Nex Benedict family releases more autopsy details, noting severity of school fight injuries
Editor's note: If you or someone you know has suicidal thoughts, addictive tendencies, stress and other mental health issues, you can call or text 988, Oklahoma's Mental Health Hotline, or call 911.
The family of an Oklahoma teen whose death has gained national attention called on school administrators, lawmakers and others to end hate and bullying in schools Thursday.
Their remarks followed the release of a summary report by the state medical examiner that ruled Nex Benedict, 16, died by suicide last month. The news prompted President Joe Biden to say the country needs to a better job of protecting LGBTQ+ students from bullying and discrimination.
"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 changes that all involved should be able to rally behind," the teen's family said in a statement issued by attorney Jacob Biby.
More: Oklahoma teen Nex Benedict’s cause of death revealed in autopsy report
The Owasso High School sophomore died the day after a fight with other students in a school bathroom, raising questions about whether they were bullied or targeted because of their gender expansive identity. Benedict, a descendant of the Choctaw Nation, used the pronouns he, him, they and them, their friends and relatives have said.
In its latest statement, the Benedict family said it "felt compelled" to make public some additional details from the teen's full autopsy report, which has been released to them, that have not yet been disclosed by the Oklahoma chief medical examiner's office, which plans to issue its full report publicly later this month.
The family released what it says is a portion of the full autopsy report. The section, labeled "no lethal trauma," lists some bruises, cuts and other injuries on or near the teen's head and left hand, as well as injuries on their chest that a forensic pathologist determined were consistent with CPR performed by emergency medical technicians. The family said it believes that some of the other injuries "evidence the severity" of the altercation at school that preceded their death.
More: A month after Nex Benedict's death: Crisis calls, anti-LGBTQ+ both on the rise in Oklahoma
Nex was treated at a local hospital soon after the Feb. 7 incident and released later that day. They told a school resource officer that a group of girls they did not know had been antagonizing them and their friends because of the way they dress and laugh. “So I went up there and I poured water on them, and then all three of them came at me,” Nex said, explaining the water came from a water bottle.
Nex said the girls took them to the ground and were beating them when Nex blacked out.
The interview was recorded by the officer’s body camera. As Nex lay in the hospital bed, the officer explained Nex could also be facing assault charges because they squirted other students with water.
More: After Nex's death, former LGBTQ+ students say Owasso has troubling history of bullying
Dr. Ross Miller, a state forensic pathologist, wrote in a one-page summary report issued Wednesday that the teen died Feb. 8 of toxicity from diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, and fluoxetine, an anti-depression medication.
Owasso police interviewed the other students involved with the fight at school and plan to turn over their investigation into Nex's death to Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler, who declined to comment on the case until the medical examiner releases its full report later this month.
The Benedict family has said they are conducting their own investigation into the circumstances that led up to Nex's death. In an obituary, the teen's family recalled Nex's love of nature, art, video games and cats. Friends remembered Nex at a community vigil as a sweet, thoughtful and funny person who loved to cook.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Nex Benedict autopsy: Family releases additional details from full report
