles arise.
The death of Benoit's friend and teammate, Owen Hart, in 1999 kept the company away from parts of Canada for an entire year. After wrestler Bret Hart and WWE big cheese Vince McMahon's infamous "Montreal Screwjob" in 1997, they hid out until late '98. However, others say that the REAL reason for the cancellation is to avoid the ire and the loud, often profane chants of the live Canadian crowds. Chants of "You killed Owen!" and "You screwed Bret!" filled Canadian arenas for months after those scandals.
Perhaps the WWE isn't taking any chances on two live tapings of their RAW and SmackDown programs being filled with angry chants of "You killed Chris!"
Filed under: Celebrity Feuds
Tags: Bret Hart, BretHart, Canada, Chris Benoit, ChrisBenoit, Owen Hart, OwenHart, Vince McMahon, VinceMcmahon, WWE
Posted Jul 2nd 2007 4:41PM by TMZ Staff
Amid reports that WWE wrestler Chris Benoit allegedly injected his son with hormones because of a health condition, Scott Ballard, District Attorney of Fayette County, Ga., just released this statement:
"There are additional reports that contradict the earlier information that suggested that Daniel Benoit may have suffered from Dwarf Syndrome or Fragile X Syndrome. Daniel's family denies that he suffered from either condition. As a result of the family's concerns, the Fayette County Sheriff's investigators and the District Attorney's Office have inquired into this matter. A source having access to certain of Daniel's medical reports reviewed those reports, and they do not mention any pre-existing mental or physical impairment. Reports from Daniel's educators likewise contradict the claims that Daniel was physically undersized. The educators report that Daniel graduated kindergarten and was prepared to enter the first grade on par with the other students."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice
Tags: chris benoit, ChrisBenoit
Posted Jun 28th 2007 11:22AM by Celly
This is the adorable child Chris Benoit suffocated before killing himself. This picture of Benoit and son Daniel was taken at a 2004 event honoring Chris.
Daniel Benoit suffered from Fragile X Syndrome, a chromosomal defect that causes autism-like behaviors, language delays and other physical/sensory problems, afflicting 1 in 3600 males and 1 in 4-6 thousand females.
Filed under: R.I.P.
Tags: chris benoit, ChrisBenoit, daniel benoit, DanielBenoit
Posted Jun 27th 2007 1:15PM by TMZ Staff
Bobby Cutts, Jr. and Chris Benoit, the alleged child murderers whose cases are all over the news, have an unlikely lady link -- former NFL cheerleader/model Nikki Giavasis.
Giavasis has been everywhere -- "Today," "Good Morning America," CNN, MSNBC -- portraying Cutts, her former boyfriend and baby daddy, as "aggressive" and "threatening" -- and testifying to his potential to be a murderer. Cutts is the father of Nikki's nine-year-old daughter, and he has two other kids. In 1998, Giavasis was at home with former NBA star Shawn Kemp, when Cutts allegedly tried to break in.
Here's the crazy link: Giavasis was also featured in Wrestlemania XX, the WWE showcase that was won by none other than Benoit. Nikki was part of the WWE "Hot Team."
Giavasis' other credits include a starring role in the instructional video, "Becoming a Pro Cheer Leader" [sic] and appearances on reality series "The Casino" and ProActiv spots. She also claims in her bio that she has a genius-level IQ.
Filed under: Wacky & Weird
Tags: Bobby Cutts, Jr., BobbyCutts,Jr., Chris Benoit, ChrisBenoit, Nikki Giavasis, NikkiGiavasis, Shawn Kemp, ShawnKemp
Posted Jun 26th 2007 10:59PM by TMZ Staff
It keeps getting more bizarre with every detail ...
Chris Benoit sent a series of text messages to WWE co-workers, some from his dead wife's cell phone. According to WWE.com, all five text messages were sent between 3:53 AM and 3:58 AM on June 24. He then committed suicide.
The messages revealed that Benoit distributed information on where to find his remains, and the enclosed location of his attack dogs.
Below are the times and content of text messages Benoit sent to co-workers, as first reported by WWE:
- 3:53 AM - Chris Benoit's cell phone: "My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane, Fayeteville Georgia. 30215"
- 3:53 AM - Chris Benoit's cell phone: "The dogs are in the enclosed pool area. Garage side door is open."
- 3:54 AM - Nancy Benoit's cell phone: "My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane. Fayeteville Georgia. 30215"
- 3:55 AM - Nancy Benoit's cell phone: "My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane, Fayeteville Georgia. 30215"
- 3:58 AM - Nancy Benoit's cell phone: "My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane, Fayeteville Georgia. 30215"
Filed under: Celebrity Justice
Tags: chris benoit, ChrisBenoit
Posted Jun 26th 2007 10:32PM by TMZ Staff
After authorities revealed the grisly details of Chris Benoit's final days, the WWE is changing their tune. In a televised statement, aired just moments ago on Sci Fi Channel's ECW, Vince McMahon made it clear -- they will no longer honor the memory of the murdering wrestler:
"Last night on 'Monday Night Raw,' the WWE presented a special tribute show, recognizing the career of Chris Benoit. However, now some 26 hours later, the facts of this horrific tragedy are now apparent. Therefore, other than my comments, there will be no mention of Mr. Benoit tonight. On the contrary, tonight's show will be dedicated to everyone who has been affected by this terrible incident. This evening marks the first step of the healing process. Tonight, the WWE performers will do what they do better than anyone else in the world -- entertain you."
Filed under: Celebrity Justice, TV
Tags: chris benoit, ChrisBenoit, vince mcmahon, VinceMcmahon
Posted Jun 26th 2007 1:27PM by TMZ Staff
Before her grisly death, Chris Benoit's wife once told a judge that she was, "intimidated by threats of violence" from her 220 lb. husband.
In divorce papers filed in 2003, Nancy Benoit included a petition for protection from domestic abuse against Chris. In the papers, Nancy claimed that Benoit, "lost his temper and threatened to strike the petitioner and cause extensive damage to the home and personal belongings of the parties, including furniture." Nancy added that she was, "in reasonable fear for petitioner's own safety and that of the minor child."
Three months later, Nancy filed to have the divorce papers and the restraining order dismissed. A short time later, a judge granted her wish.
As TMZ first reported, law enforcement sources tell TMZ they believe Benoit strangled his wife on Saturday, smothered his son on Sunday and then hanged himself on Monday.
Filed under: Celebrity Justice
Tags: chris benoit, ChrisBenoit, nancy
