Local parents say Owasso student death is tragic but not unexpected

Pictured is Owasso mother Natasha Rogers and teen daughter

(OWASSO, Okla.) A community is in mourning following the death of 16-year-old Nex Benedict, an Owasso High School student who died a day after an alleged fight at school.

Benedict, a binary student who went by they/their pronouns, was taken to the hospital by a parent the day of the altercation and released. 

The following day, they were rushed back to the hospital where they died. 

On Wednesday, Owasso Police shared an update stating preliminary information from the medical examiner’s office indicated Benedict did not die as a result of trauma.   

Following Benedict’s death, multiple parents of Owasso students have reached out to VNN saying the district has a serious issue with bullying that is not being properly addressed, including Natasha Rogers, who had to pull her 14-year-old daughter from Owasso High School due to concerns for her safety. 

“Before she got lost in the system or something horrible happened, I knew I had to do something to get her out of that school,” Rogers said.

Rogers said her daughter attended Owasso Public Schools from third to ninth grade. She began having academic difficulties in sixth grade. 

“And I would ask for help a lot with the academics, you know, tutoring, testing, a 504 plan, an IEP,” Rogers said. “I didn't really know what those words meant but I just needed some sort of help. But they seemed to try to peg her as a problem child because she didn't do well academically. They started searching her for drugs daily. They would never find anything.” 

Rogers said instead of helping her child, actions by the school district exacerbated her bullying. Recounting her daughter’s pain and treatment were very difficult for Rogers to talk about. 

“I myself had to go into counseling because it affected my mental health so much,” Rogers said. “They would pull her out of class, search her, send her back to class. My daughter would go back and her classmates would put drug intervention group cards on her desk.”

Rogers said her daughter’s classmates would call her names and even verbally sexually harass her. 

“Young men would come up to her and ask if the administrators strip-searched her,” Rogers said. “And she would tell them no, of course not. They can't do that. And they said, well, I would risk it all to be able to look at you naked. They would make inappropriate comments to her and all of this stuff that these administrators don't think of. They would open her up to additional ridicule and they just didn't care.” 

When the bullying escalated to physical threats, Rogers said, the district still didn’t do anything. 

“There was a young woman who was virtually bullying her online,” Rogers said. “The girl had made some pretty violent comments about her that she had showed the teacher but she told the teacher that she didn't want to cause a big ruckus about it. So the teacher didn't.” 

Rogers said the next day, the girl lunged at her daughter and her daughter defended herself against her. 

“The assistant principal snatched my daughter, said you're coming with me, took her immediately to her office, called me and said my daughter had started an altercation,” Rogers said. “Which she did not. I asked the assistant principal if my daughter was okay, had she been seen by a nurse. The assistant principal told me that she didn't even know if there was a nurse still on the premises because it was after school.” 

Rogers told us there was a nurse at the school and her daughter was only assessed after she requested it. Her daughter was given in-school suspension with the other child as punishment. 

Rogers said it made her sick to hear about Benedict’s death. 

“For them to say or make it sound like the school is not at fault in any way, it's very upsetting,” Rogers said. “It's very upsetting that they did not protect this child because it has been going on for a long time. I reached out to the school for help. I never got help.” 

Owasso Chief of Police Dan Yancey said detectives are interviewing school staff and students over the course of the next two weeks relating to Benedict’s case and will be submitting their investigation to the Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office for prosecution review.

Owasso Public Schools released a statement saying they have been cooperative throughout the investigation, and that it is their priority to foster an environment where everyone feels heard, supported, and safe.

Benedict’s official cause of death will be released following the medical examiner’s report and toxicology report. 

Rogers said her child is flourishing after being transferred to another school district six weeks ago. 

“I met with her teachers at teacher conferences this past Thursday and they have already helped me get her a 504,” Rogers said. “They immediately recognized that she was struggling academically. It's a little bit of a waiting process but they've already made the referral for her to help me get her tested. Things that she would have never done at Owasso, she's doing now. Things she would have never felt comfortable doing at Owasso. It's like I have my daughter back. She's so happy again. It's like I have a whole new child.” 

If you need crisis support, consider speaking to a mental health professional by calling 988, texting the Crisis Text Line at 741741, or reaching out to a trusted person in your life.