Skip to content
NOWCAST KOCO 10:30pm-11pm Sunday Night
Live Now
Advertisement

Parents of Owasso High School student who died after fight in bathroom speak out

Nex Benedict was the 16-year-old who died one day after a fight at Owasso High.

Parents of Owasso High School student who died after fight in bathroom speak out

Nex Benedict was the 16-year-old who died one day after a fight at Owasso High.

PARENTS ARE NOW SPEAKING OUT. GUYS. THAT’S RIGHT. AND IN THIS CASE IS GETTING SO MUCH ATTENTION BECAUSE OF HIS GENDER IDENTITY NEXUS, PARENTS NOW CONFIRMING THEY WERE NOT BINARY, MEANING THEY DIDN’T EXCLUSIVELY. IDENTIFY AS MALE OR FEMALE AS SEVERAL ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS OUR STATE FROM THE ACLU OF OKLAHOMA TO RULE OKLAHOMA PRIDE GATHER TO SPEAK OUT ABOUT 16 YEAR OLD NEXT BENEDICT’S DEATH. THEY SAY THEIR PRONOUNS WERE ALSO WRONG. WE COVER THE RURAL AREAS OF OKLAHOMA, AND OWASSO IS ABSOLUTELY ONE OF THE RURAL AREAS, AND WE JUST FEEL THAT IT’S IMPORTANT THAT OUR ORGANIZATION SPEAK OUT. NEXT. BENEDICT IS THE 16 YEAR OLD STUDENT WHO DIED JUST ONE DAY AFTER A FIGHT IN THE OWASSO HIGH SCHOOL BATHROOM. IN A STATEMENT ON THIS GOFUNDME NEXUS, MOTHER POSTED AN APOLOGY SAYING, QUOTE, WE ARE SORRY FOR NOT USING THEIR NAME CORRECTLY AND AS THE PARENTS, WE ARE STILL LEARNING THE CORRECT FORMS. THEY ALSO ASKED FOR THE PUBLIC NOT TO JUDGE THEM AS NEXT WAS JUDGED AND TO NOT BULLY THEM FOR THEIR IGNORANCE ON THE SUBJECT. THEIR PARENTS SAY THE NAME NEXT CHOSE WILL BE ON THE HEADSTONE. I THINK THAT PRONOUNS ARE ARE AN ESSENTIAL FACT OF WHO YOU ARE AND WHEN WE SAY, SAY WHO YOU ARE, IT’S WHO YOU ARE. IT’S INDIVIDUALIZED. IT’S DISRESPECTFUL TO CALL ME ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT I WISH TO BE CALLED. THE SCHOOL CONFIRMED DETAILS OF THE CASE TODAY, NEARLY TWO WEEKS AFTER THE FIGHT AND NEXUS DEATH. A DAY LATER. BUT INVESTIGATORS HAVE NOT YET DETERMINED IF NEXT DIED AS A RESULT FROM THE FIGHT, AND THE EMMYS OFFICE WILL ULTIMATELY DETERMINE THE CAUSE OF DEATH. RURAL OKLAHO
Advertisement
Parents of Owasso High School student who died after fight in bathroom speak out

Nex Benedict was the 16-year-old who died one day after a fight at Owasso High.

The parents of an Owasso High School student who died are now correcting an error of misidentifying their child.Nex Benedict was the 16-year-old who died one day after a fight at Owasso High. The case has received attention because of Benedict's gender identity.Benedict's parents now confirmed Benedict was non-binary, meaning they did not identify exclusively as male or female.As several organizations across the state gathered to speak out about Benedict's death, they said their pronouns were also wrong.| MORE | What we do and don't know as Owasso police investigate a 16-year-old high school student's death"We cover the rural areas of Oklahoma and Owasso is definitely one of the rural areas, and we just feel it's important our organization speak out," said Bryan Paddack with Rural Oklahoma Pride.Benedict was the 16-year-old student who died just one day after a fight in the Owasso High School bathroom.In a statement on a GoFundMe, Benedict's mother posted an apology saying "We are sorry for not using their name correctly and as the parents we were still learning the correct forms."They also asked the public not to judge them as Benedict was judged and to not bully them for their ignorance on the subject. Their parents said the name Benedict chose would be on the headstone. "I think pronouns are an essential part of who you are, and when we say who you are, it's who you are, it's individualized. It's disrespectful to call me anything other than wish to be called," Paddack said.The school confirmed details of the case on Wednesday nearly two weeks after the fight and Benedict's death a day later. Investigators have not yet determined if Benedict died as a result of the fight. The Medical Examiner's Office will ultimately determine Benedict's cause of death. Rural Oklahoma Pride will also be having a candlelit service this Saturday in honor of the student.Top Headlines'My son almost died': Treat family speaks out after crash nearly cost 16-year-old his life'It sounded like a bomb': Florida woman talks about car dropping from overpass onto her SUVOklahoma company has learning experience after reroofing wrong housePolice identify woman who allegedly smashed plates over OKC restaurant's 'endless shrimp' policy

The parents of an Owasso High School student who died are now correcting an error of misidentifying their child.

Nex Benedict was the 16-year-old who died one day after a fight at Owasso High. The case has received attention because of Benedict's gender identity.

Advertisement

Benedict's parents now confirmed Benedict was non-binary, meaning they did not identify exclusively as male or female.

As several organizations across the state gathered to speak out about Benedict's death, they said their pronouns were also wrong.

| MORE | What we do and don't know as Owasso police investigate a 16-year-old high school student's death

"We cover the rural areas of Oklahoma and Owasso is definitely one of the rural areas, and we just feel it's important our organization speak out," said Bryan Paddack with Rural Oklahoma Pride.

Benedict was the 16-year-old student who died just one day after a fight in the Owasso High School bathroom.

In a statement on a GoFundMe, Benedict's mother posted an apology saying "We are sorry for not using their name correctly and as the parents we were still learning the correct forms."

They also asked the public not to judge them as Benedict was judged and to not bully them for their ignorance on the subject. Their parents said the name Benedict chose would be on the headstone.

"I think pronouns are an essential part of who you are, and when we say who you are, it's who you are, it's individualized. It's disrespectful to call me anything other than wish to be called," Paddack said.

The school confirmed details of the case on Wednesday nearly two weeks after the fight and Benedict's death a day later. Investigators have not yet determined if Benedict died as a result of the fight.

The Medical Examiner's Office will ultimately determine Benedict's cause of death. Rural Oklahoma Pride will also be having a candlelit service this Saturday in honor of the student.


Top Headlines