Boston Herald: Neighbor who found Benoit family flees to Hub
Don’t breathe a word of this. Because nobody’s supposed to know. But the woman who found the bodies of WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and son is in Boston hiding out while the worldwide media stakes out her home in Georgia.
Holly McFague, a former Boston publicist, lived next door to the Benoits in suburban Atlanta and had a key to their home. She went in to check on the family after Benoit’s WWE colleagues, who received bizarre text messages from the wrestler, called police to check on their well-being.
“To say she is upset is an understatement,” said George Regan, who is representing McFague, his former employee at Regan Communications. “She’s very shaken up and she can’t go home because her house is surrounded by media.”
Police believe the pro wrestler known as “The Canadian Crippler” strangled his wife, Nancy Daus Benoit, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, before hanging himself last week on the cable of a weight-machine in his home.
According to Regan, police went to McFague’s house and accompanied her to the wrestler’s home to check on the Benoits. But the officers were afraid to go inside because there were two large attack dogs.
“Holly knew the dogs and they knew her so she went in alone,” Regan said. “She found the body of the wife and son and ran screaming from the house.”
Regan said McFague, who runs an events company in Atlanta, had spoken to Benoit sometime on Saturday and he told her his wife and son were sick with food poisoning.
“He told her this big, long story about how sick they were,” Regan said. “At the time she was thinking that it was way too much information.”
Police believe that Benoit killed his wife on Friday, June 22, strangled his son on the 23rd and then committed suicide on 24th. The bodies were discovered in the afternoon of June 25.
Regan said McFague was close to Nancy and her son, who suffered from Fragile X syndrome that causes mental retardation, but that she didn’t care for Benoit.
“She found him very odd to say the least,” he said. “But she was very close to his wife, and the little boy was friendly with her children.”
Regan said McFague kept horses at her home and that Daniel would come over to see the animals frequently.
Police have not said what they believe is the motive for the slayings, although steroids were found in the house, leading to speculation that Benoit may have executed his family in a fit of “’roid rage.”
Yesterday, the doctor who prescribed the steroids to Benoit was charged with improperly prescribing drugs to other patients. Dr. Phil Astin prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids to Benoit every three to four weeks between May 2006 and May 2007, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent said in an affidavit filed Friday and made public yesterday.
During a probe of “RX Weight Loss,” Benoit was identified as an excessive buyer of injectable steroids, the document states. Prosecutors would not say what “RX Weight Loss” is.
Holly McFague, a former Boston publicist, lived next door to the Benoits in suburban Atlanta and had a key to their home. She went in to check on the family after Benoit’s WWE colleagues, who received bizarre text messages from the wrestler, called police to check on their well-being.
“To say she is upset is an understatement,” said George Regan, who is representing McFague, his former employee at Regan Communications. “She’s very shaken up and she can’t go home because her house is surrounded by media.”
Police believe the pro wrestler known as “The Canadian Crippler” strangled his wife, Nancy Daus Benoit, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, before hanging himself last week on the cable of a weight-machine in his home.
According to Regan, police went to McFague’s house and accompanied her to the wrestler’s home to check on the Benoits. But the officers were afraid to go inside because there were two large attack dogs.
“Holly knew the dogs and they knew her so she went in alone,” Regan said. “She found the body of the wife and son and ran screaming from the house.”
Regan said McFague, who runs an events company in Atlanta, had spoken to Benoit sometime on Saturday and he told her his wife and son were sick with food poisoning.
“He told her this big, long story about how sick they were,” Regan said. “At the time she was thinking that it was way too much information.”
Police believe that Benoit killed his wife on Friday, June 22, strangled his son on the 23rd and then committed suicide on 24th. The bodies were discovered in the afternoon of June 25.
Regan said McFague was close to Nancy and her son, who suffered from Fragile X syndrome that causes mental retardation, but that she didn’t care for Benoit.
“She found him very odd to say the least,” he said. “But she was very close to his wife, and the little boy was friendly with her children.”
Regan said McFague kept horses at her home and that Daniel would come over to see the animals frequently.
Police have not said what they believe is the motive for the slayings, although steroids were found in the house, leading to speculation that Benoit may have executed his family in a fit of “’roid rage.”
Yesterday, the doctor who prescribed the steroids to Benoit was charged with improperly prescribing drugs to other patients. Dr. Phil Astin prescribed a 10-month supply of anabolic steroids to Benoit every three to four weeks between May 2006 and May 2007, a Drug Enforcement Administration agent said in an affidavit filed Friday and made public yesterday.
During a probe of “RX Weight Loss,” Benoit was identified as an excessive buyer of injectable steroids, the document states. Prosecutors would not say what “RX Weight Loss” is.
