No charges will be brought against three Oklahoma girls whose fight with non-binary teen Bex Benedict in a school bathroom put them in hospital just a day before their death.
The death of the 16-year led to a storm of protest among LGBT activists who accused Owasso Public Schools of ignoring the bullying Nex endured in a state where students can only use bathrooms reserved for their biological sex.
But a state medical examiner concluded last week that a Nex intentionally killed themselves with a drug overdose, and Tulsa DA Steve Kunzweiler announced on Thursday that no crime had been committed.
‘I must be convinced — as is every prosecutor — that a judge or jury would be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed,’ Kunzweiler said.
‘From all the evidence gathered, this fight was an instance of mutual combat.’
The family of Nex Benedict who passed away a day after being attacked at school are disputing a medical examiner’s ruling the non binary teenager died by suicide
Tulsa DA Steve Kunzweiler announced on Thursday that no crime had been committed and no charges would be brought against the three girls that Nex fought against
The DA also revealed that police had found ‘brief notes, written by Benedict, which appeared to be related to the suicide’.
‘The precise contents of the suicide note are a personal matter which the family will have to address within the privacy of their own lives,’ he added.
Police bodycam footage showed Nex describing the attack just two hours later as they were interviewed by officers in hospital on February 7.
‘I got jumped at school,’ Nex told the officer.
‘They said something like “why do they laugh like that”, and they were talking about us, in front of us,’ Nex added. ‘So I went up and poured water on them and all three of them came at me.’
Nex was released from hospital but readmitted the following day after they began losing consciousness.
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s report said Benedict’s death was caused by a combined overdose of Diphenhydramine and Fluoxetine and ruled it a suicide.
But Nex’s relatives issued a statement following the partial release of the teen’s autopsy saying the full report shows the child suffered clear signs of ‘physical trauma’.
Oklahoma non-binary Nex Benedict reportedly died by suicide from a drug overdose, not from injuries sustained in a school fight, according to the medical examiner
Messages Nex sent to a family member after the fight, shared by Fox23
Hundreds of people attended a candlelit vigil for Nex and their family in the nearby city of Tulsa
People chant during a vigil for the death of Nex Benedict outside Stonewall Inn in New York
Their death became a rallying point for trans and LGBT activists across the country – and several vigils were organized to remember the student
‘The Benedicts feel compelled to provide a summary of those findings which have not yet been released by the Medical Examiner’s office,’ the family said through their attorney.
‘Particularly those that contradict the allegations of the assault on Nex being significant.
‘As outlined in the full report, the Medical Examiner found numerous areas of physical trauma over Nex’s body that evidence the severity of the assault.’
The case became a flashpoint in Oklahoma which has vigorously cracked down on LGBT rights and currently has more than 40 bills on the issue passing through the state legislature including 14 aimed at changing school policies.
The state’s schools’ superintendent Ryan Walters blamed ‘radical leftists’ for the backlash, insisting: ‘There’s not multiple genders. There’s two. That’s how God created us.’
‘I really see there’s a civil war going on, where the left is really fighting for the soul of our country,’ he added.
‘They are undermining the very principles that made this country great, our Judeo-Christian values and our traditions in this country.’
Oklahoma state senator Tom Woods sparked fury after referring to trans people as ‘filth’ as he was questioned about the teen’s death.
Insisting his ‘heart goes out’ to the family he told a community meeting that ‘I represent a constituency that doesn’t want that filth in Oklahoma’.
State senator Tom Woods (left) sparked fury after referring to trans people as ‘filth’ as he was questioned about the death’. The state’s schools’ superintendent Ryan Walters (right) blamed ‘radical leftists’ for the backlash
A walkout for Nex Benedict at Owasso High School on Monday, February 26
‘We are a religious state and we are going to fight it to keep that filth out of the state of Oklahoma because we are a Christian state – we are a moral state.’
Federal officials have opened an investigation into the school district and Kunzweiler conceded that a civil case against those involved could still go ahead.
‘Whether or not individuals may choose to seek legal counsel for remedies in the civil realm of the court system is a decision best left to them,’ he added.
‘The scope of those inquiries are not as limited as the question of criminal/delinquent conduct which I was asked to address in this case.’
