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The Tulsa County district attorney in Oklahoma said his office does not plan to bring criminal charges against the teenagers who were involved in a fight with Nex Benedict, the 16-year-old nonbinary student who died last month after an altercation at school.
“From all of the evidence gathered, this fight was an instance of mutual combat,” District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said in a statement Thursday.
Benedict, who was transgender and used he and they pronouns, told police that he was attacked in the school bathroom by three girls after he squirted water on them for mocking him and his friends. His grandmother and guardian told The Independent that he was often bullied because of his gender identity.
Notably, the DA's press release includes Benedict's deadname, or the name given to him at birth. Researchers have said that deadnaming and misgendering trans youth can have damaging mental health effects.
Benedict died the day after the fight. His death sparked an uproar in Oklahoma — where lawmakers have passed a slate of anti-LGBTQ laws and made plainly derogatory statements about trans people — and across the country. Parents of students at Owasso Public Schools have accused the district of failing to address bullying and bigotry in schools. The U.S. Justice Department is also investigating whether Owasso Public Schools failed to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment.
The Oklahoma Medical Examiner’s Office ruled Benedict's death a suicide last week, noting the “combined toxicity” from two drugs found in his system. The Owasso Police Department had previously stated that Nex’s death was not due to trauma from the fight.
But Benedict’s family pushed back on the preliminary report, saying that it did not fully reflect the injuries that he sustained in the altercation.
"Rather than allow incomplete accounts to take hold and spread any further, the Benedicts feel compelled to provide a summary of those findings which have not yet been released by the Medical Examiner’s office, particularly those that contradict allegations of the assault on Nex being insignificant," the family said in a statement.
Kunzweiler said in his statement that Owasso police had found brief notes from Benedict that "appeared to be related to the suicide," though the notes don't mention the fight or other bullying at school.
In a statement responding to the district attorney's announcement, LGBTQ advocacy group GLAAD condemned Oklahoma state authorities and Owasso school staff for failing Benedict.
“It is critical that an independent investigation is completed and the truth about what happened to Nex, and what all marginalized youth in Oklahoma schools endure, is brought to light," the organization said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.