Located in Tulsa County on U.S. Highway 169 six miles north of Tulsa’s city limits, Owasso, which is home to 39,328 people, is grappling with conflict and accusations after Nex (Dagny) Benedict, a 16-year-old Owasso High School sophomore who was nonbinary, died after a physical fight in a restroom at the school.
However, according to school officials there was no notification or staff awareness of the fight until the young student had been taken to hospital and later died.
The Owasso Police Department is now investigating the circumstances surrounding the student’s death. According to the local newspaper, the Owasso Reporter: “On Wednesday, Feb.
7, around 3:30 p.m., police were called to Bailey Medical Center by the parent of a 16-year-old Owasso High School student who allegedly had a physical altercation at the campus earlier that day, according to the police report.” It states that no initial report of the fight was made to police prior to their admission to Bailey, although information was taken by a school resource officer at the hospital.