After a confrontation at school, nonbinary student Nex Benedict died. An independent investigation has been opened.

According to early autopsy results, the 16-year-old nonbinary student Nex Benedict’s family has launched an independent investigation, as the teen’s death may not have been directly related to injuries sustained in a school restroom altercation. This is a developing story.

On February 8, Nex Benedict, a student at Owasso High School in Oklahoma, sadly died. The day before, there had been an altercation that was allegedly caused by bullying because of Nex’s gender identity.

Mother of Nex, Sue Benedict, told the Independent that her son has been bullied by classmates nonstop for more than a year. Concerns concerning the circumstances surrounding the altercation were raised when Nex showed signs of facial bruising after three older girls got into a physical altercation.

Through their attorneys, the Benedict family released an official statement pleading with law authorities to launch a comprehensive and expeditious inquiry into all parties who may have been at fault. The family is aggressively seeking witness interviews and conducting their own independent collection of relevant material.

The family has expressed concern over the case’s unreported aspects and asked federal, state, municipal, and educational authorities to work together to piece together what happened before Nex passed away.

The Bibi Law Firm, representing the Benedict family, had previously brought attention to the Owasso High School event and the family’s loss as a result of what they called an assault on Nex.

After the fight, Sue, Nex Benedict’s mother, discovered them with obvious injuries on their head and face. Nex was able to flee the scene at first, but his health worsened and he ended himself in the hospital before passing away.

Interestingly, the Tulsa-area school district claimed that they didn’t need to call in law police because the fight didn’t require emergency medical assistance. But the police have acknowledged that they are still looking into what happened during the confrontation, and they promised to keep us updated while they awaited the results of additional testing.

The terrible death of Nex Benedict has spurred a wider discussion about school safety and the difficulties nonbinary people encounter in learning settings as more information comes to light. Watch this space for more updates as the inquiry develops.