Tulsa County DA: No criminal charges in Nex Benedict death

Written By: John Dobberstein

(OWASSO, Okla.) Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler said Thursday he won’t be filing criminal charges in the death of Owasso High School trans student Nex Benedict. 

Read this story on the Broken Arrow Sentinel here.

In a lengthy statement, Kunzweiler said he had to evaluate a number of variables in the incident and he didn’t feel there was enough evidence, even though there had been a fight in a bathroom the day before Benedict died. 

Kunzweiler said 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. 

Although the notes don’t make any reference to the earlier fight or difficulties at school, the parents indicated that Benedict reported being picked upon for various reasons while at school. 

Kunzweiler didn’t go into the details of the notes, saying the contents of the suicide note, “are a personal matter in which the family will have to address within the privacy of their own lives.”

Kunzweiler went on to say justice, “obligates us to respect the rights of each other. It should be our obligation as human beings existing on this planet to live in harmony, to seek equity for all and for the common good.

“But I have learned words and practice all too often diverge depending upon what a person’s interest may be in the outcome. In many instances, prosecutors are called upon to analyze a situation and determine whether an individual’s conduct crossed the threshold into criminality.”

He added that fighting takes place at schools everyday across the nation in homes and neighborhoods.

“Some of these fights are emotional. Some of these fights are physical. Some of these fights never see the light of day. Some of these fights are reported to administrative officials. Some of these fights are reported to law enforcement agencies,” he wrote.

“Each fight involves different facts and circumstances. Some fights may be justified. Some fights may be mutual combat. Some fights may be unjustified.”

Kunzweiler said when he reviews a report and must make a decision to file a charge he must be convinced that a crime was committed, “and that I have a reasonable belief that a judge or a jury would be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime was committed.”

He noted the combatants in the fight at Owasso High School were all under 18 years old and if charges were justified they would be handled as a delinquent child cause of action in a juvenile court of law. 

Based upon the police investigation, “I am in agreement with their assessment that the filing of juvenile charges is not warranted.

“From all of the evidence gathered, this fight was an instance of mutual combat. I do not have a reasonable belief that the State of Oklahoma could sustain its burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt if charges were presented for prosecution.”

Kunzweiler’s decision came after Benedict’s death was ruled a suicide last week by the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office. 

As the criminal investigation winds down, the U.S. Department of education is investigating Owasso Public Schools due to a complaint filed by the Human Rights Campaign concerning Benedict’s death. 

The department is probing two issues — the first being whether the district “failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title IX.”

The second issue is whether OPS “failed to appropriately respond to alleged harassment of students in a manner consistent with the requirements of Section 504 and Title II.”

The HRC alleged that OPS discriminated against students by failing to respond appropriately to sex-based harassment, of which it had notice, at Owasso High School during the 2023-2024 school year.