Nex Benedict, a Non-Binary teen, died after being beaten in an Owasso High School bathroom after being brutally attacked by fellow students.

Nex was 16 years old when they died. They loved to play video games such as Minecraft and Ark, play with their cat, Zeus, draw and read. On Feb. 7, 2024, Nex told their grandmother that they, as well as another transgender student, had been involved in a fight with three older girls in the bathroom. Owasso school officials suggested that Nex be taken to the hospital to be checked out. Sue Benedict arrived at the school to find Nex’s face and eyes covered in bruises with scratches on the back of their head.

Despite the school recommending Nex be taken to a hospital, the school did not call an ambulance or police to report the fight. Once Nex arrived at the Bailey Medical Center in Owasso, a police report was filled with a school resource officer who met them there. Nex was sent home that night with a sore head and fell asleep listening to music.

The next day, while getting ready for a follow-up appointment, Nex collapsed in their living room. Sue Benedict called an ambulance, and paramedics arrived to Nex no longer breathing. They rushed them to St. Francis Pediatric Emergency Room where they were pronounced dead.

Owasso Police issued a statement on Feb. 21st, 13 days after their death, that an autopsy determined that the fight did not cause Nex’s death. “While the investigation continues into the altercation, preliminary information from the medical examiner’s office is that a complete autopsy was performed and indicated that the decedent did not die as a result of trauma,” said Owasso Police.

The Benedict Family will not stand for these answers. A statement was released through their lawyers that they will be completing an independent investigation as the facts surrounding their lost loved one’s case are “troubling at best”.

LGBTQ+ advocacy groups have described Nex’s death as a hate crime, and have linked it to the Libs of TikTok account run by far-right social media influencer Chaya Raichik. This TikTok account posts anti-transgender videos that target public school teachers and librarians. The account goes as far as to lead one of Nex’s favorite teachers, Tyler Wrynn, to resign after Wrynn was featured in a video in 2022.

Nex’s grandparents were very accepting of their identity, even if they didn’t fully understand it. “Nex did not see themselves as male or female, Nex saw themselves right down the middle. I was still learning about it, Nex was teaching me that,” Sue Benedict told The Independent. Sue and Walter Benedict have raised Nex and five other children since Nex was two months old. They formally adopted them a few years ago.