A newly released video shows a 16-year-old non-binary student who was killed a day after a fight in a bathroom at an Oklahoma high school tell police the events leading up to the scuffle, and police officers. said the teen “essentially started a scuffle.”
Nex Benedict appeared conscious and alert. police body camera footage She was sitting in a hospital bed during a police interrogation after a bully allegedly hit her head on the floor.
The second-grader and her mother told course officials at the Owasso school that a group of girls who had been “hostile” had been bullying Nex and her friends over their clothing for several days.
“I was talking to a friend and they were talking to a friend and we were laughing and they said something like, ‘Why are they laughing so much?’ They were right in front of us. and they were talking about us. So I went over there and poured water on them. Then all three of them came at me,” Nex told officers.
“They came at me. They grabbed my hair. I grabbed onto them. I threw one of them into the paper towel dispenser and they grabbed my leg. He pulled it out from under me and pinned me to the ground.”
The girls continued to beat Nex until he passed out, the boy said, later adding that the pain was “terrible.”
His mother, Sue Benedict, called police to come to the hospital after the Feb. 7 bathroom attack and repeatedly expressed anger that the school did not do so themselves.
The school’s information officer told the mother that the next time her child was threatened, she had the right to call police to respond to Owasao High School, to which Benedict responded, “Well, we want to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” I pray for you,” he answered coldly.
Nex died a day after her mother called paramedics to the home after her mother reported the teen’s breathing was shallow, his eyes rolled back and his hands curled up, according to audio released by Owasso police.
During the 911 call, Benedict told dispatchers that he feared Nex had suffered a head injury.
“I hope this wasn’t something that came out of her head. They should have checked her properly,” Benedict said, adding that she was still having trouble remembering children’s pronouns afterward. He said he is doing so. Nex used they/them pronouns.
The high school student was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The teenager’s friends and family say the persistent bullying Nex suffered because of his gender identity was an open secret at the school, with administrators and teachers turning a blind eye. said.
When Nex asked why he had not reported the alleged bullying, which culminated in the brutal assault in the bathroom, the boy said: “I didn’t really understand what that meant.”
The second-year university student and his mother initially seemed interested in filing charges against the female students, but the office explained to them that Nex was also considered the perpetrator for spewing water.
“She essentially started it,” the officer can be heard saying.
According to a police search warrant, Benedict told police on February 7 that she did not want to press charges on her child’s behalf at the time. Instead, Benedict asked police to speak with school officials about issues between students on campus.
After telling the pair they could change their minds about the charges within a few days, the officer left what would become a heartbreaking message for Nex.
“It would be nice to see them at school, in class, walking around the hallways, doing something fun,” the officer said. “You can smile and wave.”
An official autopsy report has not been released, but officials say preliminary results indicate Nex did not die from trauma, prompting the boy’s family to launch their own investigation. He said he urged them to do so.
The family said some facts about the incident have not been made public and are “not least troubling,” adding, “The school, local government, the state, He called on national authorities to cooperate.
They are calling for “those responsible to be held accountable and to ensure that this never happens again.”
