Nex Benedict was not beaten to death for being transgendered.
Nex Benedict was not beaten to death.
Shortly after Benedict died, some people jumped to a false conclusion about the cause of death before a state medical examiner could complete an autopsy. For example, one person published the false claim, “Oklahoma trans child beaten to death at school for being trans.”
Yes, Benedict was involved in a fight at school, but Benedict shared responsibility for the fight.
From NPR: “. . . Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler says the fight was not one-sided and there’s not enough evidence to press charges. . . While in the hospital for the injuries they sustained during the fight, according to body cam footage, Benedict told police that they poured water on a group of girls in the high school bathroom after they picked on them for how they laughed.”
Now, the full autopsy report has come out. Benedict’s death was not caused by that fight.
“There were ‘massive’ amounts of Diphenhydramine, more commonly known over the counter as Benadryl, found in Nex’s blood, according to an expert who reviewed the medical examiner’s report. . . Dr. Paul Wax, the Executive Director of the American College of Toxicology, who reviewed the toxicology report at NewsChannel 8’s request said Nex would have to have ‘taken a lot of pills’ to get to the level of concentration found in the blood.”
. . . and . . .
“A second expert who reviewed the findings was forensic pathologist Dr. Daniel Schultz, the President of Final Diagnosis INC. in Tampa, Florida, who came to the same conclusion on the cause of death.
‘There’s no question this was an overdose by a combination of diphenhydramine and fluoxetine,’ Dr. Schultz said. ‘Essentially the dose to do this in some ways implies intent. This is not an accidental type of thing.’
The 11 pages released indicate handwritten notes ‘suggestive of self-harm’ were found in Nex’s room by family members, and that the teen has a history of ‘bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, self-harm (cutting)’.”
Can one rule out the possibility that being bullied contributed to Benedict’s mental state? Answer: No, of course not.
From USA Today: “Friends said Benedict, who used they/them pronouns, was bullied over their gender identity, which was different from their gender assigned at birth.”
For the record, I live in Benedict’s city. My son graduated from Benedict’s high school five years prior to Benedict’s death. I know just how anti-LGBTQ that my city and state tend to be.
As a LGBTQ-affirming believer in Messiah Jesus, I am constantly distressed about the majority opinion of others in my city who claim to worship Jesus. They have a gross misunderstanding of what it means to be LGBTQ-affirming.
As I see it, not only do they deny the findings of science and human history, they also ignore the parts of the New Testament that allow believers in Jesus to be LGBTQ-affirming.
I know of only two Christian churches within my city that are LGBTQ-affirming, and they have tiny congregations of primarily people over the age of 50.
In the wake of Benedict’s death, the plight of transgendered students is in the national spotlight. One might call that the cloud’s silver lining. It is a shame that the cloud exists in the first place.
The post Nex Benedict was not beaten to death for being transgendered. appeared first on The Moderate Voice.