In the heart of EDMOND, Okla., a gathering of over two dozen individuals took place at a local church, paying their respects to Nex Benedict, a nonbinary teenager who tragically passed away following a high school bathroom altercation.
The vigil was held at the All Saints Episcopal Church in McAlester, thanks to the efforts of the McAlester Rainbow Connection. This was one of two vigils held on Friday night in Oklahoma, with more than a dozen others planned across the nation through to Monday.
Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old student from Oklahoma, sadly lost their life a day after the incident in the bathroom of Owasso High School.
Identifying as nonbinary and preferring they/them pronouns, Benedict was reportedly attacked by three girls after they poured water on them. This information was shared by Benedict in a video released by the police on Friday.
The day following the altercation, Benedict’s mother made an emergency call, reporting that her child’s breathing was shallow, their eyes were rolling back, and their hands were curled. This information was shared in an audio clip released by the Owasso police.
Matt Blancett, a member of the Rainbow Connection, an LGBTQ+ group, and the organizer of the vigil, emphasized the importance of holding such an event in McAlester, especially in light of the 2020 murder of Dustin Parker, a transgender man.
“We are a community, we are here, and we’re not going anywhere,” Blancett passionately stated.
All Saints Priest Janie Koch stressed the importance of seeking support and looking out for one another during such emotionally challenging times.
In the audio recording of the call to the police, Sue Benedict, Nex’s mother, expressed her desire to press charges. However, the responding officer explained that since the teen initiated the altercation by throwing water, the court would likely view it as a mutual fight.
According to a police search warrant, Sue Benedict indicated on Feb. 7 that she did not wish to press charges at that time. Instead, she requested the police to address the issues among students at Owasso High School.
The search warrant, filed on Feb. 21, revealed that investigators took 137 photographs at the school, including the girl’s bathroom where the fight took place. They also collected two swabs of stains from the bathroom and retrieved records and documents of the students involved in the altercation.
Although the warrant initially stated that the police were seeking evidence for a felony murder, the department later clarified that Benedict’s death was not a result of injuries sustained in the fight, based on preliminary autopsy results.
The police department has refrained from commenting further on the cause of Benedict’s death until the completion of toxicology and other autopsy results.
Additional vigils are planned for the weekend in various Oklahoma cities, and others have been or are scheduled to take place in several states, including California, Washington, Minnesota, New Jersey, Texas, and New York.
Disagree with the lack of understanding and respect for the teen’s identity and tragic loss.
Disagree with the lack of empathy shown towards the teen’s situation.