Final Autopsy Report For Owasso Nonbinary Teen Death Released
Authorities have released the full autopsy report for an Owasso High School student who died last month.
Nex Benedict, who identified as nonbinary, died by suicide after a fight in a school bathroom.
The medical examiner’s report released Wednesday shows a combination of over-the-counter and prescription drugs in Benedict’s system.
The report also says Benedict suffered from depression and anxiety, and had a history of self-harm.
Benedict died the day after a fight in a school bathroom with three girls who reportedly picked on them for how they dressed.
Benedict told police they threw water on the girls, and that a fight broke out ending with the girls beating them on the floor until they were unconscious.
Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler has declined to file charges in Benedict’s death, calling the fight “mutual combat.”
But attorneys for Benedict’s family have emphasized the injuries detailed in the report.
Benedict’s death has prompted demonstrations across the country, a federal investigation into Owasso Public Schools and a push to enhance Oklahoma’s criminal laws surrounding bullying.
Chairman Calls for Investigation Amid Allegations of Prison Abuse and Neglect
House Criminal Justice and Corrections Committee Chairman Justin Humphrey called a meeting on Wednesday to discuss what he describes as an alarming number of calls from inmates and their family members to report multiple concerning events in state prisons.
Humphrey is calling for the Department of Labor to conduct an investigation.
Humphrey said the allegations include inmates being raped, inmates being denied medical attention, and a potential meningitis outbreak. He said he believes the issues stem from a staffing shortage and an investigation could lead to the solutions for different problems.
"If we had the Department of Labor come in and do an investigation, then we would be able to look at not just rape issues, but we would be able to look at the cleanliness issues, the functions of the facilities and all those kinds of things," said Humphrey.
The Department of Corrections released a statement in response to the meeting, saying Humphrey’s claims were vague and baseless. They also said he has not reported any incidents of rape to their office and no outside law enforcement agency has contacted them regarding any rape allegations.
Guthrie Voters to Decide on Extending Sales Tax for Municipal Improvements
Guthrie voters will head to the polls to decide on keeping an existing sales tax for municipal improvements for the next fifteen years. KOSU/OPMX’s Graycen Wheeler has more on what residents want done with that money.
Since voters first approved it in 2016, Guthrie’s Capital Improvement Projects sales tax has collected 3/4s of a penny on every dollar spent in the city.
When the city polled residents about the tax at the end of last year, respondents said they would give top priority to water and sewer line improvements and a new fire station. They also expressed support for a new pool, an expanded municipal sports complex and accessibility projects.
Those priorities match up with those of the city’s Capital Improvement Project Committee, which will oversee the funds if the tax is extended.
In the city’s poll, 88% of the 300 respondents said they’d support a 15-year extension of the sales tax. Now voters will decide the ultimate fate.
There are elections next week in 68 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.
To learn what’s up to a vote in your county, city or school district, visit OK Voter Portal.
Former U.S. Senator and VP Candidate Joe Lieberman Remembered for Bipartisan Legacy
Former U.S. Senator and Vice Presidential candidate Joe Lieberman died on Wednesday at the age of 82 from complications of a fall. Oklahoma's One of his colleagues, Oklahoma's Tom Cole, remembers Lieberman's bipartisan legacy.
Republican U.S. Representative Tom Cole remembers Lieberman as "one of the better angels of our nature."
In a time of gaping political divides, Cole calls Lieberman instinctively bipartisan and someone who always put the interests of the country over party.
Joe Lieberman was on the ticket with Al Gore during the contentious presidential election in the year 2000 that saw the U.S. Supreme Court step in over recounts in Florida, and ended with George W. Bush winning the presidency despite losing the popular vote.
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