Knowing Better
July 18th, 2007Chris Benoit’s toxicology report is out, and with it comes either silence in the media or a renewed wave of nonsense, depending on whether or not the press decides to continue shouting half-truths and lies. Here’s the news, before the commentary, as it should be.
Professional wrestler Chris Benoit had an elevated level of testosterone in his system but no other steroids in his body, and his 7-year-old son was sedated at the time of his death, a Georgia medical examiner said Thursday.
“This level of testosterone indicates that he had been using testosterone at least within some reasonably short period of time prior to the time that he died,” said Dr. Kris Sperry, chief medical examiner for the state with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, as he released the results of the toxicology report for the wrestler; his wife, Nancy; and son, Daniel. “Although testosterone was found in Christopher Benoit’s urine, there is no evidence of any other of the illegal types of steroids, or the whole laundry list of anabolic steroids that are out there to be used,” Sperry said, adding, “the presence of the testosterone alone even could be an indicator that he was being treated for testicular insufficiency.”
Besides steroids, Benoit’s body contained the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the painkiller hydrocodone, according to a statement from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. The GBI said Benoit tested negative for blood alcohol. But Sperry said that they found a drug in the child’s system that surprised them: Xanax. “It is our opinion that Daniel Benoit was sedated by Xanax at the time that he was murdered, so that (means) he was sedated prior to the time that he died,” he said. The GBI said it could not perform tests for steroids or human growth hormones on the son because of a lack of urine.
Benoit’s wife, Nancy, tested positive for Xanax, hydrocodone and the painkiller hydromorphone, but the decomposition process hindered the ability to determine the precise levels of the drugs at the time of her death. An elevated alcohol level found in her system could also be due to the decomposition process, Sperry said. “The decomposition will affect the ability to interpret these drug levels reliably,” Sperry said. “Before she died, they may have been higher. They could have been lower. We just don’t know and we’ll never know.” The test results were expected to shed more light on Benoit’s last moments. Authorities said Benoit killed his wife and son in their suburban Atlanta home, placed Bibles next to their bodies and then hanged himself on the cable of a weight machine.
Anabolic steroids were found in the home, leading officials to wonder if the drugs played a role in the killings. Some experts believe steroids can cause paranoia, depression and violent outbursts known as “roid rage.” “There is no reliable scientific data that conclusively says that elevated levels of administered testosterone lead to excessive rage or behavioral disorders,” Sperry said. “All the testing that’s been done regarding that has been completely inconclusive.” Federal authorities have charged Benoit’s personal physician, Dr. Phil Astin, with improperly prescribing painkillers and other drugs to two patients other than Benoit. He has pleaded not guilty.
Investigators have also raided Astin’s office several times since the deaths, seizing prescription records and other documents. Before he was charged, Astin told the AP he prescribed testosterone for Benoit, a longtime friend, in the past. He would not say what, if any, medications he prescribed when Benoit visited his office June 22, the day authorities believe Benoit killed his wife. “It’s a little unclear to know exactly where this leads us, but you take this piece and you compare it with what a witness said or what was found at the scene and suddenly the picture begins to become more in focus,” said Scott Ballard, district attorney for Fayette County. “And that’s what we’re certainly hoping to do.”
This is somewhat redeeming for WWE: he was on testosterone, which is in its own way a type of steroid, but he wasn’t on any other steroids, and it’s entirely possible that he was taking it for other reasons, so much so that Ballard won’t out-and-out say, “This is steroids,” because it isn’t.
There are two points raised by the toxicology reports that I have comment on: if Nancy was drinking, and Benoit was on drugs, doesn’t that make the likelihood of a big domestic blowup blowing up worse than expected (or wanted) likelier? And if Benoit sedated his son before killing him, does that mean this isn’t what it seems? Like I’ve said for a long time, I believe that there was a domestic dispute, Benoit killed her without meaning to, panicked, and then decided to take his son’s life and his own for reasons I don’t know. (There are a variety of things that could’ve happened. Is it possible that Benoit decided he didn’t want his son to live without his family, or with his father in prison, or in group homes, and decided that he’d take his life as well? It certainly wasn’t a contemptuous murder, if he spared him the pain of asphixiation.)
There’s still more to be wondered about, of course. The Bibles are a very disturbing part of the story that nobody talks about and there’s been no explanation for, particularly since Benoit had contempt for organized religion. But now we know, conclusively, that “roid rage” isn’t responsible, and the rest is up in the air. I’d like to think we now know that prescription medicine needs to be reformed. That the media needs to be reformed. That a wrestler’s schedule needs to be reformed. I think those are things we should now know, but I know better than to think we all know that now.