Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager from Oklahoma who passed away the day after a fight at Owasso High School likely died by suicide, according to a medical examiner’s summary report released today.
The news was reported on by KFOR, a local Oklahoma City NBC affiliate.
The probable cause listed for the death was a toxic combination of two medications, including an antidepressant. According to the report, there was blood around Benedict’s nose and mouth, and blood had settled to the back, implying they were lying down when they died.
Benedict, who died on Feb. 8, the day after the altercation with their classmates, was the subject of a posthumous culture war after reports revealed they were involved in a fight at her school.
Benedict was taken to the hospital that day for injuries they suffered and were released. The next day, they were found collapsed, and taken to the hospital.
The fight and subsequent death sparked a posthumous culture war, as texts and video revealed Benedict had been bullied by a group of teens. According to Benedict’s grandmother, reported the Independent, they were bullied at school because of their gender identity.
But a number of people criticized that framing, pointing to screenshots of texts trying to prove they started the fight.
“They had been bullying me and my friends and I got tired of it,” Benedict wrote to a friend in one text. “So I poured some water on them and all 3 came after me.”
After Benedict’s death, people online also called out Oklahoma’s Superintendent of Public Institutions, Ryan Walters for not making a statement on the death. Walters is a vocal supporter of right-wing policies that LGBTQ advocates criticize.
The Owasso Police Department initially stated that Benedict did not die of “trauma” resulting from the fight, which prompted a statement by Benedict’s family announcing an independent investigation into the death through their lawyers in February.
“While various investigations are still pending, the facts currently known by the family, some of which have been released to the public, are troubling at best. We urge those tasked with investigating and prosecuting all potentially liable parties to do so fully, fairly, and expediently. Notwithstanding, the family is independently interviewing witnesses and collecting all available evidence,” the February statement read.
The full medical examiner’s report should be available in 10 business days, reported KFOR.
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