Search warrant served at Owasso High School in investigation of Nex Benedict's death

Editor's note: This story was updated after press time with a statement from Vice President Kamala Harris.

OWASSO — Police are examining evidence they collected from a search warrant served at Owasso High School during an ongoing investigation into the high-profile death of a student.

Nex Benedict, 16, who identified as nonbinary and used gender-neutral pronouns, died Feb. 8, one day after being involved in a fight inside an Owasso High School restroom.

Detectives are now investigating details and evidence relating to the Feb. 7 altercation after ruling out trauma as a cause of death, based on preliminary autopsy results from the Oklahoma State Medical Examiner’s Office.

“We are investigating a crime,” Owasso Police Lt. Nick Boatman told the Owasso Reporter. “The investigator in this case suspected foul play … in reference to the reported assault and battery.”

The search warrant, issued Feb. 9, allowed police to analyze the alleged crime scene on Owasso Public Schools premises for blood, DNA, hair, fingerprints and more. They also have collected various articles of clothing, photographs, student ID cards, records of attendance, cellphones and laptops from those allegedly involved in the fight.

“It (the search) is going to be where the suspected altercation took place,” Boatman said. “It’s going to be any physical places that any of these students involved have control of domain over, meaning their lockers or their desks.”

A search warrant return included in court documents indicates that officers took photos and other evidence from the restroom where the fight occurred, as well as school records and other documents concerning the involved students.

Evidence collected from the search will accompany pending toxicology and other ancillary testing results, in addition to Benedict’s official autopsy report, which will be available at a later date, police say.

Police are also investigating continued threats to Owasso Public Schools, as “speculation and misinformation,” cited by the school district, continue to spread amid public outcry over whether Benedict was the target of a hate crime.

Citing a longstanding policy, the FBI said it could neither confirm nor deny that a federal investigation is underway.

State officials have called for transparency in the investigation and for the public not to rush to judgment.

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“Sarah and I are saddened to learn of the death of Nex Benedict, and our hearts go out to Nex’s family, classmates, and the Owasso community,” Gov. Kevin Stitt said in a prepared statement. “The death of any child in an Oklahoma school is a tragedy — and bullies must be held accountable. As we await the results of the investigation, I urge Owasso Police and Owasso Public Schools to be forthcoming and transparent with the public.”

“Losing a student is always extremely difficult, and we should be keeping the Owasso families, communities in our prayers,” State Superintendent Ryan Walters said at the beginning of Thursday’s State Board of Education. “It’s a heartbreaking tragedy, and it’s difficult to so many folks over there. We want to be there to comfort them as best we can.

“We’ve had a lot of folks that have rushed to have an opinion and judgment there in the wake of a tragedy. What I would ask is that we wait while there’s little information available. There’ll be more that comes out here over the next few weeks as law enforcement is doing their investigations, and … I think we need to wait for those things to be done before we pass judgment. And we’re always going to focus on the security and safety of our kids, so we’ll be looking at that moving forward.”

In a statement released by its attorneys, the Benedict family called on “all school, local, state and national officials to join forces to determine why this happened, to hold those responsible to account and to ensure it never happens again.”

According to the statement, the family “is independently interviewing witnesses and collecting all available evidence.”

Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement in a tweet Thursday evening, saying: "My heart goes out to Nex Benedict's family, friends, and their entire community.

"To the LGBTQI+ youth who are hurting and are afraid right now: President Joe Biden and I see you, we stand with you, and you are not alone."

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