Benoit Wikipedia Page Poster ID'd, And It Wasn't Benoit

I thought it was obvious that the person editing his profile to note the death of his wife -- before cops knew of it -- must have been Benoit himself. (Correction to Previous Posting: I earlier wrote the message contained further details of the son's death and Benoit's suicide, which it appears not to have -- I think I got that, botched maybe, from Geraldo.)

My solution to the mystery was simple, obvious, and, it seems, quite wrong.

Investigators had not yet discovered the bodies of pro wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife and their 7-year-old son when someone altered Benoit's Wikipedia entry to mention his wife's death, authorities said.

An anonymous user with the same IP address as the person who made the edits confessed early Friday on an online discussion page attached to the Web site, saying the changes were based on rumors and speculation, not hard evidence.

The authenticity of the posting could not immediately be confirmed.

``I just can't believe what I wrote was actually the case, I've remained stunned and saddened over it,'' the user wrote.

According to Wikinews, an online news source connected to Wikipedia, the Internet protocol address of the individual is identical to that of the user who edited Benoit's profile early Monday morning. An IP address is a unique series of numbers carried by every machine connected to the Internet.

Benoit's page on Wikipedia, a reference site that allows users to add and edit information, was updated at 12:01 a.m. Monday, about 14 hours before authorities say the bodies were found. The reason he missed a match Saturday night was ``stemming from the death of his wife Nancy,'' it said.

posted by Ace at 02:34 PM

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