Full Nex Benedict autopsy says there were no lethal injuries, points to “self-harm”

Nex Benedict, the Oklahoma high school student whose death last month has drawn national attention to the plight of transgender teens, sustained no lethal injuries and left notes “suggestive of self-harm” according to a full autopsy report released Wednesday.

The release of the full report follows a March 13 summary in which the state medical examiner ruled the 16-year-old’s February 8 death a likely suicide resulting from the “combined toxicity” of two medications: the anti-histamine diphenhydramine and the anti-depressant fluoxetine. But the full report gives the fullest picture yet of why the medical examiner made that determination.

Related:

Owasso school board blasted for “spitting on grave” of Nex Benedict by ignoring bullying

A state legislator recently referred to Benedict and other LGBTQ+ teens as “filth.”

According to NBC News, the full report notes that Benedict, who friends say identified as trans and used he/him pronouns, sustained non-lethal injuries to his head, neck, torso, and limbs from a physical altercation. As has been widely reported, Benedict was involved in a fight with three other students in a bathroom at Owasso High School in Owasso, Oklahoma, the day before his death. Benedict reportedly told his mother, Sue Benedict, that he had been bullied because of his gender identity. He told a school resource officer that the three other students “jumped” him after he threw water on them, and during the fight they beat him until he “blacked out.” According to Advocate, the full autopsy report indicated an absence of injuries to the brain.

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The report also indicated that the levels of diphenhydramine, which is commonly used as a sleep aid, and fluoxetine found in Benedict’s system were significantly higher than therapeutic ranges, according to Advocate. Dr. Joshua King, the Maryland Poison Center’s medical director, told the outlet that while the fluoxetine levels weren’t “dramatically elevated,” the levels of diphenhydramine were “in a range compatible with other reports of patients dying from diphenhydramine overdose.”

According to King, someone suffering a fatal overdose would likely experience seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, or both. In audio from her February 8 911 call, Sue Benedict can be heard telling a dispatcher that Nex’s hands were “posturing,” that his breathing was shallow, and his eyes were “kind of rolling back.”

The full autopsy report also indicated that Benedict’s medical history included bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, self-harm, and chronic tobacco and marijuana abuse. Handwritten notes attributed to Benedict and found by first responders were also “suggestive of self-harm,” according to the full report.

In a statement last week, Tulsa County DA Stephen Kunzweiler said that Owasso Police had discovered “some brief notes, written by Benedict, which appeared to be related to the suicide.”

“Although the notes do not make any reference to the earlier fight or difficulties at school, the parents indicated that Benedict reported being picked upon for various reasons while at school,” Kunzweiler wrote.

Kunzweiler said that based on a weekslong investigation into Benedict’s death and what he described as “an instance of mutual combat” with the three other students, his office would not bring any charges related to Benedict’s death.

LGBTQ+ advocacy organizations, many of which have criticized Owasso High School officials and the Owasso Police Department for their response to the fight and for the culture of anti-LGBTQ+ bullying students have described, responded to the release of the full report Wednesday.

“This report cannot be seen as a conclusion of the investigation into the death of a teenager who should still be here today,” said GLAAD president and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis, who previously pointed to the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s 2009 loss of its accreditation with the National Association of Medical Examiners. “Oklahoma’s supposed leaders must still provide answers to the public about the state-sponsored bullying by legislation, the inadequate response to violence in a school bathroom, and all the failures to keep Nex safe that continue to endanger LGBTQ and 2STGNC+ people in Oklahoma.”

Human Rights Campaign (HRC) president Kelley Robinson said in a statement that the report “does little to fill in the gaps in information about that day or the more than a year of bullying and harassment that led up to it.” HRC, she said, continues to support Benedict’s family’s calls for an independent investigation.

Robinson previously called on Attorney General Merrick Garland to launch a Department of Justice investigation into Benedict’s death. Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Education announced that it would launch an investigation into the Owasso Public School District.

“The release of today’s report does not change the fact that LGTBQ+ students in Oklahoma are not safe at school,” Robinson said on Wednesday. “And it does not change our continued calls for justice and accountability. We reiterate our call for a full and complete investigation into the district, state superintendent Ryan Walters, the Oklahoma State Department of Education, and into their response after Nex was attacked.”