Death of nonbinary teen after school fight is ruled a suicide, medical examiner says
OKLAHOMA CITY – The death of a nonbinary student the day after a fight inside an Oklahoma high school restroom has been ruled a suicide, the state medical examiner’s office said Wednesday.
A summary autopsy report was released more than a month after the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict, a student at Owasso High School. Family members said Benedict had been bullied at school and the teenager’s death in February drew concern from LGBTQ+ rights groups, as well as attention from Oklahoma’s governor and the White House.
“From the beginning of this investigation, Owasso Police observed many indications that this death was the result of suicide,” Owasso Police Department Lt. Nick Boatman said in a statement. “However, investigators did not wish to confirm that information without the final results being presented by the Oklahoma Medical Examiners Office.”
In a 911 call on Feb. 8, Sue Benedict – the teen’s grandmother and legal guardian – had expressed concern about a head injury. The teenager was conscious and alert after the fight a day earlier when they told police about the attack by three girls that occurred after the teen squirted them with water, according to police video released last month.
The report shows Benedict had toxic levels of two drugs in their system and died of an overdose. A complete autopsy will be released in 10 days in accordance with state law, the medical examiner’s office said.
Boatman would not confirm whether or not police
found a note from Benedict at the scene.
A lawyer for the Benedict family, Jacob Biby, told The Associated Press that he was working on a statement from the family Wednesday but declined to comment further.