BENOIT CASE CLOSED…The Fayette County Sheriff's office has officially closed the Chris Benoit case and its findings state that he acted alone. Now the families of both Nancy and Chris Benoit are looking to file wrongful death lawsuits against WWE based on the findings from Chris Nowinski and the Sports Legacy Institute. Studies by the institute revealed that Chris Benoit's brain was severely deteriorated due to many undiagnosed concussions. The findings have removed Benoit emotionally from the crime and now the family will point the blame at WWE for their lack of treatment and detection of concussions. The problem with the families filing such a lawsuit is that Benoit continued to use the flying head butt as a finisher after neck surgery. The move caused a few of those concussions and he could have used other moves to win matches. In other Benoit news Scott Williams’ book Chris Benoit: The Definitive Story of Murder, Drugs and Wrestling’s Darkest Hour will come out soon. There will also be two page pictorial of Nancy Benoit in a future issue of Hustler. Before getting into wrestling she was a model who had done a few adult magazine shoots. The pictures and videos were thought to be lost but Hustler has recovered one of them and will reveal them. Her family is considering suing Hustler to stop the magazine from releasing the pictures but since Nancy signed a release form when she did them the family has little chance of stopping the magazine.

BAGWELL RESURFACES…WCW and short timer in the WWE Buff Bagwell recently spoke to the Atlanta Journal Constitution about his drug addictions and the Benoit tragedy. He said "If Chris Benoit was alive today he would say, 'Man I can't believe Bagwell outlived me.' Cause I was going to be one of the ones that went down first." Bagwell’s wife Judy told the reporter: "Sometimes he would fall asleep with food in his mouth and I had to wipe it out so he wouldn't choke, then I'd walk him up to bed and change his clothes." Bagwell is in the process of working on a book and thinks he has about 3 or 4 years left in the business. He's also hoping to get a deal with WWE soon. (Fat chance on that happening)

BENOIT FAMILY SETTLES UP…According to the Associated Press a verbal agreement has been reached between both the family of Michael Benoit, the father of Chris, and the Toffoloni family, the parents of wife Nancy Benoit, regarding Chris' estate they were battling over. Michael Benoit revealed that attorney fees would wind up being $500,000 to $600,000 of an estate that consists of two homes and multiple investments. Benoit was unhappy that both sides of the family ended up spending so much money to reach this decision. Benoit said the agreement calls for the proceeds from the estate to "pretty much" be evenly split between his son's two children from a previous marriage - a 15-year-old boy and a 10-year-old girl - and the family of his slain wife Nancy. Michael Benoit, who has been acting on the children's behalf, declined to provide the exact terms. One estimate of the estate has put its value at $1.5 million to $3 million.

WWE REJECTS BENOIT OFFER…The Atlanta Journal Constitution is reporting that the WWE has rejected a deal offered by the estate of the Benoit family where the family asked that WWE pay $2 million dollars to Benoit's two surviving children. The offer came from the lawyer for Benoit's father saying that WWE should pay the amount as "recognition of their father's contributions to the company". The paper reported that they expect Benoit to sue WWE.

BENOIT NOTES…CBS’ 48 Hours is working on a one-hour show that features the Benoit murders and the problems with young deaths in wrestling…Dr. Phil Astin III, the former personal physician of Chris Benoit, filed for bankruptcy largely due to his mounting legal bills. He has also asked the judge in his case to ease his bail conditions so he can work and earn a living. Astin cannot work in the medical field since he has voluntarily relinquished his medical license. U.S. District court judge Russell Vineyard has also ruled against Dr. Phil Astin's attempt to throw out evidence in the government's prosecution of him so things aren’t looking good for him in many ways...there is a Maxim Magazine story on Chris Benoit at www.maximonline.com/Thelastdaysofchrisbenoit/articles/9733.aspx

ANOTHER DOCTOR LINKED TO STEROIDS…Dr. John Todd Miller, of Tampa, Florida was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for conspiring to dispense steroids to a teenaged in-line skater. He was busted after the father of teenage champion in-line skater Corey Gahan had a business dispute with him. The father also pleaded guilty for his part in dispensing steroids to his son. Former WWE wrestlers who were named in the investigation were Billy Kidman, the late Eddie Guerrero, Hector Guerrero, Danny Spivey, and Paul "Big Show" Wight. Kidman (who recently received a try out match with the WWE) told investigators that he was referred to the clinic by the late Brian "Crush" Adams. WWE's spokesperson Jennifer McIntosh had no comment on the matter since none are currently under WWE contract.

ASTIN’S LAWYER WALKING…Manny Arora has asked to pull out of representing Dr. Phil Astin because Astin can no longer pay him. Arora wrote the court saying Astin is now indigent since Astin is no longer able to work, and foreclosure notices have been placed on his real estate. The judge is considering his request.

BENOIT NOTES…Chris Benoit’s father Michael Benoit said that he believed his son was suffering from diminished capacity at a hearing on where the estate will go …a woman named Linday Ingram has been working Indy shows claiming to be Chris Benoit's daughter. Her mother is named Lilian Smolic and she is known as a "ring rat" who has hooked up with many wrestlers. The two actually tried to make a claim for Benoit's estate… since Chris Nowinski pushed to have Chris Benoit’s brain examined the WWE has removed him from the "Smackdown Your Vote" campaign for the WWE web site…A crew from NBC's Dateline showed up at a recent Smackdown/ECW taping to interview Chavo Guerrero and ECW senior referee Scott James (Armstrong). The two had gotten the infamous text messages from Chris Benoit shortly after murdering his wife and son. There is no word as of yet as to when the segment will air.

BENOIT HAD BRAIN DAMAGE…Julian Bailes, MD, the Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at West Virginia University was given the rights to examine Chris Benoit’s brain by his father, Michael and the results were released at a press conference this week. Present was Michael Benoit, Dr. Robert Cantu, the Director of sports Medicine at Emerson Hospital in Concord, MA, and the Benoit family lawyer, Cary Itchter. At the press conference it was revealed that Benoit had significant damage from both repeated concussions and sub-concussive blows that may have played a part in his killing of himself, his wife and son in late June. Cantu reported that out of the five athletes they have diagnosed with similar problems, including football’s Andre Waters, Terry Long and Mike Webster (the last two committed suicide) Benoit's brain showed the highest level of Tau protiens, indicating damage. Bailes believes that the level of damage could explain the suicide and homicides. When asked about potential litigation Ichter said the family is still in mourning and hasn’t considered any legal action. Michael Benoit, however, said he worked for a company where the top priority was the health and safety of its workers and wished his son had worked for a company with those same priorities. Bailes and Cantu are the top doctors at the Sports Legacy Institute, an official charitable corporation. The president of SLI is former WWE wrestler Chris Nowinski and it was he who contacted Michael Benoit for the rights to examine Chris' brain. Both doctors downplayed the role of steroids in the case and said there is no medical evidence that long-term steroid use could have caused the damage to the brain Chris Benoit had. Michael Benoit commented that he had read Chris' diary and said it gave the impression of an extremely disturbed person, but in limited contact with Chris he had no indication anything was wrong. The findings could eliminate the possibility that Nancy Benoit’s family gets anything from the estate due to Georgia that makes it impossible to profit from a crime. As for Michael Benoit suing the WWE I think he would have a hard time with that because Benoit using the flying head butt as a move was his choice, not the companies. The move would explain a number of the small concussions that Benoit suffered.

BENOIT ESTATE ISSUES…It may sound strange but the timing of who died first in the Chris Benoit murder/suicide case may determine who inherits his estate. The lawyers for Nancy’s parents (the Toffoloni’s) have filed a petition asking a court to determine the order of the deaths, which could affect whether she gets any of the estate. Since neither Chris nor Nancy Benoit left a will the death order could mean the difference in whether Toffoloni or Benoit's children from a previous marriage inherit the two homes, several bank and investment accounts and other assets estimated to be worth millions. If it is determined that Chris killed Nancy first (and the evidence says he did) then his estate would pass to Benoit's surviving two children, who live in Canada with their mother. If Daniel was killed first then under Georgia law at least some of the estate would pass to the Toffoloni’s due to a forfeiture statute that takes into account the fact that Benoit was the killer. As such, the law for purposes of estate distribution would consider Benoit to have died before his wife and son. One of the Toffoloni’s lawyers says that he doesn't believe the order of deaths is clear and wants the Fayette County court to make a determination based on the law "and not what we hear on TV." Besides the Fayetteville home in which the family was living (which is estimated to be worth $1.5 million to $3.5 million), the Benoit’s still owned a home in nearby Peachtree City, which was for sale for $400,000 at the time of the killings. The house has since been taken off the market. Benoit was also getting $500, 000 a year from the WWE as a downside, not including merchandise and PPV money.

ANOTHER BENOIT BOOK…Irv Muchnick is contributing to one book on Chris Benoit called Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror That Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport and is also doing a solo book called Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death. Both books will be published by ECW Press. His latest book is Wrestling Babylon: Piledriving Tales of Drugs, Sex, Death, and Scandal.

BENOIT’S DOCTOR CHALLENGES OFFICE SEARCH…The lawyer for Chris Benoit's personal doctor asked a judge this week to throw out evidence seized from his client's office days after the pro wrestler killed his family and himself. Dr. Phil Astin's attorney, Manny Arora filed in federal court in Atlanta that agents overstepped their authority in the June 27 raid on Astin's west Georgia office by taking records of six patients other than Benoit, as well as three years of bank records and two computers. This was the first of three searches of Astin’s office and it happened two days after Benoit, his wife and son were found dead in their suburban Atlanta home. Astin has pleaded not guilty to federal charges of improperly prescribing painkillers and other drugs to two patients other than Benoit. Federal prosecutors plan another indictment with new charges, but haven't done so yet. Arora expects his client to face more charges of improperly prescribing medication. "They haven't indicated anything to me as far as what the additional charges would be, but I would imagine it would be more of the same. I can't predict what it is they plan to do, but I can't imagine there would be any evidentiary basis to try to blame Dr. Astin for the murder-suicide." In the motion to suppress he asked the judge to throw out all evidence seized from the June 27 search of Astin's Carrollton office. If the judge decides to rule against that then the filing suggests that the judge should at least suppress all items seized that do not relate to Benoit's care and treatment. Astin is free on bail, but must remain in his home except under limited circumstances. A pretrial conference is scheduled for Sept. 18.

DYNAMITE ON BENOIT…Legendary British wrestler the Dynamite Kid, who Benoit admired and looked up to had this to say in the UK Globe newspaper: "I feel no sympathy for him. We all knew the dangers. Benoit should have known his limits. We've all been through it, but we didn't take it out on our loved ones. His poor wife and child didn't deserve to die just because Benoit screwed his life up. I'm glad he's dead! I warned Benoit to be careful - the wrong combination could send you over the edge. I'm convinced that's what happened here. He got it wrong, and his wife and son paid the price."

BENOIT BOOK UPDATE…Publisher's Weekly has an article saying that ECW Press will have a book done and out on 10/1 called Benoit: Wrestling with the Horror that Destroyed a Family and Crippled a Sport by Steven Johnson, Greg Oliver, Irv Muchnick and Heath McCoy. Johnson’s section will examine how the media covered the story. Oliver will write about Benoit's position in pro wrestling and his personal correspondence with Benoit. McCoy will deal with Benoit’s history in Stampede Wrestling and give the facts of the case. Muchnick will then give his opinion of the significance to wrestling's history and to its positioning in pop culture. According to Publisher Michael Holmes a goal of the book is to call attention to the dangers of steroid abuse.

WWE STILL AVOIDING CANADA…The WWE is consciously avoiding any appearances in Canada, either for shows (all of which were cancelled) or media. The popular Off the Record show hosted by Michael Lansdberg said on air last week that they had tried to get someone from the WWE to appear on his show and asked specifically asked about John Cena (who has claimed that no one has asked him to appear on TV during the post Benoit media frenzy except for Larry King and one station in Atlanta), Vince McMahon and Canadian rep Carl DeMarco and were told the WWE is not speaking to any Canadian media right now.

GOVERNMENT COMES AROUND…Fallout from the Benoit Tragedy continues as Representative Henry Waxman, who heads the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Tom Davis, its ranking minority member, have asked Vince McMahon to provide a series of documents so they can look at the WWE drug testing policy, including all results. "The tragic deaths of WWE star Chris Benoit and his family have raised questions about the reports of widespread use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by professional wrestlers," they wrote. The congressmen are looking for the same information they looked for out of Major League Baseball, including all results for every drug, as well as any investigation prepared by the company looking at the deaths or long-term health of its participants. McMahon has been given until 8/24 to turn over all records. The House Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee has also sent a letter asking the WWE for all information about its steroid testing, and said it was also considering holding hearings later this year on the subject of pro wrestling and performance enhancing drugs. This may be a huge issue since there are rumors that the WWE hasn’t been as vigilant as it could have been about records or following up on what information that they have found.

BENOIT TOXICOLOGY REPORT RELEASED…The toxicology reports on Chris, Nancy and Daniel Benoit were announced this week by medical examiner Dr. Kris Sperry at a press conference in Atlanta. Benoit was found with the drugs testosterone cypionate, Xanax and Hydrocodone in his system at the time of his death. The Hydrocodone was not at an elevated level to the point there was indication of using it in above therapeutic dosages. The level of testosterone cypianote was such that he would have failed any sports drug test (his level was 59-1, normal levels are 1-1, sports drug test failures are usually 4-1), but he was prescribed the steroids by Dr. Phil Astin due his body producing a low level of testosterone due to decades of steroid usage. Human Growth Hormone was not detected but at this time there is no test available that can detect the drug in your system. There was no evidence of any other steroids in his system. There was an empty bottle of wine found in the weight room but Benoit did not have elevated alcohol levels detected in his system suggesting that he drank the bottle at about the same time he killed Nancy. Sperry also revealed that since the bodies were decomposed he was not able to detect everything in their systems. Nancy Benoit also had Xanax, Hydrocodone and Hydromporphone in her body but not a great amount and usage was consistent from someone recovering from major surgery. She also had a blood alcohol level of 0.184 which is above the legal limit. Daniel Benoit had Xanax in his system, which police believe was administered by Chris to put him to sleep before killing him. There was no evidence of what substances may have been injected into his arm from the needle marks evident there. Sperry also revealed that it was impossible for the tests to determine whether or not Daniel Benoit had Fragile X syndrome.

WWE STATEMENT…After the toxicology report was released the WWE released the following: WWE understands that the toxicology reports for Chris Benoit indicate that he tested positive for testosterone and negative for anabolic steroids. On Mr. Benoit's last drug test in April 2007 administered by Aegis Labs, he tested negative for anabolic steroids and for testosterone. Given the toxicology report of GBI released today, it would appear that Mr. Benoit took testosterone sometime after his April 2007 test and the time he died. WWE understands that his dealings with Dr. Astin are currently being investigated, and WWE has no knowledge of whether Dr. Astin prescribed testosterone for Mr. Benoit at some point after the April 2007 tests. For over 20 years, the WWE has been demonstrating our concern for the well being of our contracted athletes, instituting drug testing in 1987 leading up to our current Wellness Program which began on February 27, 2006, administered by Dr. David L. Black of Aegis Sciences Corporation – one of the world’s foremost drug testing authorities. We believe our Wellness Program is at the very least comparable to those of professional sports and is a program that will benefit WWE Superstars for generations to come.

LAWSUIT THREATENED…On Atlanta 5 Fox News this week, Nancy Benoit's family attorney, Richard Decker said that the family was relieved that Daniel was not conscious when he died. When the reporter brought up the fact that the Benoit family would be filing a wrongful death lawsuit, Decker said that he'd "rather not speculate" on whom the defendants would be. "Eventually we'll be filing a lawsuit and everyone will know," said Decker. This could be the first of many lawsuits because it has been revealed that Chris had taken out a new life insurance policy that listed his children from his first marriage, David and Megan, but nor Nancy and Daniel. That has been, according to friends, a major issue between Chris and Nancy and was probably a possible reason for the two having an argument that night. Under Georgia law Nancy’s family has full rights to Chris’s estate and they have said that they want David and Megan taken care of. The problem is you would expect Martina Benoit (the first wife) and Chris’s parents to make a claim to the estate as well. If one of the targets of lawsuits is the WWE the fact that Benoit passed his latest test (which did show elevated testosterone levels) would make them less likely to take a hit in court and even if they were sued the companies’ insurance policy would cover the loss. I would bet that Dr. Phil Astin will be the target of a few lawsuits.

WELLNESS POLICY SLAMMED…The New York Times has an article up on the aftermath of the Benoit Double Murder-Suicide that includes quotes from a prominent WWE board member on the company's drug testing policy. The article says that Bob Bowman, CEO of Major League Baseball's Advanced media division is pushing WWE to have an outside party oversee WWE's drug testing for effectiveness. He questioned whether the standard for passing the drug test needs to be re-evaluated or not. Dr. David Black oversees the testing but Bowman said: "Dr. Black says the thresholds are comparable to other leagues, but I don’t know if they are. I want to know if the program is appropriate to the issues that confront us now." Black did reveal some results of their drug testing so far and said that the first round had a good number of positives (drug failures). The ones that failed were sent warning letters about the detection of steroids and a fair number of others. After the initial testing, Dr. Black said there have been eight more failures, including several wrestlers who have failed twice but no wrestler has failed a third time. When asked about steroid use being approved by a doctor to help wrestlers rebuild testosterone after years of drug and steroid abuse, Dr. Black said: "They’ve damaged their ability to make testosterone, so we have to allow the therapy. It’s common medical practice. We’re dealing with a population of individuals who have harmed their endocrine systems. Is the point of the program to punish them or deny them a livelihood?"

NANCY AND DANIEL LAID TO REST…The funeral for Nancy and Daniel Benoit was 7/14 at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church. There was a lot of local media and some national media there but they were not allowed inside. Nancy’s parents did, however, allow some fans attend the service. Among those who attended included: Jim Ross, Dave Penzer, Bill Otten, Fit Finlay, Hack Myers, Alex Porteau, Marc Mero, Dean Malenko, Penny Durham and Vickie Guerrero. Ross spoke after the funeral to the media saying, "This is not a steroid issue. That horse has got to be put in the barn and unsaddled. It's not a steroid issue. It's a domestic issue. But more than anything, it's a tragedy because a mother and little boy are dead. I don't think we'll ever get the answers to this story. Unfortunately, those of us who loved these people are going to live with this forever." All three bodies were cremated in Georgia. Family members left Saturday's service carrying two starfish-shaped urns with the remains of Nancy and Daniel. A separate memorial will soon be held for Benoit in Alberta, Canada. Nancy's family has opened a Nancy & Daniel Benoit Foundation for Battered Women and Abused Children c/o Decker, Hallman, Barber and Briggs, 260 Peachtree St., #1700, Atlanta, GA 30303.

BENOIT NOTES…The person who made Chris Benoit's tights that he wore at Wrestlemania 20 (Benoit gave them back to him as a gift) is putting them for sale on Ebay…on a Canadian news show former WWE wrestler said when he was in WWF 80% of the guys were on steroids…William Regal said that Chris Benoit should have asked for help with his problems…while on the Max Kellerman show Tazz said that while he toured with Chris for 17 years and he knew him he never really knew him…when WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt and Dr. David Black appeared on the Nancy Grace show this week they refused to appear on camera with an independent toxicologist, Wrestling Observer’s Dave Meltzer, Marc Mero (who came off quite well in all of his media appearances) and writer Bryan Alvarez…ECW Press announced that Irv Muchnick, writer of Wrestling Babylon has been contracted to do a book entitled: Chris and Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling's Cocktail of Death.

MORE TROUBLE FOR ASTIN…DEA agents have raided the office of Dr. Phil Astin for a third time according to Fox 5 in Atlanta, GA. Agents are investigating Astin for allegedly prescribing excessive amounts of steroids and other controlled substances to Chris Benoit and others. Astin has already been indicted on seven counts unrelated to the Benoit case, but more charges may be forthcoming. The records seized were the ones of: Larry Pfolhl (Lex Luger), Marcus Bagwell, Mark Jindrak, Bob Howard (Bob Holly), Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit, Mike Durham (Johnny Grunge) and Oscar Gutierrez (Rey Mysterio). It has also been revealed that the two wrestlers involved in the indictment of over prescribing pain killers were, as speculated, Mark Jindrak and Gutierrez. Also Penny Durham, the wife of the late Johnny Grunge. Durham has said that Mike Durham was the one who hooked Chris up with Astin about seven or eight years ago. She believes that her husband would likely still be alive if Dr. Astin wasn't dishing the drugs out like candy. She also said it was ridiculous that Daniel Benoit had Fragile X as Nancy Benoit would have surely told her.

RANDOM BENOIT NOTES…New Jack, of all people favors Congress looking into the drug issues in wrestling…some of the chemical tests on Chris Benoit, Nancy Benoit and Daniel Benoit are complete but they are waiting for all the results to be done before sharing the information with investigators.

WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN…The entire Benoit story totally changed plans for what was supposed to have been the "Vince McMahon Memorial Show" (not to mention the whole "Death of Mr.McMahon" storyline) but here is what we were supposed to have seen and what we didn’t see: the WWE contacted Eric Bischoff about taking part in the Vince McMahon Appreciation night on RAW and he declined but he would have been at the "Memorial Show"…Paul Heyman was considered but Stephanie shot down that idea and Verne Gagne was also considered but that too was shot down but by TV producer Kevin Dunn…the original idea of the “blowing up the limo” angle dates back to February 2005 an was first thought up by the current ECW head writer Dave Lagana. At the time RAW head writer Brian Gewirtz thought it was far too fetched but USA Network has been pushing for higher ratings so it was pulled out of the mothballs and  finally used…we would have learned at the end of last Monday's Raw (070207) that it was Linda McMahon who planted the bomb…the only reason Paul London was teased as a suspect is that he was smiling when Vince walked by and all the wrestlers were told to look serious…the list of attendees at the three-hour "Memorial Show" was to have included: Steve Austin, Eric Bischoff, Jimmy Hart and Charles "Godfather" Wright. The show would have been campy and not at all serious in an attempt to turn fans around on the angle…they were also going to set up a memorial in the inside lobby for Vince McMahon at Raw in Corpus Christi so that fans could tape personal eulogies to Vince…the set we saw at the Chris Benoit tribute was the set that was to be used for the "Memorial Show".

DOCTOR ARRESTED/INDICTED…On Monday (070207) Dr. Phil Astin was arrested and indicted over improperly prescribing drugs to two patients. According to the DEA Chris Benoit excessively bought anabolic steroids from the doctor. They say that Astin prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids to Benoit every three to four weeks between May 2006 and May 2007. An affidavit says that Astin was identified as the supplier of various controlled substances, including the anabolic steroids found in Benoit's home. He was not, however, charged with supplying steroids to Benoit but U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias said that the investigation continues and that more charges are possible. Astin's lawyer, Manny Arora, claimed his client never prescribed steroids to Chris Benoit during their six-year doctor/patient relationship. The seven-count indictment said Astin dispensed drugs including Percocet, Xanax, Lorcet and Vicoprofen between April 2004 and September 2005. The recipients were identified in the indictment by the initials O.G. and M.J.; Benoit's initials were not listed. The doctor made an initial court appearance Monday afternoon and entered a plea of not guilty. U.S. Magistrate Judge Linda Walker ordered Astin held on $125,000 bond and said that regardless of whether he came up with the money he would be held in jail overnight. She said Astin would be under house arrest once he posts bond. There was a separate criminal complaint filed against Astin on Friday and made public Monday that said Astin had written prescriptions for about 1 million doses of controlled substances over the past two years, including "significant quantities" of injectable testosterone cypionate, an anabolic steroid. The complaint stated that the amount of prescriptions was "excessive" for a medical office with a sole practitioner in a rural area like Carrollton, about 40 miles west of Atlanta. If convicted Astin faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Horn said that when agents raided the doctor's office on Wednesday, Astin was carrying Benoit's medical file and may have been trying to tamper with evidence. Astin's attorney, Manny Arora, said the doctor had brought the file because he thought the authorities would want it. He had asked that Astin be released on his own recognizance. Federal drug agents have taken over the probe into whether Astin improperly prescribed testosterone and other drugs to Benoit before the killings and suicide last month while state prosecutors and sheriff's officials are overseeing the death investigation. The feds are seeking the forfeiture of all property and proceeds Astin obtained through the illegal conduct if he's convicted. CBS 46 in Atlanta interviewed two family members of Dr. Phil Astin. One denied the charges against him and the other who called him "a legal drug dealer" who took advantage of people who had addiction problems. The Fox affiliate reported that federal investigators have in their possession medical records of pro wrestlers under the care of Astin. They seized records in particular of pro wrestlers who had autographed photos on the walls of his office. Two of the wrestlers may have been Rey Mysterio and former WWE/WCW talent Mark Jindrak. He was also doctor to several pro and college athletes, hardly limited to wrestling, and had been well known in the WCW days. He was released on bond and his whereabouts will be electronically monitored.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON…The father of Dr. Phil Astin also had his medical license suspended for illegally prescribing painkillers to 14 patients from the late 1970s to 1989. In 1991, the Composite State Board of Medical Examiners said Phil Carroll Astin Jr., the father of Phil Carroll Astin III, "violated the laws and rules of the board by repeatedly prescribing controlled substances to patients in excessive quantities or for excessive periods of time and prescribing for other than legitimate purposes." The board accused Astin Jr. of over prescribing 17 drugs, including amphetamines, Valium, Darvon, Darvocet, Tylenol with codeine and Xanax. Astin III, who was Benoit's doctor, was charged Monday by federal prosecutors with illegally supplying two unidentified patients with painkillers; he pleaded not guilty. In an agreement reached Feb. 5, 1992, Astin Jr. waived any further investigation and agreed to a series of disciplinary measures including: never again treating patients for weight loss, paying a $2,000 fine, accepting a 30-day suspension of his medical license and a five-year probation and following strict rules about writing prescriptions with close board oversight. He did have his license restored and his probation lifted. He committed suicide by shooting himself in 2005.

UPDATED FUNERAL PLANS…Chris Benoit will have a private service in Alberta, Canada, in his hometown of Ardrossan, where his parents and ex-wife and two children live. A memorial service for Nancy Benoit and Daniel is scheduled for July 14 in Daytona Beach, Fla., where her parents, Maureen and Paul Toffoloni, live. It is also expected that her parents will subpoena medical records because they don’t believe Daniel Benoit had Fragile X. There have been rumors that Daniel's medical records show no mention of any mental or physical impairment.

DANIEL BENOIT MAY OR MAY NOT HAVE HAD FRAGILE X…At the start of the media storm WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt popped up on a number of TV shows suggesting that Benoit may have killed Nancy and Daniel due to the fact that Daniel may have suffered from Fragile X Syndrome. Fragile X Syndrome is the most common inherited form of mental impairment, affecting boys twice as often as girls, according to the Emory University School of Medicine's Department of Human Genetics. It can lead to autistic-like behavior, and there is no known cure. McDevitt said Benoit's wife didn't want him to quit wrestling but wanted him to stay home more often. She had recently undergone surgery on her neck and was in pain, he said. "It's very difficult to raise a child this way. There's a lot of guilt," McDevitt said. "Chris was traveling on the road; she was trying to deal with the problems on her own." Benoit and his wife had told friends and their physician that they were worried about where to send Daniel to school. As the week progressed WWE spokesperson Gary Davis backed off the company's claim that Daniel Benoit had Fragile X syndrome. "A lot of people got caught up in the idea Daniel had Fragile X syndrome," said Davis in an AP article. "We were just as caught up as everyone else." He said the company has no information to contradict the claims of Nancy Benoit's parents that Daniel had no such disease. "I think we have to go with what the district attorney has said as being the best, up-to-date information available right now," Davis said. Davis said WWE lawyer Jerry McDevitt was confident from speaking to WWE employees who knew Daniel Benoit.

THE GRUNGE CONNECTION…DEA investigators are now looking into the death of Chris Benoit's friend, Mike "Johnny Grunge" Durham from 2006. Durham was the person who introduced Benoit to Dr. Phil Astin and he died in February of 2006 with a bottle of empty somas next to him. Astin prescribed Durham a bottle of 120 somas (Durham had major sleep issues and somas knock you out) and the bottle was empty next to him when he died. His official cause of death was coronary artery blockage and morbid obesity. According to Capt. Mike Pruitt of the Fayette County Sheriff's Office drug task force, "We were just pulled into the investigation Friday. We still have to look at the toxicology reports and autopsy reports on his death, and that won't be before Monday." Pruitt said his office is working with federal Drug Enforcement Administration investigators, who took over the investigation last week. He said the DEA had served additional search warrants Friday, but he had no more details. .Apparently Benoit was affected deeply by the death of "Grunge". It was after that when friends noticed he began keeping to himself. He would talk to Eddie Guerrero about things that bothered him and when Eddie died he began writing letters to him in a journal. Soon after Eddie died Benoit’s drug usage began. He and Nancy also had problems from the moment they were married. Before he killed himself he drank 10 cans of beer and then an entire bottle of wine before wrapping the weight cord around his neck.

THE STORY THAT WASN’T…One of the side stories that popped up was the odd coincidence that Benoit’s Wikipedia entry was changed before the story broke that he had killed Nancy. The first person (there were two people involved, but they didn’t know each other) who did the Wikipedia edit claiming Nancy Benoit passed away has admitted not knowing anything and apologized. The as yet unnamed person admitted to making edits to wrestling star Benoit's profile, mentioning the death of his wife, Nancy, more than 14 hours before authorities arrived at the crime scene but he had no inside info and said that what he did was a "terrible coincidence." He does live in Stamford, Conn., home of World Wrestling Entertainment but has no connection to the WWE. The IP address from which the 12:01 a.m. addition was made had been flagged for "vandalizing" other Wikipedia entries in the past. In fact earlier this month, the same user also edited a post about WWE wrestler Chavo Guerrero Jr., who was the recipient of at least one of the text messages Benoit sent over the weekend before the discovery of the bodies. He took out a damaging description of Guerrero from the post. Apparently, anyone can post and edit content on the Web encyclopedia. Wikipedia does recruit volunteer editors who troll the entries to ensure that facts within posts are properly attributed. After his post he was sent a message saying that he needed to back that up and he fixed it by adding: "according to several pro wrestling websites." Someone 20 minutes later commented that: "Saying 'several pro wrestling websites' is still not reliable information." The Chris Benoit entry, updated hundreds of times this week, has now been "locked" to prevent further edits by posters.

GOVERNMENT NOTICES…Sen. Johnny Isakson of Georgia instructed his staff to begin gathering information to determine if a hearing before the Health Committee would be warranted. This would not be an attempt to start federal regulation of wrestling events but a study of the steroid issue. The possibility of ‘roid rage’ has been discounted by experts on steroids due to the amount of time that passed after the murder of Nancy Benoit.

A VIEW FROM OUTSIDE…Joanie (Chyna) Laurer was on Jim Rome's radio show last Thursday and from reports she didn’t do to well. Rome portrayed Vince as the leader of a freak show traveling circus. Laurer denied ever taking steroids at that appearance and later when she appeared on Greta VanSustren’s Fox show. I caught her there as well as a second appearance of Bret Hart and Joanie didn’t look good at all. Also, during an appearance on the Dan Abrams show Marc Mero talked about how easy it was for a pro wrestler to get doctors to write them scripts and how common GHB was in the business. A few days later on another show Mero said that while in the WWE he was only tested twice and never monitored while testing.

RANDOM NOTES…There's a big run on Benoit autographs on Ebay…some cable systems have not removed the Benoit family matches from 24/7 so you may see footage with him from time to time…there is a poll on the Maxim web site that has odds on various wrestlers like Jake Roberts and Ultimate Warrior passing away before the end of 2008. Jake's odds were 1-1…Italia 1 the channel that airs Smackdown in Italy has pulled all wrestling from its station citing the Benoit tragedy saying it was done out of respect for Italian children…there are apparently a lot of anti-Benoit posts on Bodybuilding.com, the Muscle & Fitness web site and ProSource bodybuilding web sites but not because he killed his wife and son. The negative posts are due to the fact that his actions make it harder for them to get steroids and GH. Just when you think there aren’t enough idiots out there faith in humanity is restored…Benoit’s text messages were to Chavo Guerrero (who is really bad shape over all this) and Shane Helms…Chris Benoit's mother, Margaret Benoit, said she wonders if her son would still be alive if federal agents had been more aggressive when they found out the large quantity of steroids he had been purchasing. There was a DEA investigation that stalled out last year, apparently…Bret Hart will be a guest on Monday on Larry King…Benoit is the cover story on this week’s People and National Enquirer…Target has apparently decided to leave Benoit merchandise on their shelves.

MORE BENOIT TRAGEDY BYTES...The accompanying picture was taken by a wrestling fan at Dr. Phil Astin's office in Carrollton Georgia just hours before Benoit went home and murdered his family. The fan described Benoit as soft-spoken and "nice" and he signed an autograph. It is assumed this is the last picture taken of Benoit before his suicide.

-Speaking of Dr.Astin his office was raided a second time this week as well as his mother's home. The additional raids were in response to new leads which led them to seek more information than the records they had already seized in the first raid. Astin has apparently disappeared over the past two days and the investigation has been taken over by the DEA. It is believed the government is widening its investigation to include steroid's and illegal drugs in professional wrestling.

-An attorney for the WWE says that in the days before the deaths of Chris Benoit, his wife and seven-year-old son, the couple argued over whether he should stay home more to take care of the mentally retarded boy. The care of David Benoit, who had a rare genetic disorder called Fragile X Syndrome, was "a source of stress and consternation" for Benoit and his wife. The WWE learned from the couple's friends and relatives that the Benoits were trying to decide where to send the boy to school since he had recently finished kindergarten. They also said Benoit's wife Nancy didn't want him to quit wrestling, but she did want him to spend more time at home caring for Daniel because as he was getting older it was harder for her to take care of him by herself while Benoit was away on the road.

-On Saturday (062307), Benoit called a co-worker to say he had missed his flight and would be late for a wrestling event in Beaumont, Texas. The co-worker said Benoit sounded tired and groggy and said "I love you," which the co-worker found "out of context." A WWE Talent Relations representative, called Benoit back and suggested Benoit try to make it to the Vengeance pay-per-view event in Houston since he would not be able to make it to the live event in Texas. He later called another co-worker, and told him his wife Nancy was throwing up blood and that his son Daniel was also throwing up. Benoit said he thought it was food poisoning and he was rushing home.

-Italia 1, the channel that airs Smackdown in Italy, has pulled all wrestling from its station citing the Benoit tragedy saying they are doing it out of respect for Italian children. Meanwhile the WWE continues to pull all shows that featured Chris or Nancy Benoit from 24/7.

-The funeral for Chris Benoit will be in Edmonton, Canada. Nancy and Daniel Benoit will be cremated with a funeral service in Daytona Beach.

MONSTERS DON'T SMILE...Vince McMahon did several interviews this week defending the WWE in light of the Benoit Tragedy. On NBC’s Today Show’s he pretty much defined the WWE’s current position on Benoit, the Federation and Sports Entertainment. Among other things he referred to Chris Benoit as “monster” and defended the WWE’s belief that “roid rage” couldn’t have been the trigger for the murders: “Obviously, this was not an act of rage, it was an act of deliberation...There were a number of prescription medications found in the house. Whether they contributed to this, who knows."  He continued likening what Benoit did to a “..a postal worker (shooting) up a post office…What we’re about (the WWE) is putting smiles on people’s faces. We’re entertainers. We entertain all over the world. That’s the job description. It’s not something to be tainted and smear with this. There was no indication whatsoever that this person turned into a monster and do what he did. Steroids may or may not have something to do with this. There were other pressures in terms of his son and wife. I don’t know, We may never know. But hopefully, we can put this to bed as best we possibly can and determine what happened once we have the real evidence.” After this Disney-esque description of the WWE he concluded with: “Everyone in our organization are well-adjusted, family people. They go to work like anybody else except the definition of their job is to put a smile on everybody’s face. It’s important our organization continue to do that for our fans and move on as best as we possibly can not withstanding this devastating situation.”

THE STRANGE, THE BIZARRE AND THE STOMACH TURNING...Additional details on the death of Benoit and his family we have picked up from around the media. As obvious from some of these items much of the information below is opinion, speculation and just plain media whoring. Some is trivial and some could be important as this story develops:

1. The Atlanta-Journal Constitution revealed that Benoit was arrested for a DUI in 1998 while he was working with WCW and before he was married to Nancy Benoit.

2. From  the Starved For Publicity file: Debra Williams, the ex-wife of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and Steve McMichael came up from obscurity to appear on a FOX station. She said, “Domestic and drug abuse is out of hand in the WWE and something needs to be done about it. If only I had spoken up sooner, maybe Nancy and her little boy would be alive today ... That's why I'm going public now. Something has to change!” Debra was the victim of domestic violence by Austin in 2002 and she says she filed for a restraining order after a third incident between the two but Austin later forced her to write a letter to the courts asking that the order be repealed. The fact that Debra hasn’t been around wrestling since 2002 so couldn’t know anything about anything going on today was lost on the folks at FOX.

3. All WWE merchandise with Benoit on it has been removed from WWE.com and is listed as ‘discontinued’.

4. Tough Enough alumni and concussion expert Chris Nowinski told the New York Times that he believes Benoit’s problems may be related to repeated brain injuries suffered as a wrestler.

5. Fayette (Ga.) County District Attorney Scott Ballard told ABC News that it’s believed Daniel Benoit died in a chokehold because there were no ligature (rope) marks on his neck and no hand impressions.

6. The offices of Chris and Nancy Benoit's personal physician Dr.Phil Astin was raided by authorities on Thursday in a search for Benoit Family medical records. Reportedly, Nancy Benoit visited Dr.Astin the day before her murder to gain information about treating her son Daniel. Nancy was also recovering from neck fusion surgery last year. The following day Chris Benoit met with his personal physician hours before he allegedly killed his wife and son and then hanged himself in his basement. Satin said, "He was in my office on Friday to stop by just to see my staff. He certainly didn't show any signs of any distress or rage or anything." Benoit also signed autographs while waiting to see the doctor. Astin said he had prescribed testosterone to Benoit because he suffered from low amounts of the hormone possibly due to previous steroid use. The WWE was the one who suggested that Daniel was suffering from a rare medical condition called Fragile X Syndrome, an inherited form of mental retardation often accompanied by autism. The company says they have paperwork that states that. As for reports that anabolic steroids were found in Benoit's home and the leap of faith that steroids caused Benoit to go into ‘roid rage’ and kill Nancy all the drugs found in the house, according to the WWE were prescribed by doctors and not purchased over the Internet. There have been reports that Benoit was connected to the same doctor under suspicion for selling to Kurt Angle, Edge and others but that was in 2006.

7. From the Grassy Knoll file: It is being reported that at 4:00 a.m. Monday morning the Chris Benoit entry on Wikipedia was updated with a posting that Nancy Benoit had passed away, long before authorities knew. The entry was removed 20 minutes later but was traced back to a computer from Stamford, Connecticut location of the WWE headquarters. An hour later someone from Australia edited it and again put up that Nancy Benoit had passed away, attributing it to "several pro wrestling web sites." It was again taken down due to lack of confirmation.

THE POLICE REPORT…Fayetteville County Georgia authorities held a press conference Tuesday (6/26), and released their findings on the double murder/suicide of Chris Benoit and his family. Nancy Benoit was strangled Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle. Daniel Benoit was probably suffocated late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed. Chris Benoit apparently hung himself several hours to possibly a day later. His body was found in a downstairs weight room, hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment. A closed Bible was found placed next to Nancy and David’s bodies. Benoit had sent text messages to acquaintances, one saying that his wife and son were sick, and another, to a neighbor, said the door to the house was open and that the pets were outside. The messages appeared to be an attempt to get someone to the home to find the bodies after his suicide. The WWE posted five of the text messages sent between early Sunday morning, between 3:51 and 3:58 a.m. Four of the five messages simply read: “My physical address is 130 Green Meadow Lane, Fayetteville Georgia. 30215”. Authorities found it “bizarre” that the wrestler spread out the killings over a weekend and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies. During their investigation authorities found anabolic steroids in the house and are speculating Chris Benoit may have become unhinged by the bodybuilding drugs, which can cause paranoia, depression and explosive outbursts known as “roid rage.” Benoit received drug deliveries from a Florida business that sold steroids, human growth hormone and testosterone on the internet: MedXLife.com. The growth hormones may have been for David Benoit who both parents considered undersized for his age. Investigators said the child’s body was “very small, even dwarfed.” Old needle marks were also found in David’s arms. In any event because there was no suicide note Benoit’s state of mind or motivation for the crimes cannot be determined, however autopsies were performed Monday morning and toxicology reports are two weeks to two months out.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON EXCEPT IN CANADA…Since Monday night the WWE has received a lot of criticism for running a three hour tribute program for a man who has been revealed to be a multiple murder. In response all “tribute” references to Chris Benoit were pulled off of the WWE’s website Tuesday morning and they issued a press release later that afternoon attacking the: “sensationalistic reporting and speculation being undertaken by some members of the media” and defending their Monday night broadcast. The press release also pointed out Benoit passed an April 10th drug test testing negative for steroids or other drugs. Additionally, Vince McMahon appeared on the first minute of the ECW broadcast Tuesday night and announced because of the “horrific” details that had come out over the last 24 hours, there would be no reference to Chris Benoit or his family on either that broadcast or on Friday Night’s Smackdown. He went on to declare the start of the “healing process”, which was to be administered by the WWE’s Superstars providing an hour of body slams and teeth gnashing. The rest of the show ran just matches, no angles, no interviews, and not a hint that anything had happened over the weekend. Additionally, the WWE also cancelled the upcoming Calgary and Edmonton TV tapings on 7/16 and 7/17. Other house shows scheduled for Western Canada on 7/14 in Sasakatoon and 7/15 in Regina with Benoit as the local star, were also canceled today.

BENOIT FAMILY DEATHS RULED DOUBLE MURDER SUICIDE...Professional wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy (professionally known as ”Woman”) and their 7-year-old son Daniel were all found dead in the family's Georgia home on Monday afternoon by the sheriff's department in Peachtree City. A WWE official called the police after they had been unable to reach Chris after numerous attempts Sunday and Monday. Earlier in the day Fayette County Sheriff's Department officer Lt. Tommy Pope initially said the three were discovered by police about 2:30 p.m. and that their deaths were being investigated as a homicide. No gunshot wounds were found on the bodies. Monday night the police announced that the deaths were being ruled the result of a double murder-suicide from within the home. Chris apparently killed his wife Nancy and his son Daniel over the weekend and then himself on Monday. The bodies were each found in three separate rooms and Police Lt. Tommy Pope told ABC News "the instruments of death were located on the scene," and continued that the department was not actively searching for any suspects outside the house.

Benoit was scheduled to perform at the "Vengeance" pay-per-view event Sunday night in Houston, but was replaced at the last minute by Johnny Nitro. During the show announcer Jim Ross said Benoit had to bow out of the ECW Championship Match with C.M.Punk because of 'personal reasons'. Ross went on to explain there was a family emergency that happened the night before and Benoit had to return to Atlanta immediately to deal with it. Reportedly several curious text messages were sent by Benoit early Sunday morning prompting concerned friends to alert WWE officials.

World Wrestling Entertainment canceled its live "Monday Night RAW" card in Corpus Christi, Texas, Monday night and USA Network aired instead a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast. A shocked (and very much alive) Vince McMahon opened the evening’s broadcast from the empty arena and remarked on how the evening was to be a push for the death of his character "Mr.McMahon” but instead tonight they would deal with the real death of Chris Benoit and his family. The rest of the show was a typical WWE tribute show consisting of career highlight footage punctuated by testimonials from the “WWE Family”.

The results of a preliminary autopsy report will come out tomorrow (Tuesday).