Wikipedia Editor Apologizes for Chris Benoit Comment

The anonymous Wikipedia editor responsible for posting on Wikipedia that WWE wrestler Chris Benoit’s wife was dead 14 hours before law enforcement officers discovered the body has confessed to making the entry, stating that the comment was a “terrible coincidence.” The editor left a lengthy apology to the Wikipedia community.

In a post made at 12:26 AM EDT Friday morning to the talk page of a Wikinews article headlined as the “Death of Nancy Benoit rumour posted on Wikipedia hours prior to body being found”, the user admitted to writing that Nancy Benoit was dead at the Wikipedia article page for Benoit came from information that was garnered from “rumors and speculation online.” Freakishly, the post turned out to be true.

The person submitting the apology is said to have logged the same ip address as the original Wikipedia editor posting about the death of wrestler Chris Benoit’s wife.

WAGA television in Atlanta reported that investigators believed Benoit killed his wife and 7-year-old son over the weekend, then himself on Monday.

ABC News had reported that the Wikipedia editor’s posting had become “a major obstacle in the murder-suicide criminal investigation.” Lieutenant Tommy Pope, speaking for the Fayette County, Georgia Sheriff’s Department said:

“We’ve got to put a lot of effort and time into working to prove or disprove that someone put up a hoax situation or that somebody was conceiving the death from out of state.”

Pope went on to speak of the large number of tips investigators received about the anonymous editor’s Wikipedia entry.

Sources: Wikinews story | Digg.com story | World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE)