Nex Benedict, a non-binary high school student from Owasso, Oklahoma, died on February 8, 2024, after being assaulted by classmates in the school bathroom.
The 16-year-old was reportedly beaten and suffered severe head injuries, which led to a cardiac arrest the next day.
According to the deceased mother, Sue Benedict, who spoke to The Independent, her child had been bullied since the beginning of the 2023 school year, shortly after a new legislation was signed by Oklahoma’s Governor, Kevin Stitt, which required students to only use bathrooms that align with the gender indicated on their birth certificates.
She said that Nex, who identified as gender fluid and used they/them pronouns, was constantly harassed and threatened by other students for expressing their identity.
On February 7th, the deceased was attacked by three older girls in the girls’ bathroom at Owasso High School. The Independent was informed by Sue Benedict that Nex had bruises on their face and eyes, while also having scratches on the back of their head.
She mentioned that the school staff did not call an ambulance for Nex, who could not walk to the nurse on their own. Instead, Nex’s grandmother took them to the hospital, where they were treated and discharged.
The next day, Nex collapsed in their living room and was rushed to the hospital again, where they were pronounced dead that evening. The cause of death was determined to be a cardiac arrest due to complications from brain trauma.
Nex Benedict’s death has been met with a lot of outrage and grief among the LGBTQ+ community and their allies, who demand justice and accountability for the perpetrators and the school officials.
Freedom Oklahoma, an LGBTQ+ advocacy group, said in a statement that Benedict’s death was a result of:
“Being the target of physical and emotional harm because of who Nex was. This harm is absolutely related to the rhetoric and policies that are commonplace at the Oklahoma Legislature, the State Department of Education, and the Governor’s office, with regard to dehumanizing 2STGNC+ people.”
The group pointed out that the state superintendent of education, Ryan Walters, had recently proposed an emergency rule that would prevent students from changing the gender listed on their school records, and that he had appointed Chaya Raichik, the operator of the Libs of TikTok account, which posts anti-LGBTQ+ content, to the state’s library advisory committee.
The Owasso Police Department (OPD) said in a statement that they were notified by the hospital about the incident on February 7th, and that they were conducting a thorough investigation. No charges have been filed against anyone involved in the incident, as the OPD is awaiting the autopsy report and toxicology results.
A GoFundMe page was set up to help the Benedict family with funeral expenses and legal fees, which has raised over $50,000 as of February 21st, 2024.