Hustler targeted for printing nude photos of Nancy Benoit

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By Associated Press

For the AJC

A divisive free speech legal fight involving the nude pictures of a model that were published after she was killed by her husband is surfacing again in federal appeals court in Atlanta.

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The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta is considering whether to award nearly $20 million to the family of Nancy Toffolini Benoit after Hustler Magazine published nude photos of her after she was killed.

Darryl Dyck, Edmonton Sun The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta is considering whether to award nearly $20 million to the family of Nancy Toffolini Benoit after Hustler Magazine published nude photos of her after she was killed.

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The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday considered whether Hustler Magazine should award nearly $20 million to the family of Nancy Toffolini Benoit. Nude images of her were published in Hustler Magazine after she and her son were killed in 2007 by wrestler Chris Benoit.

Benoit's family said Nancy Benoit never gave permission to publish the 24-year-old photos, while the magazine said it had the right to print the photos because they were newsworthy.

A jury in June 2011 voted to penalize the magazine $19.6 million for running the photos. But a federal judge soon reduced it to $250,000.

Nancy Benoit, also known by her wrestling names "Woman" and "Fallen Angel," was an aspiring model when she posed for the nude photographs in 1983, according to the family's lawsuit.

The 43-year-old wife and mother was killed, along with her 7-year-old son, Daniel, by Chris Benoit at the family's Fayette County home. After strangling both, Benoit committed suicide.

-- Staff writer Christian Boone contributed to this article.