Nex Benedict
According to Oklahoma’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 16-year-old transgender student Nex Benedict died from a lethal mixture diphenhydramine and fluoxetine. The ME’s office has determined manner of death as suicide, The Advocate has reported.
Diphenhydramine is the allergy medicine commonly known as Benadryl. Fuoxetine, commonly known as Prozac, is prescribed for depression and anxiety disorders.
Benedict died Feb. 8 after having been assaulted by three female classmates in a bathroom at Owasso High School the day before, and after having faced continual bullying and discrimination throughout the school year over his gender identity. (Initial reports identified Benedict as nonbinary and using they/them pronouns; friends have later said Benedict identified as a trans male and used he/him pronouns.)
Benedict’s grandmother took him to the emergency room on Feb. 7 after the assault in the bathroom. Benedict told a police officer at that time that he had given up on reporting bullying to school officials because they never did anything about it.
The next day, when Benedict collapsed at home, his family took him back to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org. Trans Lifeline can be reached at 877-565-8860. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth ages 24 and younger, can be reached at 866-488-7386 and online at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or by texting START to 678678. (Thanks to The Advocate for this info)
