[NYTr] Wrestling Murder Highlights Violence-Suicide Link

Mon Oct 1 17:53:40 EDT 2007

Womens eNews - Oxt 1, 2007
http://www.womensenews.org

Wrestling Murder Highlights Violence-Suicide Link

By Marie Tessier - WeNews correspondent

(WOMENSENEWS)--Christopher Benoit was a huge, muscled, friendly and
generous man among colleagues and fans in the garish world of
professional wrestling. His fame and personality added to the shock
this summer when Benoit was found dead with his wife and 7-year-old son
in their home in an exclusive neighborhood outside Atlanta.

When the bodies were found, World Wrestling Entertainment in Stamford,
Conn., canceled its regular programming to air a three-hour tribute to
the dead man.

But the WWE's approach--and public opinion--soon would make a U-turn.

Following the initial investigation Georgia authorities said it
appeared that the wrestling personality known as "The Canadian
Crippler" had strangled his 43-year-old wife, Nancy, with a cord on a
Friday; used a choke hold to kill his son, Daniel, on Saturday; then
placed Bibles next to the bodies and hanged himself on exercise
equipment on Sunday. Christopher Benoit's two children from a previous
marriage live elsewhere, and they survive.

Within days, the entertainment company's chair went on NBC's "Today"
show to express horror at the crime and called Benoit a "monster." The
company also pulled a tribute to Benoit off its Web site.

In the weeks since the crime, investigators, law enforcement
authorities and advocates for battered women have struggled to clarify
to the public that the deaths of Nancy Benoit, herself once a
professional wrestler, and Daniel Benoit were just one prominent but
representative case of domestic violence homicide. Despite this, most
news reports dwell on a steroid connection.

"Domestic violence homicides are the most predictable and preventable
of all homicides," says Sue Else, president of the Washington-based
National Network to End Domestic Violence. "These aren't nice guys who
suddenly snap; nice guys don't abuse or kill their wives and children."

Little has been said in news reports about the characteristics of
domestic homicide, which often involve a man's suicide as well.
Suicidal threats are considered a key indicator of lethal violence at
law enforcement and domestic violence agencies around the world. Among
men who kill their current or former female partners in the United
States, 3 in 10 also commit suicide, according to the National
Institute for Injury Prevention and Control, a division of the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Nationwide, about 1,200 women are killed each year by current or former
intimate partners, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The
Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence says that last year 70
people, mostly women and children, were victims of a domestic homicide
in that state.

"The Benoit family tragedy represents what happens when women are
assaulted or killed by their partners," says Regine Cordon, executive
director of the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence in Decatur,
Ga. "The focus attempts to blame the cause for violence on drugs,
steroids, parenting disagreements or stress rather than the power and
control dynamics within a relationship."

Inquiry Spotlight on Steroids

Indeed, news media and two congressional inquiries have put the
spotlight on performance-enhancing drugs that were found in the home,
and their role in professional wrestling. Benoit's personal physician
has been indicted in federal court on charges related to anabolic
steroids that were found during the homicide investigation. World
Wrestling Entertainment updated its health policy and named 11
performers suspended last month after the company was notified about
wrestlers' involvement in an unrelated criminal investigation.

On Sept. 5, a Massachusetts sports institute said their study of the
wrestler's brain tissue indicated that a history of concussions in the
ring may have contributed to Benoit's lethal violence. World Wrestling
Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon stressed family tension surrounding the
child's possible medical condition in a television appearance shortly
after the slayings. Financial news reported sharp drops in the
wrestling company's stock following the homicide and steroid
investigations, and the price has not fully recovered.

The Benoit family prompts comparisons to the typical profile of a
domestic slaying. The vast majority of perpetrators in data drawn from
seven states were white men. The vast majority of slayings took place
at home; the most prominent motive was a man's drive to possess or
control a partner, researchers found. White women between the ages of
35 and 44 were the chief targets; Nancy Benoit was 43. Homicide is the
No. 2 cause of death for women ages 20 to 24, the No. 3 cause for women
ages 15 to 19 and a leading cause of death for all women between the
ages of 15 and 44, with Native and African American women the most
vulnerable.

Pattern of Abuse and Reconciliation

The coercive family dynamics that are present in abusive homes did
appear to have some history with the Benoit family, court records show.
In 2003, Nancy Benoit filed for divorce and obtained a protective order
against her husband, authorities said. In the protective order
petition, she said Christopher Benoit, 5 feet 10 inches tall and 230
muscle-bound pounds, "lost his temper and threatened to strike" her and
"cause extensive damage to the house," according to news reports. Three
months later, the couple reconciled.

The autopsy and criminal investigation into the deaths have not
revealed a history of violence beyond what was in civil court files, a
spokesperson for the Fayette County district attorney told Women's
eNews. She was quick to add that family violence is often well hidden
and the investigation has not yet been closed.

Researchers at the CDC wrote in December 2006 that new methods of
monitoring murder-suicides serve to "underscore" the importance of
violence prevention programs and policies in stemming domestic
homicides. The data illustrate the need for accessible shelters, mental
health and substance abuse treatment, and the enforcement of existing
domestic violence laws, they wrote in Injury Prevention Online, an
online public health journal from the CDC.

Meanwhile advocates for battered women continue to explain that
domestic violence perpetrators--including murderers--often have
charming public faces but dark sides at home.

"The fact that a batterer is seen in the community as a wonderful man
is not surprising, because their need for power and control is focused
only in the home," says Cordon, of the Georgia Coalition Against
Domestic Violence. "When it comes to a homicide, it's a way of
regaining control; a final stand in that sense."

In matters of life and death, says Else of the National Network to End
Domestic Violence, "Why focus on excuses?"

[Marie Tessier writes frequently about women, criminal justice and legal
affairs.]

For more information:

Women's eNews series, Dangerous Trends, Innovative Responses: -
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2906/

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, - Intimate Partner Violence
Prevention: - http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/ipvprevention.htm

Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence: - http://www.gcadv.org/