A closer look at the Nikki Kuhnhausen murder case

Lisa Woods

Inside the life of a teenage girl and how her disappearance inspired a movement.

Nikki Kuhnhausen went missing in June 2019. “I miss her every day,” said her mother, Lisa Woods.

“The Lively Friend”

Lisa Woods

Nikki Kuhnhausen’s friends describe her as cheerful, caring, and full of energy. “She was the lively friend,” said Arielle Fox, pictured left with Kuhnhausen.

Proud of who she was

Lisa Woods

Nikki Kuhnhauser was transgender, and her mother Lisa Woods says she never struggled with her identity. From a very young age, “Nikki was just Nikki,” she told “48 Hours.”

Big dreams

Lisa Woods

Nikki Kuhnhausen loved to do makeup and aspired to be a stylist for her idol, Nicki Minaj.

The search for Nikki

Lisa Woods/NWCAVE

Missing flyers were posted around Vancouver and Portland, Oregon, by friends, family, and volunteers.

TikTok star

Lisa Woods

In June 2019, Nikki Kuhnhausen, then 17, was last seen alive in Vancouver, Washington.

A Snapchat rendevous

Lisa Woods

Nikki Kuhnhausen’s friends say she left their apartment in the early morning hours of June 6, 2019 to meet someone she’d messaged on Snapchat. She never returned.

A mother’s intuition

Lisa Woods

Though many had hoped Nikki Kuhnhausen would come home safe, Nikki’s mother Lisa Woods told “48 Hours” she had a feeling something bad had happened to her daughter.

Losing hope

Ron Hill/CBS News

Activist Devon Davis Williamson was worried for Nikki Kuhnhausen’s safety after she disappeared. “When trans people go missing,” she said, “they’re usually found deceased.”

Big dreams

Lisa Woods

Nikki Kuhnhausen loved Nikki Minaj’s music, and would often post TikToks lip syncing along to her popular songs.

The Suspect

Liliya Bogdanov

Detectives discovered the last person Nikki Kuhnhausen had seen was this man, David Bogdanov. He said he had told Nikki to get out of his car when he discovered she was transgender. He claimed she walked away, and he never saw her again.

An unexpected find

Clark County Superior Court

The search stalled until December 2019, when a hiker made a discovery on a remote road on Larch Mountain — human remains.

Evidence discovered

Clark County Superior Court

Along with the remains several other items were found, including these rings. Investigators matched the rings to social media images and determined they were Nikki Kuhnhausen’s.

Nikki’s jacket

Clark County Superior Court

This jacket found on the mountain was also determined to have belonged to Nikki Kuhnhausen.

The murder weapon

Clark County Superior Court

Investigators discovered this cord with hair extensions stuck in a knot alongside the remains. The Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be strangulation.

Cell phone evidence

Clark County Superior Court

Police talked to David Bogdanov again, this time confronting him with cell tower records that placed his phone at Larch Mountain the morning of Nikki Kuhnhauser’s disappearance. He was arrested and charged with her murder.

A hate crime?

The Columbian

“She was killed because she was transgender,” Nikki’s mother Lisa Woods said at a press conference. David Bogdanov was charged with murder in the second degree and malicious harassment, a hate crime in Washington. He pleaded not guilty.

A movement

Devon Davis Williamson

Nikki Kuhnhausen’s case inspired local activists to push to ban the so-called trans panic defense, where defendants use a victim’s gender identity as an excuse for violence. The resulting legislation, called “Nikki’s Law,” passed with broad support in Washington State.

A life-and-death situation

The Columbian

At David Bogdanov’s trial in August, he took the stand and said he’d killed Nikki Kuhnhausen in self-defense. He claimed she reached for his gun when he rejected her for being transgender, and he feared for his life.

The verdict

AP Images

Jurors found David Bogdanov guilty of murder in the second degree and malicious harassment, a hate crime in Washington.

Nikki’s life

Clark County Superior Court

Nikki Kuhnhausen’s friends and family hope she will be remembered for her bright personality and confidence.

The good memories

Lisa Woods

“I want her just remembered as Nikki,” said friend Taylor Watts. “Loving, caring, sweet, happy, funny … she’d make all of you laugh.”