Nex Benedict, a nonbinary Oklahoma student who died on February 8, the day after a physical altercation at Owasso High School, committed suicide, according to a summary autopsy report released on Wednesday. That conclusion, along with a police interview recorded the day of the fight, sheds further light on an incident that sparked outrage from critics of Oklahoma's transgender policies, which they said had encouraged the sort of bullying that Nex encountered at school.
After Nex's death, The New York Times and The Independent specifically blamed a 2022 state law that requires students to use restrooms that correspond with the sex "identified on the individual's original birth certificate." The Independent's headline explicitly drew a connection between Nex's death and that law: "Oklahoma Banned Trans Students From Bathrooms. Now Nex Benedict Is Dead After a Fight at School."
