Nex Benedict non binary student death at Owasso High School as Oklahoma school district finally addresses trans student beating death amid accusation of culpability and engendering violence and bullying.
The death of an Oklahoma ‘non binary’ teen student after the transgender pupil was assaulted at a school bathroom has sparked widespread outrage as questions are now asked who bears culpability for the student’s death following the belated release of a school district’s account of one child’s beating death.
Nex Benedict, a straight A student at Owasso High School, along with another classmate were brutally beaten by other students earlier this month, with the 16 year old non binary student dying the following day. The incident has drawn national attention, with many attributing the violent act to a culture of transphobia they say is being stoked by state officials.
The assault on Benedict, happened on February 7, when the non binary student along with an un-named trans classmate were beaten by three older girls in the girls’ bathroom over the course of two minutes, KJRH reported. A teacher intervened to stop the fight. Staff didn’t call an ambulance or police.
School complicity?
Benedict’s grandmother, who was their guardian, took the teenager to the hospital that day. They went back the next day after Benedict became ill. Benedict died that evening.
The relative’s account coincides with Owasso Public Schools on Tuesday afternoon releasing a statement addressing Nex’s death and a timeline of events amid assertions of complicity for failing to act and engendering a culture of hostility towards non binary students.
Said the district: ‘Physical altercations between students are unacceptable. Any student/s engaging in such action, jeopardizing the safety of others, will receive disciplinary consequences. These consequences can include out of school suspension for first offense. Due to federal privacy laws, we are unable to disclose the exact nature of disciplinary action taken against any student. That information can only be given to the parents/guardians of the student being disciplined. Any notion that the district has ignored disciplinary action toward those involved is simply untrue. ‘
‘A child needs to figure out who they are and what they want to be, and you cannot force it upon them.’
The cause of death is scheduled to determined by the State Medical Examiner’s Office.
Sue Benedict, Nex’s grandmother told The Independent that Nex had been the subject of months of intensifying bullying that began earlier in 2023 after Oklahoma’s Republican-led government required public school students to use bathrooms that matched the sex listed on their birth certificates.
‘I didn’t know how bad it had gotten,’ Sue Benedict told the outlet.
Nex Benedict told their grandmother that they and another trans student had fought the other students in the bathroom, according to the Independent. The teen told her they’d hit their head on the floor.
Sue Benedict said she was told by the school that her grandchild had received a two-week suspension after the assault. She said she was enraged that medical services weren’t called even though Nex had bruises on their face.
‘I was very open with my children to be who and what they thought was best,’ Sue Benedict told the outlet.‘They could talk to me about anything, as long as that respect goes both ways. A child needs to figure out who they are and what they want to be, and you cannot force it upon them.’
Divisive figures within educational department
‘Nex did not see themselves as male or female,’ Sue Benedict said. ‘Nex saw themselves right down the middle. I was still learning about it, Nex was teaching me that.’
The teen’s death has ignited a debate about the safety of transgender and nonbinary students in schools, the responsibility of educational leaders to foster inclusive environments, and the potential consequences of spreading harmful ideologies.
Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, is facing intense scrutiny over his ties to Chaya Raichik, the figure behind the far-right Libs of TikTok hate account, and for their outspoken stance against transgender rights. Critics argue that Walters’s rhetoric and policies have contributed to an environment that enables hate crimes.
Enter educational divisive figure, Chaya Raichik.
‘Heartbroken to learn about the non-binary student who was beate[n] to death at their Owasso school. That same district was targeted by the self-described ‘stochastic terrorist’ who runs Libs of TikTok. Chaya Raichik now sits on OK’s library advisory board,’ wrote Oklahoma City news anchor Wendy Suares on X according to a report via the Advocate.
The involvement of Raichik, appointed by Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s superintendent of public instruction, to the Oklahoma Department of Education’s Library Media Advisory Committee in January despite having no background in education nor living in Oklahoma, adds another layer of controversy.
Walters has served as the state’s top education official for three years and has been a vocal opponent of what he describes as ‘radical gender theory,’ according to the Advocate.
Since the news of Benedict’s death spread, Raichik has sought to deflect potential blame and position herself as a victim. In one tweet, she contested the record surrounding the incident involving Nex, writing, ‘Worth noting this title is a flat out lie. The student got in a fight at school, went home, then went to the hospital,’ added that they were ‘evaluated and released.’
But not evaluated or taken to hospital in the immediate aftermath after the school assault – which is to wonder whether Rex might still be alive had they be given immediate treatment? Which is to wonder, had Rex qualified as a boy or a girl, would the student have been offered immediate treatment?
Raichik added that Benedict went to the hospital again the next day where they died. ‘Nobody was k*lled at school,’ the education official wrote according to the Advocate. She continued that there hasn’t been evidence released that Benedict was killed over their identity.
But there’s more.
Raichik further claimed to be a target of unjust accusations, writing, ‘The media blamed a m*rder on me and now I’m getting death threats. I’ve been reliably informed this is stochastic terrorism.’ However, critics argue it is Raichik herself who has utilized stochastic terrorism tactics through her targeting of LGBTQ+ people.
Police are expected to give updates on the case in the coming days.
