No Charges To Be Filed In Fight Involving Nex Benedict

An Oklahoma district attorney says he doesn't plan to file any charges in the case of the 16-year-old Owasso teenager whose death following a fight in a high school bathroom was ruled a suicide.

TULSA, Okla. (AP) — An Oklahoma district attorney said Thursday he doesn’t plan to file any charges in the case of Nex Benedict, the nonbinary 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 the teen 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 in February was a suicide caused by a drug overdose.

“An important part of the Owasso Police Department’s investigation was the discovery of some brief notes, written by Benedict, which appeared to be related to the suicide,” Kunzweiler said. “The precise contents of the suicide note are a personal matter which the family will have to address within the privacy of their own lives.”