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Editor’s note: This story was updated at 4:34 p.m. on March 13 after the medical examiner ruled that Nex Benedict’s manner of death was suicide. Additional resources have been included in this story. This article mentions suicide, bullying and anti-2SLGBTQ+ stigma. A list of resources is included at the bottom of the story.

Nine community members spoke to a nearly-filled Andrews Park amphitheater adorned in 2SLGBTQ+ flags and anti-Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters signs to mourn 16-year-old nonbinary student Nex Benedict, whose death has spurred a national conversation regarding 2SLGBTQ+ rights and transgender bullying.

On Feb. 7, Benedict experienced a fight in the women’s restroom. Sue Benedict, Nex’s mother, said Nex was beaten to the ground by three girls who bullied them for the past month, according to Owasso Police Department body cam footage from Bailey Medical Center. 

Following the fight, Benedict was taken to, examined and discharged from Bailey Medical Center. Benedict collapsed the next afternoon and was taken to St. Francis Pediatric Emergency Room, where they were later pronounced dead. 

According to the Owasso Police Department, a preliminary autopsy suggested Benedict did not die as a result of physical trauma. On March 13, the medical examiner released its ruling that the manner of Benedict’s death was suicide.

Saturday, a few hundred people gathered in Andrews Park to honor Benedict. Several cities and communities in Oklahoma have held vigils and memorials for Benedict since the days following their death.

A candlelight vigil was hosted Saturday evening in honor of Nex Benedict by the Norman community. Watch our coverage of the event:

Filmed by Luke Smith

Edited by Luke Smith

Thumbnail by Luke Smith

All titles of speakers are as written in the program given out at the vigil.

Chapters:

00:00 Title card

00:06 Marley Hutchins (She/They), '22 Owasso High School graduate

00:55 Colin McPherson (He/They), College Democrats of America and College Democrats of Oklahoma LGBTQIA Caucus, Vice Chair

03:05 Riley Worley (She/They), '22 Owasso High School graduate

04:16 Jerry Arias-Watson (He/Him), PFLAG Norman president

05:16 Alex Ruggiers (He/Him), Norman Public School Board member, office 2

06:16 Annette Price (She/Her), Norman Public School Board, office 3

07:04 Helen Grant (They/Them), City of Norman Ward 4 councilmember

07:36 Annie Menz (She/Her), Oklahoma House Representative, District 45

08:48 SURPRISE SPEAKER: Mary Boren (She/Her), Oklahoma Senator

Rep. Annie Menz (D-Norman) said she is angry and upset about the death of Benedict. She said she is familiar with conservative rhetoric in Oklahoma, citing her role as the first Latina, first woman veteran and one of three elected officials who identify as 2SLGBTQ+ to the Oklahoma House of Representatives.  

“Nex Benedict should still be alive,” Menz said. “That family should be tucking them into bed every night, but instead, they have to face every single day without their beloved child because of the hate and rhetoric of the state.”

Menz said she had a friend who was murdered for being transgender and will never stop thinking about 2SLGBTQ+ individuals who deserve safety, citing her role as a state representative.

Sen. Mary Boren (D-Norman) said Oklahoma punishes empathy and compassion. She added state legislators dehumanize Oklahomans to keep control of power. 

“What we are doing here tonight is we're telling them that compassion will always triumph cruelty. Empathy always conquers oppression,” Boren said. “Our love for one another is what brought us here, it will keep us here moving forward, and it will help us protect the children of Oklahoma. We will do everything we can for as long as we live to make Oklahoma more empathetic and more compassionate.”

In May 2022, Gov. Kevin Stitt signed a bill requiring public school students to use the bathroom associated with their assigned gender at birth. The American Civil Liberties Union is currently tracking 55 anti-2SLGBTQ+ bills in Oklahoma, which include 16 healthcare-related bills and 12 education-related bills. 

Walters, who has come under scrutiny in the past for his stance on the 2SLGBTQ+ community, including sharing an anti-2SLGBTQ+ post on X that read “the transgender game must stop.”

After Benedict’s death, Walters said there are not multiple genders. Walters said Oklahoma public schools would only use names and pronouns associated with a student’s sex assigned at birth. 

PFLAG Norman President Jerry Arias-Watson said the organization is devastated by Benedict’s death. He said Oklahoma political leaders have fostered a discriminatory climate through policies designed to dehumanize 2SLGBTQ+ youth, adding they should be held accountable. 

“Nex Benedict (was) a beautiful sparkle in our rainbow and (a) nonbinary human that wasn't afraid to shine in Owasso, Oklahoma for 16 years. Now that sparkle has dimmed forever because of hate,” Arias-Watson said. “We demand our leaders to stop targeting us. There are certain ones within the government spewing hate which flows down to the children, creating a sense of normalcy.”

In a press release from Friday, Ward 4 Councilmember Helen Grant, who identifies as nonbinary, wrote they felt compelled to organize community members, citing an increase in 2SLGBTQ+ crisis calls in Oklahoma. 

Rainbow Youth Project USA, an Indiana-based nonprofit promoting 2SLGBTQ+ welfare, receives around 87 calls from Oklahoma per week, according to ABC News. Following Benedict’s death, Rainbow Youth Project USA received 474 calls, a 500% increase. 

At the ceremony, Grant said despite making up 7.1% of the US population,2SLGBTQ+ make up only 0.2% of elected officials, according to LGBTQ+ Victory Institute. 

“We need representation at every level of government working cohesively toward common goals,” Grant said. “We need to see where our struggles overlap and build movement through solidarity among multiple groups who might be different but still share the same challenges.”

Grant encouraged residents to speak in support of the Norman Human Rights Commission, which aims to study discrimination in the city and make legislative recommendations to council, during city council meetings. According to Grant, new commissioners are not being appointed by Mayor Larry Heikkila, who Grant said is hoping to stop the commission’s work.

OU Daily reached out to Heikkila for comment, but did not hear back before publication. 

“We can't do this work alone. We need our Norman community to find connection and purpose,” Grant said. “Together we can be the change we know we need to see for a more just and equitable world.”

Vice Chair of OU College Democrats Colin McPherson said politicians’ approach toward 2SLGBTQ+ has increased hate in schools. He said some Republicans consider 2SLGBTQ+ people and ideas threats to communities, which trickles down to all children. 

“What that does for the kids that hear it that aren't queer, it makes them violent, it makes them oppressive,” McPherson said. “It makes (2SLGBTQ+ youth) a target. … We've seen that with the story of Nex Benedict.”

McPherson said he has grown tired of an increased amount of threats, harassment and bullying toward himself and other 2SLGBTQ+ individuals. 

“Our actions should not stop here … they should continue and they need to continue until something changes because I am tired of queer youth dying,” McPherson said.

Norman Public Schools Board of Education member for district 2 Alex Ruggiers, who is the first openly gay member of that body, said he has faced anti-2SLGBTQ+ discrimination throughout his career at NPS. He said he had been told to remove a pride flag from his classroom, was denied resources for a gay-straight alliance club, saw administration accommodate parents who did not want their children around a transgender teacher and heard himself and 2SLGBTQ+ students be called slurs by other students.

“Please make the choice to be the advocate our kids need you to be,” Ruggiers said. “We've come too far and sacrificed too much to give up on justice for our queer youth now.”

Annette Price, a member of the NPS Board of Education for district 3, said every student belongs in NPS. She said 2SLGBTQ+ students should find trusted adults and asked teachers to make themselves known, adding she would help students find one if needed.

“I support every educator who allows our queer youth to be seen and heard,” Price said. “Public education is for everyone and schools should be learning communities that are safe spaces for everyone.”

Riley Worley, an OU junior and Owasso High School graduate, said Owasso’s reputation as a high-performing institution prompts the administration to avoid negative publicity. 

“They don't care about the students in school, all they care about is their reputation,” Worley said. 

She said she experienced an anti-2SLGBTQ+ culture in Owasso High School that resulted in the oppression of every 2SLGBTQ+ student who has attended. She referenced multiple incidents during her time in the district where students were harassed by teachers, calling it a culture of harm and violence. 

“This is a culture that is directly responsible for Nex Benedict’s death, and this culture is going to continue because all Owasso cares about is their reputation as a high-quality education school,” Worley said.

Worley said Owasso is discriminatory and she empathizes with other 2SLGBTQ+ students.

“Owasso is a hateful, evil place, and there's hateful people in Owasso,” Worley said. “My heart aches for every single queer student who has had to endure that abuse, that harassment, that violence, not just from their teachers, not just from their peers, but their community as a whole.”

In body-cam footage from a search warrant served a few days after the fight, a police officer said Owasso Public Schools was supposed to call the police and suggested the school may have forgotten. 

OU sophomore and Owasso High School graduate Marley Hutchins said in her experience, the school doesn’t take claims of bullying seriously, despite claiming otherwise. 

Owasso Public Schools issued a statement following Benedict’s death, saying it was cooperating with law enforcement. 

“The speculation and misinformation surrounding the case has intensified in recent days. While there will still be pieces of information that the district will never be able to share due to federal privacy laws, we are reaching out to you today to address some of that misinformation, particularly statements that call into question the district’s commitment to student safety & security,” Owasso Public Schools wrote. “We understand the importance of ensuring a safe and inclusive environment for all students and know that the information below doesn’t change the facts that a fight occurred on school grounds and a student passed away the next day.”

Owasso Public Schools’ statement read that the students involved in the fight were given a health assessment by a district nurse and parents or guardians were told and asked if they wished to file a police report. The nurse determined ambulance service was not required, however, the district recommended one parent to take their student to visit a medical facility. The statement did not specify if this referred to Benedict or another student.

She said Owasso High School has fostered an environment where 2SLGBTQ+ students don’t feel supported and school administration failed in its response to Benedict’s death. 

“We have all the evidence we need right now, no matter what the official cause of death is determined to be,” Hutchins said. “The fact that a child was allowed to be attacked in a school bathroom is evidence enough. The fact that Owasso administrators failed to contact the proper authorities is evidence enough. 

“A child should not have had to die for people to realize that they need to demand change. I hope that you never forget the name Nex Benedict and that you never forget their story.”

This story was edited by Karoline Leonard, Peggy Dodd and Ismael Lele. 

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