OAN’s Brooke Mallory
3:58 PM – Thursday, February 22, 2024
Authorities said on Wednesday that Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old student who identified as “nonbinary,” did not die as a result of injuries received in a brawl in the school restroom the previous day.
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The Oklahoma adolescent did “not die from trauma,” according to a preliminary autopsy report from the medical examiner’s office, the Owasso police stated.
According to the victim’s family, Benedict was a biological female who identified as nonbinary, meaning that the teen struggled with gender dysphoria and did not want to be referred to as a female or a male.
Benedict passed away on February 8th, the day after getting into a fight that started after bullies were allegedly giving the teen a hard time regarding their “gender identification” and after Benedict “poured water on them” in retaliation.
The teen’s family maintains that the fight strictly had to do with their child’s gender identity.
“While at Owasso High School, Nex was attacked and assaulted in a bathroom by a group of other students,” the family said via their legal team. “A day later, the Benedicts’ beautiful child lost their life.”
The police said they would forward the results of their continuing investigation into the fight to the district attorney’s office so that they could decide whether to press charges or not.
Although Benedict, who went by they/them pronouns, was able to leave the restroom altercation on February 7th. The family brought her to the hospital later that evening, but then sent her home.
The day after, the 16-year-old reportedly had a “medical emergency,” where she was brought back to the hospital, according to the authorities. However, the teen later passed away at the medical facility.
After Benedict, a sophomore at Owasso High School, got into a fight with the three older girls, her mother told The Independent outlet that her child was “covered in bruises.”
According to the police, two other students and a staff member standing nearby broke up the brawl. Benedict was instructed to go to the hospital after the altercation, where the 16-year-old was soon questioned by authorities.
Fox 23 reported that Benedict texted a family member about the altercation.
“They had been bullying me and my friends, and I got tired of it, so I poured some water on them, and all 3 came after me. School did not report it and is probably going to getting sued,” one of the texts said.”
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