Info coming on Benoit toxicology reports

Tue, 07/17/2007 - 8:56am
By: John Munford

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is expected to provide an update this afternoon in the investigation into the deaths of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their son, who were found dead three weeks ago in their Fayette home.

Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said Tuesday morning that he had not yet been made aware of what information the GBI planned to release at the news conference, scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Ballard said he will be briefed by the GBI shortly before the news conference.

The GBI’s crime lab has conducted autopsies of the bodies and is also processing toxicology information that could show whether any of the deceased were under the influence of any medication or alcohol at the time of their death. Ballard said this morning he was not sure if the testing was fully complete.

Federal authorites have revealed that Benoit was prescribed 10 months’ worth of steroids every three to four weeks leading up to May of this year, with those prescriptions coming from Benoit’s personal doctor, Phil Astin III of Carrollton.

Federal officials also have indicated in court documents that Benoit was known to have purchased “excessive amounts of injectable steroids” in connection with an investigation into a company called RX Weight Loss. Days after the Benoit family deaths, Astin was indicted on several counts of providing prescriptions to other patients without medical need in violation of federal drug control laws.

Ballard has said evidence at the scene points to Chris Benoit having killed Nancy Benoit and their 7-year-old son Daniel. Both Nancy and Daniel were asphyxiated, and Chris Benoit used a pulley weight system to hang himself, Ballard has said.

The family's bodies were found at their central Fayette home June 26 after Chris Benoit's World Wrestling Entertainment co-workers asked sheriff's deputies to check on the family's welfare. At the time, Benoit had missed two wrestling matches in Texas, and the WWE later revealed that several text messages were sent from both Chris and Nancy Benoits' cell phones referring only to the family's physical address and the status of the dogs and an open door to the home.

Authorities have said Chris Benoit did not leave a suicide note, but bibles were placed next to the bodies of Nancy and Daniel Benoit.

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