Diary Of Wrestler Chris Benoit May Provide Details About His Mental State

[samanthajane13]

The diary of wrestler Chris Benoit may provide details about his mental state before he killed his wife and son and then himself.

WSB-TV says the attorney of Benoit's father believe the wrestler's writings show signs of dementia and depression.

The handwritten entries are addressed to a close friend of Benoit's -- wrestler Eddie Guerrero -- who died in 2005 of an enlarged heart.

Lawyer Carry Ichter says Benoit was "upset, very upset" about Guerrero's death. Ichter says Benoit writes how much he loved Guerrero and what good friends they were.

Ichter notes that at one point Benoit wrote -- quote -- "I will be with you soon." Ichter says it appears as though Benoit were having thoughts about his own mortality.

The station says the entries also note Benoit's love and admiration for his wife and son, Daniel.

Ichter knew Benoit for years and is now representing his father in the legal process to decide who is heir to Benoit's estate -- his children from a previous marriage or his wife's family. The couple left no will.

[samanthajane13]

LAWYER REVEALS MORE INFORMATION REGARDING CHRIS BENOIT DIARY
by Buck Woodward (buckwrestling@aol.com) @ 3:40:35 PM on 9/14/2007



The Associated Press released the following story this afternoon by Errin Haines, giving more details into what Chris Benoit wrote in his diary prior to killing his wife and son before killing himself this past June. According to attorney Cary Ichter, who is representing Benoit's father in the case of the Benoit estate, Benoit wrote entries that were messages to Eddie Guerrero (http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=26558&p=1#), including one that said "I will be with you soon". Ichter also noted that Benoit was given the diary by his wife with the idea that writing in it would help Benoit cope with the loss of his friend. It should be noted that copies of the diary were not made available for review by the media. It could become a major piece of evidence as the case to determine who has the rights to the Benoit estate moves on.
Here is the AP article:

Lawyer: Benoit's Diary Shows Wrestler (http://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.asp?id=26558&p=1#) Grieved Friend, Was Depressed Before Killing Wife, Son

ATLANTA (AP) -- Journal entries written by wrestler Chris Benoit show he was wracked with grief and preoccupied with death after his best friend died in 2005, according to a lawyer representing Benoit's father.

Benoit, who killed his wife and 7-year-old son and committed suicide in June, wrote the diary as a series of letters to the friend, fellow wrestler Eddie Guerrero, according to lawyer Cary Ichter, who represents the wrestler's father in estate litigation.


Benoit's father, Michael Benoit, referred to the diary earlier this month, saying it was "written by someone who was extremely disturbed at the time." The father has said murder-suicide was out of character for his son and supported medical tests that recently showed Chris Benoit suffered brain damage that could have caused depression and irrational behavior.

Authorities say anabolic steroids were found in the home and Chris Benoit had a high amount of synthetic testosterone in his body when he died, leading to some speculation that steroid-induced rage sparked the killings.

Ichter, who said he knew Benoit for years, described what he said were Benoit's writings but he did not make copies of the journal available for review.

Ichter noted that at one point Benoit wrote to his friend, "I will be with you soon," an apparent nod to his own mortality.

"It showed that he was very depressed," Ichter said of the entries.
Benoit also wrote warmly about his son, Daniel, and his wife, Nancy, who had given him the journal as a way to cope with Guerrero's death, the lawyer said.

Prosecutors have said Benoit, 40, strangled his wife with a cord, used a choke hold to strangle his son placed Bibles next to the bodies and hanged himself on exercise equipment the weekend of June 22.

Ichter said a neighbor of the Benoits found the journal in the trash after the police and family had left the Benoits' house, and the neighbor gave it to Michael Benoit. He is permanent administrator to Chris Benoit's estate, and Ichter said the journal could become evidence in the estate litigation.

Authorities have said it could be months before the court determines the heirs, since neither Chris nor Nancy Benoit had a will. Whether Nancy Benoit died before Daniel will determine whether control of millions of dollars goes to Chris Benoit's two children from a previous marriage or to relatives on Nancy Benoit's side.

[samanthajane13]

Channel 2 out of Atlanta has an article posted with exclusive details from entries in Chris Benoit's diary. Below are some notes:

- The photocopied first page of the diary is inscribed, 'To Christopher from Nancy,' with the date November 25, 2005.

- All the handwritten entries are addressed to Eddie Guerrero, a close wrestling friend of Benoit's, who died the same year of an enlarged heart.

- The entries also speak of Benoit's love and admiration for his wife, Nancy, and son, Daniel -- both of whom he killed in the weekend of June 22.

- He spoke of the exhaustion, drudgery and loneliness of the road, but did not describe abusing drugs.

- The diary was found in the trash outside Benoit's Fayetteville home shortly after the deaths.

- "He was upset, very upset, about Eddie's death. He says in a number of places how much he loved Eddie and what dear friends they were. He also says at one point that, 'I will be with you soon,' so it appears as though he was having some thoughts about his own mortality," said Carry Ichter, Benoit's father's attorney.

- "It's plain that he was depressed. It's plain that he was beginning to exhibit some of the signs of the dementia that's associated with the brain injuries he sustained because he talks in there about not being able to remember things," said Ichter. "Chris, at the end had become intensely paranoid, to the point that he would not take the same route to the airport on a consistent basis, to the point that he would not allow the family outside of the house."