#Owasso Police Department

[petnews2day]

Green Country Man Calls For Accountability After Off-Duty Owasso Officer Shoots, Kills His Dog

New Post has been published on https://petn.ws/ReAQK

Green Country Man Calls For Accountability After Off-Duty Owasso Officer Shoots, Kills His Dog

A Green Country man is heartbroken after he says his dog was shot and killed by an off-duty Owasso police officer by their homes near Turley. That officer says the dog was on his property and attacking his cat. Jeremy Geiger says his dog Buddy Boy was an 18-month-old Saint Bernard mix. He says Buddy […]

See full article at https://petn.ws/ReAQK #DogNews #BuddyBoy, #JeremyGeiger, #MikeDenton, #OPD, #OwassoPoliceDepartment, #TCSO, #TulsaCounty, #TulsaCountySheriffSOffice, #Turley

[arlh0e]

The situation with the Owasso Public School district and the Owasso Police Department regarding the death of Nex Benedict is nothing short of fucking rage provoking.

A 16 year old non-binary child was brutally beaten in their high school’s bathroom (which they were forced to use because of Oklahoma legislation requiring that trans students use the restrooms coinciding with the gender assigned to them at birth) by THREE girls for over two minutes before other students and a singular school faculty member managed to pull these girls off of them.

They had their head repeatedly smashed into the floor. For over two minutes. Their face was covered in cuts and bruises and they were unable to walk without assistance following this attack.

Nex was suspended for several days for engaging in a “fight”. (Btw 3 to 1 is NOT a fight, thats called getting jumped.)

After seeing the schools nurse, Nex was denied the option to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance as it was deemed “unnecessary” but it was suggested that a guardian took them to get checked out if they were concerned about Nex’s injuries.

Nex was then taken to the hospital where they were discharged, but were then rushed back to said hospital the next morning, where they were pronounced dead.

The Owasso Public School district has stated that because Nex died the following morning and not the night of the attack, that the attack is unrelated and did not cause the death of this child.

The Owasso Police Department claims that they cannot release the autopsy report to the public but that “A complete autopsy was performed and indicated that the decedent did not die as a result of trauma.” It has been implied that Nex died of natural causes or from an underlying medical condition. Less than 24 hours after having their head brutally and repeatedly smashed into a bathroom floor for over 2 minutes.

I don’t know about you guys, but I personally am beyond sick and fucking tired of watching republican politicians be so loud about how they’re “protecting children” and then turning their backs on trans kids and believing what is probably the laziest cover up of a non-binary child being brutally beaten to death while they were AT SCHOOL.

And what makes this even worse is that according to the Benedict family, Nex had been telling them about how they were being bullied at school and that they felt unsafe. They had told the school that they were being bullied and they felt unsafe. The school had been given every opportunity to neutralize the problem and prevent this very situation and chose to do nothing, and that negligence caused the death of a student. And they have the audacity to claim that Nex’s blood is not on their hands and that they “do not tollerate violence or bullying of any kind” and “are taking the situation very seriously”.

Nex Benedict was brutally beaten to death in a school bathroom and Oklahoma schools, law enforcement, and legislative officials are doing nothing about it.

Nex Benedict. Say their fucking name.

Attached is the link to the go fund me started by Nex’s mother. Warning, in the description, They are deadnamed and misgendered, however this was remedied in an edit lower down on the page, where their mother states that they will be addressed properly on their headstone.

[renthony]

From the article:

Nex Benedict, who was Two Spirit/gender non-conforming and used he/they pronouns according to his friends (as confirmed in this NBC interview), died on 8 February, one day after telling his family they had been involved in a physical altercation in the toilets at Owasso High School. Owasso Public Schools have faced criticism for not reporting the fight to police or seeking emergency medical treatment for Nex Benedict in the aftermath of the altercation. According to a letter sent by the US Department of Education to the LGBTQ+ not-for-profit organisation Human Rights Campaign’s President Kelley Robinson, the department is intending to open an investigation into Owasso Public Schools’ – in the words of HRC – “failure to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment that may have contributed to the tragic death of Nex Benedict (he/they), a 16-year-old 2STGNC+ (Two Spirit, transgender, or gender nonconforming+) teen of Choctaw heritage.”

[magz]

(Read the rest in link)

Some article excerpts:

Ally said Nex primarily went by he/him pronouns at school but also used they/them pronouns, which Nex's family also used. Several other friends said Nex preferred he/him pronouns.

The Owasso Police Department said in a statement Wednesday that preliminary information from an autopsy report shows Nex’s death wasn’t the result of trauma. A toxicology exam is still pending, and an official autopsy will be released later.

The department released a series of videos Friday that offer a glimpse into the day before Nex’s death, including body camera video from a police officer’s interview with Nex, in which he described how three students “jumped” him after he threw water on them because they were bullying him and his friend.

[...]

Tyler Wrynn, who was one of Nex’s teachers at the Owasso 8th Grade Center, told NBC News ahead of the vigil that Nex wasn’t on his roster but that “he and a plethora of queer kids were always in my room” because they knew Wrynn offered "a safe space.”

“Nex was a fiery kid,” Wrynn said. “He would light up a room and jump to defend any of his friends if they were getting picked on.”

(Attendees hold candles and leave notes at the vigil for Nex Benedict on Sunday.)

Wrynn said at the vigil that his favorite memories of Nex happened every day when he went out for bus duty after school. Nex would yell across the campus “I’m gonna fight you” and challenge Wrynn over “cartoonishly absurd things,” [...]

Robin Gray, 16, said he dated Nex on and off, and he started his speech at the vigil by clarifying how Nex identified.

“I want to start off by saying that Nex was transgender, and he used he/him pronouns,” Gray said. “He was so much more than his transness.”

Gray said one of his favorite memories of Nex was the first time Nex cooked for him. He made Gray wings with a variety of spices, and the next morning he made pancakes.

Spencer, who went by only his first name at the vigil, said that he was Nex’s partner and that Nex helped him come out as gay to his parents.

“He made everything easier,” Spencer said. “He kept energy levels high. He would always keep the room in a good mood. He was always one of the brightest kids in the room, whether he would smile or not.”

(Anna Richardson, a mother of an Owasso High School student, helped organize a vigil after her son came to her asking if they could do something to acknowledge Nex Benedict’s death and honor their life in the community.)

[nitrosplicer]

The bullying had started in earnest at the beginning of the 2023 school year, a few months after Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt signed a bill that required public school students to use bathrooms that matched the sex listed on their birth certificates.

A few weeks ago, on 7 February, the bullying allegedly erupted in violence when Nex suffered severe head injuries during a “physical altercation” at Owasso High School, according to the Owasso Police Department.

Sue Benedict told The Independent she was called to the school that day to find Nex badly beaten with bruises over their face and eyes, and with scratches on the back of their head.

Nex told her that they and another transgender student at Owasso High School had been in a fight with three older girls in a girls bathroom. Nex was knocked to the ground during the fight and hit their head on the floor, according to their mother.

Ms Benedict said she was furious that the school had failed to call an ambulance or the police. She said the school then informed her Nex was being suspended for two weeks.

She took Nex to the Bailey Medical Center in Owasso for treatment. They spoke to a police school resource officer at the medical facility and were discharged. That night, Nex went to bed with a sore head and eventually fell asleep while listening to music, Ms Benedict said.

On 8 February, Nex was getting ready to go to Tulsa with Ms Benedict for an appointment when they collapsed in the family living room. Ms Benedict called an ambulance, and EMT officers arrived to find Nex had stopped breathing. Nex was declared dead that evening in hospital.

[bnyrbt]

The leader of the Choctaw Nation is joining an outpouring of support for the family of a 16-year-old student whose death is being investigated in Oklahoma.

Nex Benedict passed away on February 8, following a physical altercation at a high school the day prior. Chief Gary Batton confirmed that the young student’s mother is enrolled with the Choctaw Nation.

“The loss of a child is always difficult for a community and a family to accept,” Batton said in a statement on Wednesday.

“Although Nex does not appear to be affiliated with our tribe, their mother, Sue Benedict, is a registered member,” Batton continued. “Nex’s death weighs heavily on the hearts of the Choctaw people. We pray Nex’s family and their loved ones will find comfort,” Batton concluded.

Nex’s death has directed widespread attention to Oklahoma, where Republican officials have increasingly adopted policies hindering the rights and freedoms of Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ people. Sue Benedict has embraced her child’s gender identity and has vowed to donate funds to other youth experiencing some of the same struggles.

Two Spirit and LGBTQ+ advocates incorrectly identified Nex as being a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, whose reservation borders that of the Choctaw Nation. Cherokee Chief Hoskin Jr. expressed support for the Benedict family on Tuesday.

“As Chief, the health and welfare of all children within the Cherokee Nation Reservation is of concern,” Hoskin said in a statement.

Nex attended Owasso High School in Owasso, located on the Cherokee Reservation. Local authorities are investigating the death and have said they will forward the results of the investigation to prosecutors in Tulsa County for potential action.

Hoskin has offered the support of the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service as the investigation continues. The Owasso Police Department indicated in a statement on Tuesday that interviews would be taking place “over the course of the next two weeks.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R), a Republican who happens to be a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, has not spoken publicly about the death. He has repeatedly derided efforts to address diversity, equity and inclusion as discriminatory.

But a senior official with President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has weighed in. White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre offered a message of support from the administration in a post on social media.

“Every young person deserves to feel safe and supported at school,” Jean-Pierre wrote on her official government account. “Our hearts are with Nex Benedict’s family, their friends, and their entire school community in the wake of this horrific tragedy.”

“For many LGBTQI+ students across the country, this may feel personal and deeply painful,” Jean-Pierre continued. “There is always someone you can talk to if you’re going through a hard time. Dial 988 and press 3 to reach a counselor dedicated to serving LGBTQI+ young people.

According to the 2023 LGBTQ+ Youth Report, a project of Human Rights Campaign and the University of Connecticut, more than half of transgender and gender-expansive youth feel unsafe at school. In particular, nearly a third said they feel unsafe in school restrooms.

“All students, including trans and gender-expansive students like Nex, have the right to feel safe and protected while attending school,” Tori Cooper, the campaign director of Community Engagement for the Transgender Justice Initiative at the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement on Wednesday. “That Nex was only 16 years old compounds this tragic injustice and they should have lived to see a fulfilling and authentic life.”

The 2023 study was based on a survey of nearly 3,000 LGBTQ+ youth ages 13-18 nationwide, according to the organization. Some 0.6 percent of respondents identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native.

According to Owasso Public Schools, a “physical altercation” took place in a bathroom at the high school on February 7. The Owasso police responded to a local hospital on the same day of the incident.

Police then said they were informed that a “juvenile” was taken back to a hospital on February 8, the same day as Nex’s passing.

[planetofsnarfs]

When a child dies – any child – the loss is incalculable. There’s the loss of a son or daughter, a sibling, a cousin, a best friend. There’s a loss of a life, snuffed out before its time. The loss of a future – who knows what that child could have accomplished? 

And when that child dies, particularly under horrific circumstances, there is a loss of innocence for all of us, regardless of whether we knew that child or not. Among the first impulses for anyone with a heart who wishes to protect other children is to find a way – any way – to prevent a loss like that from happening again.

The hyper-cruel antithesis of this is what’s going on right now in Oklahoma in the wake of 16-year-old Nex Benedict’s death. As we first reported, Nex, a transgender sophomore at Owasso High School, was brutally beaten by other students in a school bathroom and died the following day. The incident has drawn national attention – but not nearly enough, in my opinion – with many attributing the violent act to a culture of transphobia they say is being stoked by state officials.

Days before Nex’s death, The Oklahoman reported that there were a whopping 50 bills in the state legislature targeting LGBTQ+ people. The state ranks 48th in both education and health care. Don’t you think the state legislature and state government officials have better things to do than sow queer hate among its citizens? 

One of those state officials is the superintendent of public instruction, Ryan Walters. Even before Nex’s death, Walters was virulently anti-LGBTQ+. More than 350 LGBTQ+ organizations, activists, and celebrities urged his removal from office after Nex died, saying he has encouraged “a climate of hate and bigotry” throughout his career. Nex’s death didn’t stop him from fanning the flames of hate.

Walters poured salt into a festering wound, telling The New York Times, “There's not multiple genders. There’s two. That’s how God created us.” He added that he did not believe that nonbinary or transgender people exist and that the state would not let students use names or pronouns other than those matching their birth records.

It seems the goal of the official responses around Nex’s death has been to protect those who bullied and beat him. Police were quick to release initial reports saying that Nex "did not die as a result of trauma."

It’s important to note that school officials did not reprimand, sanction, or report to authorities the students who critically harmed Nex. “No report of the incident was made to the Owasso Police Department prior to the notification at the hospital,” Chief Dan Yancey told The Advocate.

The police jumped out over their skis with their initial statement, which raised eyebrows. In fact, Sue Benedict, who was Nex’s adoptive mother, told the news site Popular Information that a statement released by the Owasso Police was a “big cover."

Parents and other members of the public expressed outrage over how the school was handling the response to Nex’s death, particularly pointing out that protecting queer kids and making sure that it didn’t happen again was not a priority for the school board. “Apparently people don’t feel safe here. I can’t imagine why at all,” public commenter Walter Masterson said at the first Owasso school board meeting after Nex's death. “A more 'woke' school board would see the death of a child and work to make sure it never happens again. Not this board.” 

Then, along comes the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Oklahoma, which concluded that Nex died by suicide. The medical examiner’s one-page summary report identifies the cause of death as combined toxicity from diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and fluoxetine (Prozac). Noticeably absent from the report were all the injuries Nex incurred the day before.

My colleague Christopher Wiggins was once a paramedic. When he saw the cause of death was attributed to two very common medications, he decided to investigate. He’s a damn good reporter, and his suspicions regarding the report were justified. He reached out to two toxicology experts, who first made it clear that they weren’t privy to Nex’s autopsy report; however, they told Christopher that the risk of death from these medications, especially when used as directed, is extraordinarily low.

In response to the coroner’s report, GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis said in a statement, “Nex’s family accurately notes how the report released this week does not reflect the full picture of what happened to Nex and continues to urge accountability of those who failed to keep Nex and all students in Oklahoma safe from bullying, harassment, assault, and most brutally, death.”

Now you have this full picture of all those involved, coupled with a backdrop of hate. Taken in its totality, the reaction to Nex’s death shows that a corrupt, do-nothing clique is part of a deceptive lie and cover-up that shows they did nothing, zero, zilch to protect the life of Nex or any child like him. The authorities' only goal is to protect the perpetrators, not just those who attacked Nex but all those who will be emboldened to beat others just like Nex in the future in school bathrooms throughout the state.

The grossly deceptive response to Nex’s death makes the state of Oklahoma a breeding ground for the bullying – and for beating to injury or death – of LGBTQ+ kids. What the state is doing goes against all we know about protecting vulnerable children. 

If the state legislature pushes hate bills, if state officials spew hate, if local authorities and administrators cover up hate, then you create this breeding ground. You create an atmosphere where that hate explodes, like it did with Nex, and you use hate to demean the victim and ennoble the haters.

Suicide rates among LGBTQ+ youth are astronomically high. If Nex ultimately did commit suicide -- and this initial autopsy report does not make a convincing case -- then Oklahoma officials still deserve to be held accountable. Oklahoma's LGBTQ+ suicide prevention line saw a 230 percent increase in calls after the cause of Nex's death was revealed by the coroner. As transgender activist Ari Drennan noted, in a climate of anti-trans hate, "every trans suicide is a murder." 

But if Nex's death was ruled a suicide to avoid addressing anti-LGBTQ+ bullying, Oklahoma officials have crossed a line. Using suicide as a cover, as a deception, should be a crime.

It is worth repeating the ominous words of Walters that nonbinary or transgender people don’t exist. That means, in Walters’s world, Nex never existed. And if Nex never existed, how would Walters and other officials associated with him be able to objectively investigate Nex’s death?

All of which means that Nex’s autopsy report is a lie and a facade. Null and void. Plain and simple. Nex and his family deserve so much more, and we need to keep protesting loudly until we get the truth.

[smashing-yng-man]

In released body cam footage from the Owasso Police Department, Nex—dressed in a black t-shirt and cargo pants, their dark hair cut short—tells the officer “I got jumped” and that they didn’t know the three freshman girls who hurt them until that week. “They just decided to up and start messing with you?” the officer asks.

“Yeah, because of the way that we dress,” Nex replied. 

According to Nex, the girls had made fun of the way Nex and their friends were laughing. In response, Nex threw water on the girls from a plastic water bottle, Nex told the officer. Then, they say, the girls “came at me.” Nex continues: “They grabbed onto my hair, I grabbed onto them. I threw one them into a paper towel dispenser. Then they got my legs out from under me, got me on the ground, and started beating the shit out of me. And then my friends tried to jump in and help, and I’m not sure, I blacked out.”

[tieflingkisser]

Fight hasn’t been ruled out as cause of Nex Benedict’s death, police say

A police spokesman said previous statements that Nex Benedict didn’t die as a result of “trauma” didn’t rule out the fight as a contributing factor.

OWASSO, Okla. — Authorities haven’t ruled out that a fight at school could have contributed to the death of Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old transgender student whose case has drawn international media attention. Owasso police said in a statement last week that “preliminary information” from the medical examiner’s office indicated that Benedict “did not die as a result of trauma.” The police department added that further comments on Benedict’s cause of death were pending until toxicology results are released. Some community members and others on social media took the department’s statement to mean that any potential injuries Benedict sustained from the fight didn’t cause his death. However, Lt. Nick Boatman, a police spokesperson, told NBC News on Tuesday that that wasn’t what the statement was intended to mean. “We did not interpret that in any way,” he said of the word “trauma,” which he said was used by the medical examiner’s office. He said that the medical examiner’s office didn’t say it had ruled out the fight as causing or contributing to Benedict’s death and that “people shouldn’t make assumptions either way.”

[illnessfaker]

According to the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Crime, Security, and Law: “stochas­tic terrorism involves ‘the use of mass media to provoke random acts of ideolog­i­cally motivated violence that are statistically predictable but individually unpre­dict­able.’” Self-described stochastic terrorist Chaya Raichik, owner of the social media account Libs of TikTok, has become infamous for her viral harassment and moral panic campaigns targeting minorities— with an emphasis on vilifying LGBTQ+ existence. Since 2021, Raichik’s posts targeting advocates for and members of the LGBTQ+ community have been followed with a deluge of violent death threats (including lynching threats against the Los Angeles Unified School District).

Children’s hospitals and school districts in the crosshairs of Raichik and her devoted fans have collectively suffered over 20 bomb threats so far, according to various law enforcement agencies. Detective Hanna Dvorak of the Coralville Police Department, who investigated one of these bomb threats against a junior high school in her city, told her superiors that “it appears this all stems from a post made earlier this week by Chaya Raichik and her ‘Libs of TikTok’ account.”

This month, a non-binary 16-year-old student at Owasso High School was brutally murdered in the girl’s restroom. According to local news outlets and family, Nex Benedict was beaten by three older female students. The mother of Benedict’s best friend told KJRH News that "one of the girls was pretty much repeatedly beating [Benedict’s] head across the floor.” Reports say Benedict was unable to take themselves to the nurse’s office after a teacher finally intervened in the brutal assault. For reasons that remain unclear, Owasso High School refused to call an ambulance for 16-year-old Nex Benedict, who died from their injuries in the hospital the next day. A motive for this killing has not been shared by law enforcement, but we know that schools in Oklahoma have been specifically pushing violent eliminationist rhetoric against transgender and non-binary youth— a fact exemplified by the state’s hiring of Chaya Raichik following her incitements of terror against the state’s schools over LGBTQ+ rights.

[...]

According to their obituary, Nex Benedict loved “nature and caring for cats” (especially their own cat Zeus) and “enjoyed a variety of pastimes such as watching the Walking Dead, reading, and playing Ark and Minecraft.” They will be sorely missed by friends, family, and the LGBTQ+ community.

feb. 18th, 2024

none of us are safe anymore are we

[wekny]

Oklahoma banned trans students from bathrooms. Now a bullied student is dead after a fight

Ms. Benedict expressed anger at the school for not calling an ambulance or the police when Nex, her adopted grandchild, collapsed. The school informed her that Nex was suspended for two weeks. After taking Nex to the medical center, they were discharged but later collapsed at home and died. The Owasso Police Department is investigating, waiting for toxicology reports. LGBTQ advocates link Nex's death to anti-trans rhetoric, particularly from social media influencer Chaya Raichik, known for posting inflammatory videos. The family, accepting of Nex's gender fluidity, wants justice for the alleged assault. Nex, a straight-A student, faced bullying, and the family criticizes the school's response. The incident is connected to a larger debate on LGBTQ issues, with concerns about harmful rhetoric and threats. Nex's funeral was held, and a GoFundMe aims to support LGBTQ anti-bullying organizations in their memory.

Sauce: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nex-benedict-dead-oklahoma-b2499332.html personal note: more reason why Alt-Right Shithole Hatespeech Groups like Libs of TikTok and GaysAgainstGroomers should be banned and charged with assistance of Murder.

[smallsies]

Nex Benefict's death was ruled a suicide.

The full autopsy report will be publicly released March 27, but there is currently a Facebook post from the Owasso Police Department and several articles like the one linked above citing the results of the report from the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner's Office.

Regardless of the reported cause of death - the system still failed Nex. Queer students are not safe in Oklahoma Public Schools, and the district's & state's attempts to save face amidst a tragedy they are responsible for is abhorrent.

Students are dying because the isolation and exclusion of LGBT students in Oklahoma (and in the south) is encouraged and normalized. There is a callous disregard for life that's become systemic within the region under the guise of "traditionality" and the "small-town mindset". Communities dehumanize anyone different than them, to the point that students then found it reasonable to attack someone (that was only in that location due to state legislation to begin with.)

I grew up in and graduated from a small OK town. Almost nobody there was queer, (or ever admitted it publicly,) because it was just asking for trouble, awful as it sounds. I kept my head down and my mouth shut, and I was still lucky to make it out. Even without being bullied for my identity, I struggle with my mental health even today because of the way "people like me" were talked about back home, and the isolation and silence it forces you into.

I think this is the first time people in and outside of OK are actually realizing and acknowledging how deep-seated their hatred has become. The way you talk about differences, the way you talk about identity, particularly transness, will be learned by your children. It will be internalized and reflected and it gets students killed, and will continue to do so unless something changes.

Support LGBT youth in Oklahoma, do not let Nex's death be swept under the rug in the name of keeping the peace. Trans people have always been in OK and they will always be in OK. We deserve safety.

[mariacallous]

Last month, nonbinary teenager Nex Benedict was found dead at homethe day after an altercation at school, where they were attacked by a group of their classmates in a restroom.

Benedict, a 16-year-old Indigenous person who used both he/him and they/them pronouns according to friends and family, had been targeted by bullies at their Oklahoma high school because of their gender identity, according to Sue Benedict, who has been identified in various media reports as either Nex Benedict's mother or their grandmother and guardian.

"I didn't know how bad it had gotten," Sue Benedict told The Independent.

Though the school nurse determined that ambulance service was not required following the attack on Benedict, it was recommended that they "visit a medical facility for further examination," Owasso, Okla., police said.

Sue Benedict told Public Radio Tulsa that she took Nex to the hospital for treatment for injuries sustained in the fight, but body cam footage shows a police officer discouraging the family from filing a report, saying that it would open up the family to legal liability.

The officer added that it would be a shame for any of the students to have to deal with a criminal situation for "something so minuscule," though Benedict disclosed that they had experienced bullying for a full year prior to this attack.

The day after the incident, Benedict collapsed at home, and was later pronounced dead.

Owasso Public Schools released a statement to the community, writing, "The loss of a student, a member of the Ram Family and the Owasso community, is devastating," but said it would limit its statements "out of respect and for the confidentiality for all involved."

Following Benedict's death, community members held vigils, LGBTQ+ rights organizations issued statements, and many were left wondering: What happened to Nex Benedict?

Questions over the medical examiner's findings

According to the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's office, Benedict died by suicide.

"From the beginning of this investigation, Owasso Police observed many indications that this death was the result of suicide," the police department saidin a statement, with a summary autopsy report saying that Benedict died after consuming two different types of medication.

Many expressed their condolences following the alleged findings, including President Biden.

"Every young person deserves to have the fundamental right and freedom to be who they are, and feel safe and supported at school and in their communities," Biden said in a statement following the news, adding that Benedict, "a kid who just wanted to be accepted, should still be here with us today."

"In memory of Nex, we must all recommit to our work to end discrimination and address the suicide crisis impacting too many nonbinary and transgender children," the president added.

Rates of suicide are disproportionately high for transgender youth in comparison to their cisgender counterparts, but transgender people of color face even higher rates of suicide risk.

In a 2023 national survey on LGBTQ+ youth mental health by the Trevor Project, an LGBTQ+ anti-suicide organization, Native/Indigenous youth LGBTQ+ consistently reported the highest suicide risk among racial and ethnic groups, with nearly one in four Indigenous LGBTQ+ youth reporting attempts on their own lives.

But advocates, supporters, and even Benedict's own family have remained skeptical of the report, which is slated to be released in full within the next 10 days. The autopsy summary did not include the exact amounts of each medication found in Benedict's system.

"Rather than allow incomplete accounts to take hold and spread any further, the Benedicts feel compelled to provide a summary of those findings which have not yet been released by the Medical Examiner's office, particularly those that contradict allegations of the assault on Nex being insignificant," said a press release from the Benedict family attorneys.

The release also showed a section of the summary autopsy report, which reported that while Benedict did not sustain "lethal trauma," they did have multiple injuries to their head, neck and torso, which the lawyers say clearly shows "the severity of the assault."

"There is nothing in this one page document to explain why the medical examiner checked a box," said Sarah-Kate Ellis, president and CEO of GLAAD, on the decision to list suicide as Benedict's cause of death.

"Media must have learned by now that they need to continue to question what they get from law enforcement and government entities in Oklahoma that have so far failed to protect vulnerable students and responsibly provide any information that is critical for student safety," Ellis said.

Sue Benedict told The Independent that Nex started being bullied at school after Oklahoma's Republican governor, Kevin Stitt, signed a bill in 2022that forbade trans and nonbinary youth from using bathrooms concurrent with their gender identities.

In 2023, Stitt followed up the bathroom ban with a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth in the state, one of 87 anti-trans bills that passed in the U.S. last year, according to the Trans Legislation Tracker.

Just three months into the current year, 523 anti-trans bills have been introduced in state legislatures.

And trans youth report that these legal restrictions on their freedom are having direct impacts on their mental health.

According to the Trevor Project's survey,nearly one in three LGBTQ+ youth said their "mental health was poor most of the time or always due to anti-LGBTQ policies and legislation."

The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) said in a statement, "We must demand better from our elected officials and reject harmful anti-transgender legislation at the local, state and federal levels, while also considering every possible way to make ending this violence a reality."

What happens next?

On March 1, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) notified the Human Rights Campaign that in response to an HRC complaint filed around Benedict's death, the office would be investigating the Owasso public school district for potential violations of Title IX, which prevents discrimination based on sex, and Title II, which stipulates that schools must prevent bullying and harassment.

However, the timeline for the investigation is unknown.

"The goal of an OCR investigation is to determine whether an alleged civil rights violation took place and to decide what district reforms are appropriate based on what the investigation uncovered," Rachel Perera, a governance studies fellow at the Brookings Institution, wrote.

While the OCR can withdraw federal funding from a school district if the investigation finds violations of civil rights law, "enforcement actions are rare," added Perera in her written commentary.

The case could also potentially be referred to the Department of Justice for further action, but what will come out of the investigation and whether its findings will be escalated still remains to be seen.

Many are hoping that Benedict's death could spur further action that aims to deter bullying in schools.

"Reforms creating school environments that are built upon the pillars of respect, inclusion and grace, and aim to eliminate bullying and hate, are the types of change that all involved should be able to rally behind," said the Benedict family's counsel.

But Sue Benedict is still mourning her loss.

"I just want my child back," she said.

[pillsarchive]

I was just making breakfast, and I overheard the words "Nex Benedicts death ruled a suicide" from the tv in my living room. That fucking broke me. I was stuck between not believing it, outrage over the fact that they were driven to do something like that because of the fight, and anger over the coverage of this - it seemed like the news channel I was watching was trying to remove the responsibility of Nex's death from the girls who assaulted them in that bathroom.

I've done some reading, this post is just to clear up whats happening for everyone that's as confused and hurt as I was. Even if their death was a suicide, which is still yet to be determined, it wouldn't matter. Those kids still drove them to it - the transphobes that have spread this shit around enough for it to affect Nex this way should still be held accountable.

The article that's screenshotted here contains snippets of communications Popular Information had with Nex's mother, and quotes from an interview with Lieutenant Nick Boatman - a spokesperson for Owasso police.

Firstly, the cause of death HAS NOT BEEN officially determined yet,

The Owasso police dept has only released this information ahead of time to make it seem like the cause of death has been ruled already to get people off their ass

On this wiki article (and in the article I previously linked) it's made clear the medical examiner is still waiting for toxicology results, they haven't ruled out the fight as a contributing factor towards Nex's death. Nex's mother is going to hire an independent examiner because she's scared of their death being incorrectly determined in an effort to cover up or downplay the fact that their death WAS due to transphobic rhetoric, laws, and harassment.

Keep watching the Owasso police department, stay angry for Nex, make sure that their death doesn't just go away. Justice for Nex, protect trans youth, do your research.

[plethoraworldatlas]

LGBTQ advocates have been warning that the religious right's stoking of hatred and fury against people for simply being who they are leads to dire consequences. Tragically, they've been proven right yet again, this time in Oklahoma.

In February, Nex Benedict, a nonbinary student who used both they/them and he/him pronouns, was attacked and viciously beaten in the bathroom at Owasso High School by three students who had been bullying them over their appearance.

Nex died the next day.

There's a lot we still don't know about what happened, but there are clear signs that the attack wasn't taken as seriously as it should have been. After the assault, school officials didn't contact the police or even investigate.

Religious-right Oklahoma politicians have dramatically restricted the rights of trans and nonbinary people, putting youth like Nex at greater risk. Oklahoma School Superintendent Ryan Walters is quickly becoming one of the most notoriously anti-LGBTQ, Christian-nationalist officials in the country, recently describing trans students as dangerous people who "put our girls in jeopardy."

The state officials who passed these Christian-nationalist laws and mainstreamed dehumanizing rhetoric cannot be trusted to conduct a fair investigation of Nex's death. Let's speak out together as Christians, denounce the harm being done to LGBTQ youth in Jesus's hijacked name, and add our voices to the chorus asking the U.S. Departments of Justice and Education to investigate what happened to Nex.

Sign the petition