Wikipedia Entry is Major Headache for Atlanta Police in Benoit Triple-Murder Investigation

by Steve Gold
July 3rd, 2007
http://securityblog.itproportal.com/?p=951

Wikipedia causes problems for US murder-suicide investigation

It seems that a Wikipedia posting about the death of pro wrestler Chris Benoit’s wife - which preceded the discovery of the Benoit family’s bodies - is becoming a major headache for police in Georgia.

According to ABC news, Lt. Tommy Pope, a spokesman for the local police in Georgia, investigators will have to divert their resources in proving - or disproving - whether the Wikipedia entry is genuine.

“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,” said Lt. Pope, adding that investigators have been flooded with tips regarding a Web posting that’s very likely a bizarre coincidence.

A bizarre coincidence? If someone posts a message on t’Internet saying that a murder will happen, and it does, I’d say there’s a pretty strong chance that the poster was involved in the murder, wouldn’t you?

But wait - it gets better, as Lt. Pope told ABC News that his colleagues know who the poster is!

“We know who the person is,” Lt. Pope said, adding that police wouldn’t reveal his or her identity until early next week.

By then they hope to have determined whether the person was implicated in what police have called a double murder-homicide.

According to Lt. Pope, if “the person had knowledge of the death before police discovered the body, he or she could face criminal charges.”

No sh*t Sherlock!..