Nex Benedict’s tragic February death has raised more questions than answers, including after the medical examiner this week ruled it a suicide. But studies suggest the teen’s case is all too common in a society where acceptance, remains elusive – and Oklahoma activists point angrily to a raft of recent anti-trans state moves, writes Sheila Flynn

The child’s death, from the outset, has been as confounding as it has been heart-wrenching.

Nex Benedict, a 16 year old from Oklahoma, went to school on an average day last month. There was a fight in the girls’ bathroom. The sophomore was left with visible injuries and went to hospital, where they told family and authorities about the alleged bullying that resulted in the fight.

Benedict texted a relative that they had a sore head that night. They collapsed the following afternoon; the teen stopped breathing at home and shockingly died just hours later in a Tulsa-area hospital. – Aand then this week, the local medical examiner ruled Benedict’s death a suicide.

A more detailed report will be released later this month. The death of Benedict has already become a rallying cry for LGBTQ rights, the high schooler’s face already nearly as recognizable as that of Matthew Shepard or Breonna Taylor – two victims killed in vastly different circumstances but whose deaths sparked social justice movements.