In an interview with The 2 Count, Sandra Toffoloni, the sister of the late Nancy Benoit, discussed the Benoit family tragedy publicly for the first time, including her thoughts that Chris was within a year of dying.
Highlights of the interview are below:
On what she personally believes happened: “The Chris Benoit I had known for a decade loved my sister so much that he would never – even in the worst episode of high spots have hurt my sister this bad. I believe he totally blacked out. I also believe that, when he came out of it and realized what he had done, he went out of his mind. He probably couldn’t believe what he had done to Nancy. He realized what he had done and medicated even more and drank and wondered how he would explain this to Daniel. He probably became so grief stricken with his own actions that he didn’t want to live anymore. I can understand him taking his own life, especially knowing he would get capital punishment if he were tried and found guilty of my sister’s murder. However, I can’t put a reason on why Chris killed Daniel. I myself am unable to have children and my sister and Chris always made me feel better about this fact by sharing so much of my nephew’s life with me. I was very, very close to Daniel. Chris knew I would have taken care of and loved that child with everything I had. I would have kept David and Megan in his life as well and he knew all that.”
On Chris’ concussions: “Yes, my brother-in-law had concussions, he hit his head for a living and I understand that. But way beyond that, he had a very serious drug and steroid problem… It can’t be told to me that this wasn’t the determining factor behind what happened. I wasn’t there that weekend, but I was during the last decade. Chris could have never done what he did had it not been for the steroids and prescription drugs.”
On Chris Benoit’s health and words from a medical examiner: “The medical examiner told us after the autopsy that Chris was on his way to death within ten months. His heart was huge, about three times normal size, and it was ready to blow up at any moment.”
On Benoit planning post-WWE life: “After Eddie passed away, Chris and Nancy discussed the possibility of Chris leaving the WWE and starting his own wrestling school. As a matter of fact, it had become more than a possibility. A business plan had been developed and merchandise had been designed. However, the WWE was prepared to give Chris a big push and put him into another championship match (vs. CM Punk for the ECW Title) so Chris began training harder and pushing his body further.”
On Benoit’s drug use: “He had a serious drug problem, used a lot of steroids and was certainly not alone in that at the time. The paranoia was a direct result of the abuse of steroids. The last two weeks I spent with Chris, we used to go to the gym and go tanning together. At some point, he began acting weird and I wondered what was wrong with him. He would find 30 different routes to drive to the gym which he never did before. This is not schizophrenia! This was a result of combining steroids with pain medication and, later on, alcohol. I had never seen him like this before.”
On her last conversation with her sister Nancy: “We talked about mascaras and she told me that I needed to get a good quality mascara for myself. We also talked about Daniel and how he was graduating from horse camp. We talked about David and how he was growing. Nancy also spoke to me about her home improvement plans for the upcoming summer. Chris and Nancy were considering having another baby, but Nancy had said that she wouldn’t have one until I moved closer to them. They then suggested that a house be built for me on the acreage right by their own home. Chris was actually stoked about it. Nancy was hoping to travel with Chris on occasion if they could have someone close by to take care of the children. Once we hung up, Nancy called me back a little later to tell me that she had put some money in my bank account so I could do something for myself that upcoming Monday: get a massage, a pedicure, buy some mascara. This is how generous my sister was and that was the last time I ever spoke to her. She had no clue as to what was about to happen.”
The interview is available in full at this link.
