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'''Nex Benedict''' ({{circa|2008}} – February 8, 2024) was a 16-year-old [[two-spirit]] American student of Choctaw ancestry, who died a day after an assault in their high school. They were beaten in the women's restroom at [[Owasso High School]] in [[Owasso, Oklahoma]]. Their death has not been proven as a result of the physical altercation, and an autopsy is still pending.<ref name="AdvocateWiggins20Feb">{{Cite magazine |title=Oklahoma transgender student dies after assault at school |url=https://www.advocate.com/news/transgender-student-death-raichik-walters |access-date=February 21, 2024 |magazine=[[The Advocate (magazine)|The Advocate]] |language=en |date=February 20, 2024 |last=Wiggins |first=Christopher}}</ref><ref name="IndependentHurley20Feb">{{Cite web |date=February 20, 2024 |title=Oklahoma banned trans students from bathrooms. Now a bullied student is dead |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nex-benedict-dead-oklahoma-b2499332.html |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=[[The Independent]] |language=en |last=Hurley |first=Bevan |archive-date=February 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220231802/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nex-benedict-dead-oklahoma-b2499332.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Benedict, who |
'''Nex Benedict''' ({{circa|2008}} – February 8, 2024) was a 16-year-old [[two-spirit]] American student of Choctaw ancestry, who died a day after an assault in their high school. They were beaten in the women's restroom at [[Owasso High School]] in [[Owasso, Oklahoma]]. Their death has not been proven as a result of the physical altercation, and an autopsy is still pending.<ref name="AdvocateWiggins20Feb">{{Cite magazine |title=Oklahoma transgender student dies after assault at school |url=https://www.advocate.com/news/transgender-student-death-raichik-walters |access-date=February 21, 2024 |magazine=[[The Advocate (magazine)|The Advocate]] |language=en |date=February 20, 2024 |last=Wiggins |first=Christopher}}</ref><ref name="IndependentHurley20Feb">{{Cite web |date=February 20, 2024 |title=Oklahoma banned trans students from bathrooms. Now a bullied student is dead |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nex-benedict-dead-oklahoma-b2499332.html |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=[[The Independent]] |language=en |last=Hurley |first=Bevan |archive-date=February 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220231802/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/nex-benedict-dead-oklahoma-b2499332.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Benedict, who was [[Non-binary gender|non-binary]] and traced their ancestry to the [[Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma]], had previously been bullied at school.<ref name="LABladeLevesque19Feb">{{cite news |url=https://www.losangelesblade.com/2024/02/19/oklahoma-non-binary-high-schooler-dies-after-physical-altercation/ |title=Oklahoma non-binary high schooler dies after physical altercation |last=Levesque |first=Brody |date=February 19, 2024 |work=[[Los Angeles Blade]] |access-date=February 21, 2024 |archive-date=February 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220051524/https://www.losangelesblade.com/2024/02/19/oklahoma-non-binary-high-schooler-dies-after-physical-altercation/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="FreedomOKFebStatement">{{cite web |title=Rest in power Nex Benedict |url=https://www.freedomoklahoma.org/news/nex-benedict |access-date=February 21, 2024 |website=Freedom Oklahoma |date=19 February 2024 |archive-date=February 20, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240220193942/https://www.freedomoklahoma.org/news/nex-benedict |url-status=live }}</ref> |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
Revision as of 11:50, 21 February 2024
Nex Benedict (c. 2008 – February 8, 2024) was a 16-year-old two-spirit American student of Choctaw ancestry, who died a day after an assault in their high school. They were beaten in the women's restroom at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma. Their death has not been proven as a result of the physical altercation, and an autopsy is still pending.[1][2] Benedict, who was non-binary and traced their ancestry to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, had previously been bullied at school.[3][4]
Death
On February 7, 2024, Benedict reportedly received severe head injuries during an assault in a restroom at Owasso High School.[2] According to Benedict's grandmother, Sue Benedict, who had raised them since they were two months old and adopted them in 2022,[1] the school did not call an ambulance or the police.[2] Sue took Nex to a nearby hospital for treatment,[2] where she summoned the Owasso Police Department at around 3:30 p.m (CT).[3] Nex was discharged later that day, and reportedly went to sleep with a sore head.[2] The following day, on February 8, as they were preparing to travel with their grandmother for an appointment, Nex collapsed in the family's living room. An ambulance was called, and Nex had stopped breathing by the time EMT officers had arrived.[2] Nex was declared dead in hospital that evening.[2]
In a statement to The Advocate, Dan Yancy, Owasso Police Chief, said that "no report of the incident was made to the Owasso Police Department prior to the notification at the hospital."[1] Investigations by the Owasso Police Department to determine the events that led to Benedict's death are ongoing. As of February 20, 2024 police are awaiting toxicology and autopsy results from the local medical examiner's office before determining whether anyone will be charged.[2]
Reactions
While Benedict's cause of death has not yet been determined to have been caused by the attack, some groups have described the reported attack that preceded their death as a hate crime.[2][4]
In a letter to parents, Owasso Public Schools said it would be increasing the number of security personnel within the district, as well as updating their safety drills and rules. They will also be providing counseling services for students affected by the death.[5][6][7]
The ACLU issued a statement linking the attack on Benedict with Oklahoma Senate Bill 615, a law passed by the State of Oklahoma that required multi-occupation restrooms to be "exclusive use of either the male or the female sex, as designated on individuals' original birth certificates".[8]
LGBT activists and advocacy groups have linked the death to hateful rhetoric spread by Chaya Raichik on her Libs of TikTok social media accounts, including an event in which a video featuring one of Benedict's teachers was shared by Raichik.[2][9][5] This comes in the wake of Raichik's appointment to the Oklahoma Department of Education's Library Media Advisory Committee by Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction, in January 2024.[2][9]
References
- ^ a b c Wiggins, Christopher (February 20, 2024). "Oklahoma transgender student dies after assault at school". The Advocate. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Hurley, Bevan (February 20, 2024). "Oklahoma banned trans students from bathrooms. Now a bullied student is dead". The Independent. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Levesque, Brody (February 19, 2024). "Oklahoma non-binary high schooler dies after physical altercation". Los Angeles Blade. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b "Rest in power Nex Benedict". Freedom Oklahoma. February 19, 2024. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Shuttleworth, Catherine (February 20, 2024). "Thousands raised for non-binary teenager beaten to death at school". indy100. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ "Owasso Public Schools addresses school safety measures". FOX23 News. February 16, 2024. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ Villarreal, Daniel (February 20, 2024). "Teen beaten to death in a school bathroom bullying attack. The school didn't call an ambulance". LGBTQ Nation. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ "Response to Death of Nex Benedict From Bridge v. Oklahoma State Board of Education Legal Team". American Civil Liberties Union. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
- ^ a b Monteil, Abby (February 20, 2024). "Nonbinary Teen Nex Benedict Dies After Being Attacked By Peers in a School Bathroom". Them. Archived from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.