Non-binary Oklahoma teen died by suicide after bathroom fight, medical examiner finds

Nex Benedict, the non-binary Oklahoma teenager who died one day after being involved in a physical altercation in the high school girls' bathroom, died as a result of suicide, per a medical examiner's report. 

Benedict, 16, died from "combined toxicity" resulting from the combination of the drugs diphenhydramine, a type of antihistamine known to make people drowsy, and fluoxetine, a type of antidepressant, according to the medical examiner's report released Wednesday after the teen's death on Feb. 8, 2024.

Oklahoma's Owasso Police Department, which is investigating the teen's death, had said two weeks after the bathroom fight that preliminary examination information "indicated that the decedent did not die as a result of trauma."

On Wednesday, the department said officers "observed many indications that this death was the result of suicide" from the start of the investigation, but officials did not want to confirm it without the final results from the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office.

The teen died one day after being "attacked and assaulted in a bathroom by a group of other students" at Owasso High School, Benedict's family said.

Police body camera footage and texts from the teen after the incident show that Benedict said the girls attacked after the 16-year-old poured water on them. 

If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Follow Madeleine Hubbard on X or Instagram.