FOX News is reporting that an anonymous user using a computer linked to Stamford, Conn. (where WWE headquarters are located) posted an entry to Chris Benoit's biography on Wikipedia revealing the death of his wife Nancy as the reason for Benoit missing the WWE Vengeance pay-per-view about 14 hours before police said they found her body along with those of Benoit and their 7-year-old son. The posting read: "Chris Benoit was replaced by [[Johnny Nitro]] for the ECW Championship match at Vengeance, as Benoit was not there due to personal issues, stemming from the death of his wife Nancy."
According to the FOX News article, employees at Wikipedia.com said the posting went live on their site on Monday at 12:01 a.m. EST (the computer-generated time and date stamp of the entry is listed as 4:01, 25 June 2007 Universal Time, also known as Greenwich Mean Time). Police, however, said they found the bodies Monday at 2:30 p.m. EST.
An employee from Wikipedia told FOXNews.com that he called and left a message with investigative authorities in Fayetteville, Ga., at around 11 a.m. EST on Tuesday, after the posting was brought to the attention of their attention.
Wikipedia.org is one of the largest websites in the world, and is written collaboratively by users from around the world. Approved users can make submissions and change entries that are posted on the site almost immediately. Bass said the site is constantly monitored to correct inaccuracies.
The article also noted that the the computer used to post the 12:01 a.m. Benoit entry has been used to post about a dozen other messages on the site, dating back to May 16, 2007.
The article is the top story on the FOX News website as of 11:43 AM. For the full article, click here.
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