Nex Benedict, an Oklahoma adolescent, got into a fight the day before they passed away, but no charges will be brought against him, the Tulsa County district attorney announced on Thursday.
On February 7, Benedict, a member of the 2SLGBTQ group, got into a violent altercation with a number of other kids in the Owasso High School restroom.
2SLGBTQ Student Involved in Altercation at Owasso High School
Benedict committed suicide on February 8, according to a summary of the autopsy report that the state’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner published last week. The complete report will be made available on March 27.
According to Kunzweiler, the medical examiner’s findings mentioned that while superficial injuries related to the struggle were evident, none of them contributed to or ended in death. He claimed that any evidence of an internal injury that caused death was not discovered during the examination.
In light of Kunzweiler’s ruling, the Benedict family’s attorneys have not yet spoken.
GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis issued a statement in response to the announcement of the DA’s decision.
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Nex Benedict and Indigenous 2STGNC+ Students
The lives of Nex Benedict and other Indigenous and 2STGNC+ (two spirit, transgender, and gender nonconforming) students are not valued by Oklahoman leaders, as they have repeatedly demonstrated.
“Everyone has failed Nex Benedict and failed us all,” Ellis said, ranging from Superintendent Walters and Owasso High School to the state Medical Examiner’s Office, which hasn’t been recognized since 2009, the District Attorney, and the Owasso Police Department.
The individuals who got into the brawl, according to Kunzweiler, were young people who had been antagonizing each other in the days before.
The fight lasted less than a minute, according to witness testimony, and Benedict doused two females in water in the restroom after comments were directed about how Benedict laughed.
A video previously released by the Owasso Police Department showed Benedict saying that they had sprayed water on students who were making fun of the way they and their buddies dressed and laughed during a hospital police interview hours after the altercation.
According to his relatives, Benedict identified as nonbinary and used the pronouns they/them. Two Spirit, an all-encompassing word used to characterize a third gender in Native and Indigenous communities, is included in 2SLGBTQ. Their mother, Sue Benedict, is a recognized member of the Choctaw Nation.
Following Benedict’s passing, discussions have focused on anti-LGBTQ bullying and violence, with Benedict’s family demanding an investigation and resolution regarding the bullying they claim the student endured at school.
The family urged lawmakers and school authorities to come together to prevent any other family from having to suffer through the heartache now borne by Nex’s loved ones after the autopsy report summary was made public last week.
“Changes that aim to eradicate bullying and hate, and establish school environments based on the principles of respect, inclusivity, and grace, are the kinds of reforms that all involved should be able to rally behind,” the family said in a statement issued through their attorneys.
In response to a complaint about these issues from the Human Rights Campaign, the Department of Education launched an inquiry into Owasso Public Schools.It has been stated by the school system that bullying “in any form is unacceptable.”
The school district previously issued a statement saying, “We take reports of bullying very seriously and have policies and procedures in place to address such behavior.”
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