Wikipedia told of death 14 hours before bodies found

By Charles Yoo
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 06/28/07

Wikipedia - the online open source encyclopedia - apparently reported the death of wrestler Chris Benoit's wife more than 14 hours before police discovered bodies in the Benoit residence.

An anonymous user edited the biography of the wrestler on Monday, June 25 at 12:01 a.m., said Sandra Ordonez, communication manager for the Wikipedia Foundation.

"Chris Benoit was replaced by Johnny Nitro for the [ECW] Extreme Championship Wrestling Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy," according to the posting.

Deputies checked on the family at the behest of Benoit's employer about 2:30 p.m. Monday at their home on Green Meadow Lane outside Peachtree City- more than 14 hours after the Wikipedia posting. Deputies said they found that Benoit killed his wife, Nancy Benoit, 43, and their son, Daniel, 7, before committing suicide.

The annonymous poster used a computer whose Internet Protocol, or IP, address was traced to Stamford, Conn., where the headquarters for Benoit's employer, World Wrestling Entertainment, is located.

Benoit, a Canada native, maintained a residence in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the now-defunct Ted Turner-owned World Championship Wrestling organization.

Most recently, Benoit performed as part of World Wrestling Entertainment. He was scheduled to appear in a pay-per-view title match Sunday night, but was a no-show because of a "family emergency, " the WWE said during the broadcast.

The Wikipedia posting was later discovered by one of the website's volunteer editors and fact checkers noticed it and notified authorities, Ordonez said.

The Fayette County Sheriff Office declined to comment on Thursday through a voice-recorded message, saying that any update on the case will be made through written statements.

"We provided the IP address, and I guess they were investigating," Ordonez said.