Pro wrestler Chris Benoit suffered brain damage from his years in the ring that could help explain why he killed his wife, son and himself, a doctor who studied Benoit’s brain said today (Wednesday).
The analysis by doctors affiliated with the Sports Legacy Institute suggests repeated concussions could have contributed to the killings at Benoit’s suburban Atlanta home.
Steroid use also has lingered as a theory, since anabolic steroids were found in the home and tests conducted by authorities showed Benoit had roughly 10 times the normal level of testosterone in his system when he died.
The institute, which researches the long-term effects of concussions, coordinated the testing using samples of Benoit’s brain tissue provided by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation.
The Waltham, Mass.-based institute’s president is former pro wrestler Christopher Nowinski, who has said he had to quit the ring after a kick to the head. Nowinski still has ties with World Wrestling Entertainment Inc., which runs the league he and Benoit were in.
Despite the results of the institute’s tests, there was no way to know if Benoit’s concussions contributed to the murder-suicide, said Dr. Robert Cantu, a member of the institute who also is chief of neurosurgery service at Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass.
The level of brain damage Benoit had can cause depression and irrational behavior, Cantu said.
Benoit’s brain showed the same degenerative processes that doctors working for the institute found in the brains of three men who had played pro football and committed suicide, Cantu said. There were abnormal protein deposits caused by trauma to Benoit’s brain, Cantu said.
There’s no evidence that steroid use causes such protein deposits, Cantu said, though he noted the issue has not been exhaustively studied.
Investigators allowed the institute to test Benoit’s brain tissue with the permission of his father, Michael Benoit, who lives near Edmonton in Ardrossan, Alberta.
Michael Benoit said Wednesday that he agreed to the testing because murder-suicide was out of character for his son. He also disclosed that after the killings, he discovered a diary written by his son that showed his son was having problems.
“After reading the diary, I would have thought it was written by someone who was extremely disturbed at the time,” Michael Benoit said.
He did not elaborate, but he did say a friend told him that prior to the murder-suicide, Chris Benoit had been wearing a rosary, which he said was also out of character.
Nowinski said concussions can happen in pro wrestling even though many of the moves are staged.
Prosecutors have said Benoit, 40, strangled his wife with a cord, used a choke hold to strangle his 7-year-old son, placed Bibles next to the bodies and hanged himself on a piece of exercise equipment the weekend of June 22.
Authorities have said Benoit’s personal doctor, Phil Astin, prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids to Benoit every three to four weeks between May 2006 and May 2007.