What we know about the death of a non-binary student in Oklahoma
The death of a 16-year-old non-binary student after an altercation in the girls’ bathroom of an Oklahoma high school has drawn national attention and outrage from gay and transgender rights groups who say the student was bullied because of his gender identity.
Nex Benedict, who often used the pronouns they and them and told family members they did not see themselves as strictly male or female, died in early February, a day after the altercation with three girls at Owasso High School. Details about what happened and what exactly caused Nex’s death were unclear, but in a police interview video released on February 24, Nex said they “blacked out” while being slammed onto the bathroom floor.
Police said the case is still under investigation.
Nex’s death and the circumstances surrounding it have put school officials and law enforcement under scrutiny. There has been an outpouring of grief across the country, especially from the LGBTQ community, and a renewed focus on the spread of policies that restrict the rights of gay and transgender people.
Here’s what we know so far:
What happened prior to Nex’s death?
The altercation took place on February 7. Owasso Police Department said in a statement on February 20 that a report was only made to the police after Nex was taken to a hospital by family members later that same day.
At that point, a school employee went to the hospital, police said. Nex was discharged and went home, but was rushed back to the hospital by doctors the next day and died there, police said.
On February 24, police released a video of Nex’s interview at the hospital on the day of the altercation, which provided the most complete account yet of what happened.
Nex said in the interview that three girls hit them after Nex poured water on the girls for making fun of them and their friend. Nex said the girls had previously mocked Nex and their friends “because of the way we dress.”
“We laughed,” Nex said. “And they had said something like, ‘Why are they laughing like that?’ They were talking about us in front of us.”
“Then all three of them came at me,” Nex added. According to Sue Benedict, their grandmother and guardian, at one point Nex hit their heads on the bathroom floor.
Nex went to the hospital and came home that day. The next day, Nex collapsed at home and was rushed back to hospital, where they were pronounced dead, Ms Benedict said.
Officials also released surveillance video from the school on the day of the altercation, showing students, including Nex: enter the bathroom and walking Nex separately with an employee through the corridors after the confrontation.
Several details, including Nex’s exact cause of death, remain unknown.
One of the biggest questions that remains unanswered is how exactly Nex died.
On February 21, police said preliminary autopsy results showed Nex “did not die as a result of trauma.” The state medical examiner’s office has not yet made public its report on the autopsy and toxicology results.
It is also unclear whether Nex was beaten because of their gender identity. Advocates for nonbinary and transgender students have said Oklahoma’s gender policy has led to more reports of confrontations in schools.
And questions remain about why school officials did not contact police or other officials after the altercation.
In a rack on Feb. 20, the Owasso School District suggested there had been “speculation and misinformation” about the circumstances surrounding the altercation, which they said lasted less than two minutes before it was broken up by other students, “along with a staff member.” The school said all students involved “walked to the assistant principal’s office and nurse’s office on their own.”
Oklahoma has several laws that limit the rights of transgender people.
The incident has renewed scrutiny on anti-transgender laws in Oklahoma.
The state has several laws that restrict the rights of transgender people, including one that prohibits students from using bathrooms that do not correspond to their sex at birth. Another law explicitly prohibits gender-neutral markings on birth certificates. Oklahoma also prohibits minors from receiving gender transition care.
This year, the state Legislature is considering a bill to ban residents from changing their gender designation on birth certificates, and another bill to require public schools to recognize that gender is an “immutable biological trait” and ban people from using names or pronouns that differ from their birth certificates.
The laws are part of a nationwide effort by conservatives to restrict the rights of gay and transgender people. Statehouses across the country have been consumed by fighting over laws governing them, with at least 23 states passing bans on gender transition care for minors.
The state superintendent defended his stance on gender, while LGBTQ advocates blamed him for creating a “hostile environment.”
Oklahoma Public Schools Superintendent Ryan Walters has remained steadfast in his anti-transgender rhetoric since taking on the role in 2022. Mr. Walters remained steadfast in his stance after the incident, and in his first interview since the death of Nex, he told The Times that he does not believe non-binary or transgender people exist.
“You always treat individuals with dignity and respect because they are made in God’s image,” Mr Walters said. “But that doesn’t change the truth.”
Meanwhile, supporters of LGBTQ rights have responded to Nex’s death with anger and fear, saying such restrictive gender policies were harmful.
“Ryan Walters has created a devastatingly hostile environment for trans, two-spirit and gender nonconforming students,” said Nicole McAfee, executive director of Freedom Oklahoma, which advocates for transgender and gay rights.
Transgender students said classmates have seen the rhetoric of officials like Mr. Walters as permission to harass and bully them.
“There are a lot of feelings of helplessness,” said Hali, a transgender girl in high school who asked that her last name not be used for fear she could be targeted by anti-transgender activists. “You always have a little fear that you could be attacked, that you could be one of the victims.”
J. David Goodman And Edgar Sandoval reporting contributed.