FILE - In this image provided Malia Pila, Nex Benedict poses outside the family's home in Owasso, Okla., in December 2023. The death of Nex Benedict, a nonbinary student the day after a fight inside an Oklahoma high school restroom, has been ruled a suicide, the state medical examiner's office said Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Sue Benedict via AP, File)
TULSA, Okla. (AP) – An Oklahoma district attorney said Thursday he doesn’t plan to file any charges in the case of Nex Benedict, the 16-year-old Owasso teenager whose death following a fight in a high school bathroom was ruled a suicide.
Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said in a statement that after reviewing the investigation by the Owasso Police Department, he agreed with an assessment from detectives that the fight between Nex and three girls was an “instance of mutual combat” and that charges were not warranted.
“When I review a report and make a decision to file a charge I must be convinced – as is every prosecutor – that a crime was committed and that I have reasonable belief that a judge or jury would be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed,” Kunzweiler said. “From all the evidence gathered, this fight was an instance of mutual combat.”
Kunzweiler also said Owasso police uncovered a “suicide note” written by Benedict, although he declined to say what the note said. The state medical examiner determined last week that Benedict’s death was a suicide caused by a drug overdose.
