Oklahoma teen Nex Benedict’s cause of death revealed in autopsy report
Molly Young
USA TODAY NETWORK
Show CaptionHide Caption#videoDetailsToggle{color:var( –color-dove-gray,rgba(0,0,0,.6));cursor:pointer;display:inline-block;font-family:var(–sans-serif,sans-serif);font-size:var(–type-7);font-weight:var( –font-weight-bold,900);line-height:var(–spacer-twentyfour,24px);margin-bottom:-8px}#vdt_hide{margin-bottom:10px}.vdt-flex[hidden]{display:none}.vdt-svg{fill:var( –color-dove-gray,rgba(0,0,0,.6));height:var(–spacer-twentyfour,24px);width:var(–spacer-twentyfour,24px)}Owasso community mourns Nex Benedict at candlelight vigil: Video”We shouldn’t have to bury children this young,” said Micah Hillenberg at the candlelight vigil. “If this doesn’t enrage you, I don’t know what will.”
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An Oklahoma teen whose death sparked widespread outrage and calls for change died of an overdose, authorities said Wednesday.
Nex Benedict was pronounced dead Feb. 8, one day after being injured in an altercation inside an Owasso High School bathroom. A summary autopsy report concluded the 16-year-old died of toxicity from diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, and fluoxetine, an anti-depression medication. The medical examiner ruled the teen died by suicide, and that the full report would be released in about 10 business days.
The findings cap weeks of speculation over how the teen died, but many questions remain unanswered about the fight that preceded Nex’s death.
Nex had been bullied in the past over their gender identity, which did not align with societal stereotypes. Nex, a descendant of the Choctaw Nation, used the pronouns he, him, they and them, friends and relatives have said.
Jacob Biby, a lawyer for the teen’s family did not immediately return messages regarding the medical examiner’s conclusions.
In the past, family members said they were troubled by the basic facts of what happened, even while they were waiting for more information.
“While at Owasso High School, Nex was attacked and assaulted in a bathroom by a group of other students,” the family said in a statement released by Biby. “A day later, the Benedicts’ beautiful child lost their life.”
Police are separately investigating what led up to the fight in the school bathroom, including whether the teen was targeted in an act of gender-based violence.
Federal civil rights investigators in the U.S. Department of Education have also said they will look into allegations that the school failed to adequately address past instances of sex-based bullying.
More: What we know about death of Oklahoma teen Nex Benedict after beating in school bathroom
Nex told a school resource officer that the bathroom fight started because a group of girls they did not know were making fun of the way the teen and their friends dressed and laughed. Police released a recording of the conversation captured by the officer’s body camera.
Their death has led to national scrutiny over the safety of transgender and gay children in Oklahoma, with particular criticism focused on rhetoric espoused by state Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters. He promoted a new state rule that requires schools to get approval from the state Board of Education before changing a child’s gender in official records.
More than 350 organizations and public figures signed a letter calling for Walters to be removed. Vice President Kamala Harris and Education Secretary Miguel Cardona have both spoken out in response to Nex’s death.
Owasso school officials have refused to disclose whether the school had received past reports involving the bullying of Nex. District spokesman Brock Crawford said all reports of bullying are investigated and denied allegations that any such reports were mishandled. He said school officials will cooperate with the federal investigation.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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