Nex Benedict’s Full Autopsy Results Confirm it Points to Suicide
According to reporting by the Advocate, the levels of diphenhydramine found were compatible with suicide.
Opinion, by Evan Urquhart
The full autopsy report of teenager Nex Benedict of Owasso, Oklahoma was released today. The results were compatible with an overdose of diphenhydramine, the active ingredient in Benedryl, according to a toxicology expert consulted by the Advocate in their reporting on the story.
Suspicion of Owasso authorities have festered in the transgender and LGBTQ+ community after unusual police behavior and reports that an Owasso police spokesperson admitted to having attempted to “head off” the national scrutiny that had followed the death of a transmasculine teenager after a fight in a school bathroom where he lost consciousness. Nex’s mother reported the teen had faced bullying at school for his identity.
While the full report of the medical examiner may not end speculation about the death, it does provide a more plausible explanation than previous information, which held that a reaction between fluoxetine and diphenhydramine was the source of the overdose. The two drugs are not known to be lethal in combination, and fluoxetine (commonly known by the brand name Prozac) is known for being very safe and unlikely to be lethal. Diphenhydramine also requires large quantities to be ingested to be lethal, but the Advocate’s reporting suggests the amount in Nex’s system did rise to that level, and that the manner of Nex’s death was of the sort that would be seen as a result of this type of overdose.
screenshot from the Advocate
A suicide death in the wake of bullying and a beating severe enough to have resulted in the sort of injuries seen in the ME’s report does nothing to exonerate the school officials who allowed a climate of hatred towards LGBTQ+ students, severe bullying, and a fight at school that resulted in a child blacking out in a school bathroom. The behavior by police and school officials likewise should be seen as a failure of both Nex and all other children in the Owasso school system who have watched as adults attempted to shirk responsibility and deflect attention, rather than committing to a full airing of what went wrong and a commitment that no other student would be put in the position that led to Benedict’s premature death as a 16-year-old. The fight for justice for Nex Benedict is likely to continue as long as the officials whose hatred of the trans community and enabling of bullies remain in positions of authority.
Evan Urquhart is a journalist and the founder of Assigned Media.