What we know about death of Nex Benedict

Image source, Owasso Police

The death of teenager Nex Benedict a day after a fight in an Oklahoma school toilet has drawn national attention as vigils take place around the US.

A police investigation into the death of the 16-year-old, who was non-binary and used they/them pronouns, continues.

The cause of death is yet to be officially determined and exactly what happened in the bathroom remains unclear.

Here is what we know at this stage.

Nex Benedict was involved in what authorities called a “physical altercation” in a toilet at Owasso High School on 7 February.

This was broken up by other students who were present, aided by a member of school staff, police and the school said. The school said the students were in the bathroom for less than two minutes.

Security footage showed Benedict was able to walk around the building after the fight. The school decided no ambulance was needed, officials said, but its nurse recommended that Benedict undergo further medical checks “out of an abundance of caution”.

Benedict’s mother, Sue, called police to the hospital that same day and expressed frustration that the school had not alerted officers to the incident.

In bodycam footage released by police of that interaction at the hospital, Nex Benedict is seen awake and alert, reclining on a bed with arms folded and giving an account of what happened.

The student said three girls had picked on them and their group “because of the way that we dress”.

The mockery is said to have continued in the toilet – with the attackers allegedly asking “why do they laugh like that?”. Benedict responded by throwing water on the girls, according to the account provided to police.

“All three of them came at me” afterwards, the teenager recalled. A fight ensued and Benedict said they were beaten on the ground before they “blacked out”.

The school district said the death of a student was “devastating”, and said it was committed to a “safe and inclusive environment for all students”.

It said it was co-operating with the investigation amid “speculation and misinformation surrounding the case”.

This remains unclear. The police statement said medics were sent to “a medical emergency” at Benedict’s home the day after the fight, on 8 February.

In an emergency call – the audio of which was also released by police – Sue Benedict said her child’s breathing was shallow and their eyes were rolling back.

“I hope this ain’t from her head,” she said. “They were supposed to have checked her out good.” She later said in an online post that she had still been getting used to using Benedict’s preferred they/them pronouns.

Paramedics performed CPR before rushing Benedict to hospital – where the teenager died.

In a statement released to NBC News, a lawyer representing the Benedict family drew attention to what they described as “the devastating effects of bullying and school violence”.

They called the death a “preventable tragedy”, adding: “The Benedict Family calls on all school, local, state and national officials to join forces to determine why this happened, to hold those responsible to account and to ensure it never happens again.”

The latest police statement says preliminary autopsy information indicates that the teenager “did not die as a result of trauma”.

Owasso police said they would not comment further until the results of toxicology and other test results were received. An official autopsy report has been promised at a later date.

The school has not confirmed if Benedict was bullied for their gender identity but said in a statement to ABC News that “bullying in any form is unacceptable”.

It added: “We take reports of bullying very seriously and have policies and procedures in place to address such behaviour.”

Benedict has been mourned around the country. Two vigils were held in Oklahoma on Friday night, with more than a dozen scheduled in cities across the US on Monday.

An online fundraiser that was launched to cover funeral costs has raised more than $150,000 (£118,000). A message of thanks from Sue Benedict said she had not been expecting “the love from everyone”.

Image source, Getty Images

White House press secretary Karen Jean-Pierre called Benedict’s death “a tragedy”, adding: “Every kid should feel safe and should feel protected when they go to school.”

Advocacy group Freedom Oklahoma said the facts of the incident were still being established, but that members of the LGBT community had been receiving increased hostility “fuelled by state law and the rhetoric around it, words and actions of our state elected officials”.

Campaigners have criticised laws in Oklahoma which ban students from using school toilets and changing rooms that do not align with their sex at birth.

Ryan Walters, Oklahoma’s public school superintendent, told the New York Times that Benedict’s death was a tragedy, but restated his view of gender identity: “There’s not multiple genders. There’s two. That’s how God created us.”

Calls from the state to Rainbow Youth Project USA – a crisis hotline for young LGBT people – have spiked by more than 500%, its director told the AP news agency.