# 250: Nikki Kuhnhausen

An episode of [Morbidology](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1463979546), 1 Apr 2024, 56 min.

Audio: https://prefix.up.audio/s/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/s.gum.fm/s-610c47a4222ada0024acb2d8/pscrb.fm/rss/p/prfx.byspotify.com/e/tracking.swap.fm/track/2IMk17EdnEqyRhJTIpIU/claritaspod.com/measure/api.spreaker.com/download/episode/59031948/morbidology_250_nikki_kuhnhausen.mp3

Nikki Kuhnhausen, a transgender teen, found herself at a friend’s home in Vancouver, Washington, on the 6th of June, 2019. While she was normally chatty, her attention was fixated on her cell phone, chatting away on Snapchat with a man she had just met downtown. As the early morning hours approached, Nikki left her friend’s home, embarking on a journey from which she would never return. SPONSORS - Two Dots: In Two Dots, you connet dots through chill puzzles, unlocking new levels and snagging treasures and prizes along the way. Dowload it for free on Android and iOS. SHOW NOTES - https://morbidology-the-podcast-250-nikki-kuhnhausen PATREON - https://www.patreon.com/morbidology YOUTUBE: https://youtube.com/morbidology Audio Credit: Epidemic Sound Evening of Chaos - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Empty Reflections - ErikMMusic - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgq4SPKHlyI A Mothers Sacrifice - OurMusicBox - https://ourmusicbox.com/ Dark Tranquility - Anno Domini Beats - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6mBav72Ak Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/morbidology--3527306/support.

## Transcript

[0:34] And at that time, when I put him down, she just jumps up
[0:39] and goes towards the center console, towards my gun. The city of Vancouver
[0:54] in Washington is nestled in the Pacific Northwest. It sits across the Columbia River
[1:00] from Portland, Oregon, offering a blend of scenic beauty and urban convenience.
[1:07] The city is rich in history, and its roots as a fur trading outpost
[1:11] in the nineteenth century are preserved at the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. Since
[1:17] it's economically robust, it serves as a hub for multiple industries, from technology
[1:23] and manufacturing to healthcare. In the summer months, Vancouver bursts with vitality,
[1:29] its parks and green spaces sprawling with life. As the sun sets, the
[1:34] city's nightlife comes alive, with clubs and bars buzzing into the late ores,
[1:40] while festivals such as the Wine and Jazz Festival and the Arts Music Festival ignite
[1:46] the streets with energy. However, on the fifth of June two thousand nineteen,
[1:51] the city's typical summer scene took an unexpected turn. Despite the preceding days
[1:57] of high temperatures in endless sunshine, Vancouver was suddenly engulfed by a rain storm.
[2:05] Seeking shelter from the downpour, Seventeen year old Nicki Kunhausen found herself at
[2:09] a friend's home that night, accompanied by a few girlfriends. She had been
[2:15] crashing at her friend's place near Fourth Playing Boulevard for a few weeks now,
[2:20] and on that particular night, she showed up carrying a bottle of vodka and
[2:23] draped in a man's coat. Nicki, who was usually the life of the
[2:29] party, seemed unusually quiet. She was preoccupied with her cell phone, tapping
[2:36] out messages to a man on Snapchat that her friends didn't recognize. She mentioned
[2:42] that he was an older Russian she had met earlier downtown. Nicki said they
[2:47] had shared a drink and he had kindly lent her his coat and gave her
[2:51] a bottle of vodka. As dawn approached The next morning, around five point
[2:57] thirty a m Nicki annoyed she was heading out to me the Russian man again,
[3:01] slipping into his coat. She bid her friends fare well and set off
[3:06] on foot into the breaking day. Nicki Kunhausen was born in Vancouver, Washington,
[3:27] on the sixth of July two thousand and one. She had been assigned
[3:30] male at birth, but even as a young child, she knew that she
[3:35] was different from her classmates. While boys in her class wanted to be football
[3:39] stars or mechanics, Nicky wanted to be Nicki Minaj's hair and makeup artist.
[3:46] She had always been a confident girl, especially in herself, so when she
[3:50] came out publicly in the sixth grade, nobody was really surprised. With newfound
[3:54] clarity. Nicki began to explore her gender identity more deeply, questioning the expectations
[4:00] that society had placed upon her. As she developed into a teenage girl,
[4:05] she experimented with different ways of expressing herself, trying on clothes and hairstyles,
[4:12] but felt more aligned with her true sense of self. It was a journey
[4:16] of self discovery and self acceptance. Nicki eventually came out as transgender. She
[4:24] had on wavering support from her family, with her mother Lisa and stepfather Vince
[4:29] standing firmly by her side. Nicky's impact on those around her was profound.
[4:35] She served as a pillar of support for everybody she encountered. Her pride in
[4:41] her identity served as a beacon of inspiration for fellow transgender students at her High
[4:46] School. One afternoon, a transgender girl transferred to Hudson Bay School. Nicki
[4:54] immediately took her under her wing after witnessing one of the boys picking on her.
[5:00] She never hesitated to engage with curious peers about her identity, fearing such
[5:04] moments as opportunities for education. Her mother, Lisa remarked, she just radiated
[5:12] love. She came in contact with a lot of people and made a difference
[5:18] in their life. She made a difference very colorful, and it was all
[5:26] ages, all communities, all walks of life, the homeless, the you
[5:30] know CEOs that you know. She could fit in anywhere and bring and bring
[5:39] something to the situation that left them feeling good about themselves. If somebody was
[5:44] hungry, she would go make sure they had food. If somebody would needed
[5:47] a place to stay, she'd make sure she stayed with them till they found
[5:50] a place to lay their head. She was always concerned about other people.
[5:54] She was very loyal and people loved her. Nikki effortlessly navigated the popular crowd,
[6:02] always finding time to assist the cheerleaders with their hair and make up.
[6:06] Anyway, she had been Nikki behind closed doors since she was two years old.
[6:11] And she had Hannah Montana and high heels and makeup, and we would
[6:15] buy her girl's clothes for her bedroom, and she would be on the track
[6:18] team, you know, in elementary school. But the first day of sixth
[6:23] grade, she came out Nikki and she was Nicki ever since. And she
[6:27] was full of confidence and people were drawn to her. The cheerleaders loved her.
[6:31] They thought she was so beautiful. So nobody on the football team bullieder,
[6:34] because then the cheerleaders would be mad at them. She had friends and
[6:39] support, and she was so confident in who she was. She consistently championed
[6:45] the underdog, extending and helping hand whenever somebody needed support. A friend from
[6:51] the homeless community, Pink, credited Nikki with helping her overcome heroin addiction and
[6:57] regain control of her life. Reflecting on Nicki's generosity, Pink were called Nicki
[7:04] was so kind and generous. She would constantly make sure that everybody Dawned town
[7:10] had food and water. She didn't feel threatened by people because she was so
[7:14] giving and so nice and so there for the underdog. And you know,
[7:17] she would she would take off her coat to give to a homeless man.
[7:24] She would. She was there for everyone. She was there for me for
[7:28] seventeen years. She was my light. She was my best cheerleader, and
[7:40] because of her, I'm sitting here today. She loved me unconditionally. She
[7:47] never left my side. Nicki's creativity thrived, particularly in her passion for designing
[7:54] her own clothing. She was also an avid dancer, and her friends could
[7:59] always on her to put a smile on their faces. One of her close
[8:03] friends, Taylor recollected, she was so bright. Everything was a smile,
[8:09] even if she was just coming up to you. She was always smiling.
[8:13] Like many teenagers, Nicki embraced social media. She regularly updated her friends and
[8:20] followers with selfies and found validation in the flurry of likes that she received on
[8:26] TikTok. She posted lip sync and dance videos to her thousands of followers.
[8:33] However, at the age of sixteen, Nicki fell into a dark spiral and
[8:37] began to experiment with drugs. What began as casual marijuana use escalated into a
[8:43] dangerous addiction to methamphetamine. Despite Lisa's relentless efforts to help her daughter overcome her
[8:50] addiction, Nicki's substance abuse had consumed her life by two thousand and eighteen.
[8:56] One night, Lisa received a phone call from a detective informing her that Nicki
[9:01] had been shot six times. Racing to the hospital fearing the worst, Lisa
[9:07] was astonished to find Nicki sitting in a wheel chair, seemingly unfazed, adorned
[9:11] with a full face of makeup, and taking selfies. Miraculously, none of
[9:16] the gunshots had struck vital organs. The shooting had stemmed from a drug related
[9:22] dispute, yet the shooter was never apprehended. Lisa hoped that this near death
[9:30] experience would serve as a wake up call for Nicki, compelling her to turn
[9:35] her life around before it was too late. After Nicki left her friend's home
[9:48] in the early morning hours of the sixth of June, she failed to return.
[9:52] Initially, her absence was dismissed as another one of Nicki's whims. Perhaps
[9:58] she had met him and was staying in his apartment. Another possibility was that
[10:03] she was scoring drug somewhere and had lost track of time. Ari L Fox,
[10:09] one of Nicki's closest friends, shrugged it off with a nonchalant remark,
[10:15] labeling it as a classic Nikki move. Yet Beneath this facade of casual dismissal,
[10:22] a chilling apprehension lingered among her friends and family. Because of Nicki's turbulent
[10:28] history, there were fears that she might have fallen victim to a fatal overdose
[10:33] and was lying dead somewhere. When Lisa checked her daughter's social media and saw
[10:37] that Nicki hadn't posted, this only added to the growing dread that something had
[10:43] happened. When Lisa checked her daughter's social media, she saw that Nicki hadn't
[10:48] posted. This only added to the growing dread that something bad had happened.
[10:56] While Nicki had vanished before, the prolonged absence only added to Lisa's concerns,
[11:01] and she reported her daughter missing. And when she didn't answer my messages on
[11:05] June sixth, I knew something was wrong. I clocked in it too,
[11:11] and she hadn't answered my messages. It had been all morning, at four
[11:16] o'clock on my first break, no response at lunch. I knew when my
[11:20] stomach something was wrong. On the tenth, I found a missing person's report.
[11:28] The policeman excused himself because he got a call on his walkie, and
[11:33] he came back and he asked me if I'd ever heard of a place called
[11:37] the Compound on sixty third Street. I said, no, what's that?
[11:41] Well that was a detective vice from sex trafficking and prostitution, and he recognized
[11:46] Nicky's name on the missing person's radio as being red flagged from there. I
[11:52] said, what does that mean? Red flag? Well, she'd been picked
[11:54] up for them many times. Her name's red flagged and she wasn't arrested.
[12:00] No, she was under age. We took her home. I go,
[12:03] how long has this been going on? Well, the first one was eight
[12:05] months ago. I go, you didn't bring her home to me. So
[12:09] where did you take her? Well, she said, her mom lived in
[12:11] Calamas. We took her out there. Yeah, so you dropped my daughter
[12:16] off at someone and you didn't ide them because you never brought her home to
[12:22] her mother. Because I'll tell you what, NICKI representing herself in that world
[12:26] as a girl and not telling the truth would get her killed. I knew
[12:33] that. I tried to get through. I had no idea she was in
[12:37] that industry. I had no idea we had a sex trafficking industry in Vancouver.
[12:43] I lived a very sheltered life. I had no clue. After hearing
[12:48] that Nicki might have been involved in sex work, Lisa was stunned. There
[12:54] were now multiple scenarios running through her head, each one as grim as the
[12:58] other. With the official report filed, Nicki's loved ones rallied together. They
[13:05] mobilized and flooded the streets with posters adorned with Nicky's image, pleading for any
[13:11] sliver of information from the public. Simultaneously, they launched a digital crusade,
[13:18] setting up a Facebook page to aid in the search. Despite their relentless pursuit,
[13:24] Nicki remained elusive. I didn't know if she was being held against her
[13:28] will in the sex trafficking industry and drugged and made to do things that were
[13:31] horrible. I didn't know if she was being shipped to another country. During
[13:43] the investigation, Nicky's friends informed detectives that she had been communicating with a man
[13:48] on Snapchot that night. Intrigued, the detectives decided to delve into Nicki's Snapchot
[13:54] activity, hoping it would reveal the identity of this mysterious mom. Their search
[14:01] led them to David Bogdanov, and Nikki had arranged for him to pick her
[14:05] up from her friend's home in the early morning hours. Despite their efforts to
[14:11] contact him, the detectives hit dead ends. They visited his apartment, his
[14:16] workplace, left cards, and made numerous phone calls, all to no avail.
[14:22] Even attempts to reach out to Bogdanov by Snapchat messages went unanswered. Frustrated
[14:30] but undeterred, the detectives decided to broaden their scope, and they reached out
[14:35] to Bogdanov's brother, Stanislav. The family was originally from Russia, but they
[14:41] had settled down in the United States, where they operated a construction business together.
[14:48] According to Stanislav, on the night that Nikki disappeared, they had encountered
[14:52] her in downtown Vancouver. David Bogdanov had initiated a conversation with her as she
[14:58] walked away loon. They shared some vodka and then exchange Snapchat details. However,
[15:07] after that night, Stanislav hadn't seen or heard from his brother or Niki.
[15:13] Curiously, Vogdanov had failed to show up for a tile job he was
[15:18] supposed to assist Stanislav with the next morning. As the investigation unfolded, it
[15:26] became clear that both Niki and Bogdanov were now missing, sparking concerns that Niki
[15:31] might be held against her will somewhere. It wasn't until late September the detectives
[15:37] finally made contact with David Bogdanov. He claimed to have experienced issues with his
[15:43] cell phone, explaining the delay and responding to messages. Following their communication,
[15:50] Detective's request to Bogdanov to attend a routine interview at the police station, where
[15:54] he met with Detective David Jensen. During the interview, Bogdov reiterated the account
[16:00] previously shared by his brother. He affirmed that they encountered Nikki walking alone and
[16:07] offered her a ride to her friend's home. Offered her my jacket because it
[16:11] was really cold outside. I said, do you want some vodka because I
[16:15] got some if you want to have a drink, just to relax a little
[16:18] bit, and she said sure, So I just gave her the bottle kind
[16:22] of take with her. I did give her my snapchat name. I'm wanted
[16:26] to just exchange snapchats and she didn't have a funnel theirs. Bogdanof a coin
[16:30] did, offering Nikki his coat due to the cool weather. It said that
[16:33] he gave her a bottle of vodka. According to Bogdanov, they had maintained
[16:37] communication through Snapchat, eventually arranging for him to pick her up again that night.
[16:45] They proceeded to his brother's home, but he said that they remained in
[16:48] the van out side, engaging in conversation. Kind of just parked her in
[16:52] the driveway, chit chatting a little bit, and then she told me that
[16:59] she's not a sheep. I was shocked to find that out and just uncomfortable
[17:03] and really really disturbed, and I asked her to please get out of the
[17:07] car because this is just really weird for me. She just got out of
[17:10] the car and I took off. Bogdanov said he felt uncomfortable upon learning that
[17:14] Nikki was transgender, citing cultural views the dam homosexuality unacceptable in Russia. Bogdanov
[17:22] said that he was disturbed and ordered Nikki out of the van. For me,
[17:26] it's even disturbing when I'm around the gapers or somebody buy or transsexual or
[17:32] something else. I just got disgusted and I asked her to just get out.
[17:36] He said that she got out and walked away and he never saw her
[17:38] again. I wish I could help you more. But I don't know.
[17:42] I'm not a kind of person too. I'm not even a violent person,
[17:48] you know, at all. Nothing. According to Bogdanov's a cont following his
[17:51] encounter with Nicki, he proceeded to drive to his workplace in Portland. Naturally,
[17:56] detectives remained suspicious if bogd and given that he was the last known person
[18:02] to have seen Nicki. However, lacking concrete evidence, they were compelled to
[18:07] release him from custody without charge. Undeterred, detectives persisted in their investigation and
[18:14] obtained additional search warrants, focusing particularly on Bogdanov's phone records, specifically his cell
[18:21] phone location data. Despite Bogdanov's assertion during his interview that he had gone directly
[18:27] to work after parting ways with Niki, the records revealed a contradictory narrative.
[18:34] They indicated that he had driven to the vicinity of Larch Mountain and then returned
[18:38] to his brother's home approximately an r and twenty five minutes later. The area
[18:45] where Bogdanov's cell phone had registered activity was expansive and rugged, posing significant challenges
[18:51] and pinpointing his exact whereabouts. Despite multiple excursions to the area by detectives,
[18:57] finding any trace of Niki proved akin to searching for a needle in a haystock.
[19:03] Undeterred by the daunting task, detectives remained steadfast in their pursuit of both
[19:08] answers and Nicky's whereabouts. However, his day stretched into weeks and weeks into
[19:15] months. The passage of time only intensified the urgency of their investigation while simultaneously
[19:22] deepening the mystery surrounding Nicky's disappearance. Large Mountain is located in Clark County,
[19:34] Washington, and comprises dense woodland, mostly Douglas fir, western red cedar,
[19:41] and hemlock trees. It's got an elevation of over four thousand feet, which
[19:45] offers panoramic feastas of the surrounding landscape, but it's very remote. On the
[19:52] morning of the seventh of December, a man was looking for bear grass,
[19:56] a type of grass that is characterized by his law, slender leaves and tall
[20:02] flowering stalks. The grassholds significant cultural and traditional importance for indigenous people of the
[20:08] region, and it's used in traditional ceremonies, basket waving, and crafting.
[20:15] The man had a keen eye for the prized plant, and as he navigated
[20:18] the rugged landscape, something in the near distance caught his eye. Curiosity got
[20:26] the better of him, so he decided to investigate. When he got closer
[20:30] to the item, he found that it was a human skull, weathered by
[20:34] time and the elements. The man stopped in his tracks and took a few
[20:41] minutes to make sure that what he was saying was indeed a human skull and
[20:45] not some kind of animal. The size and shape of the eye sockets,
[20:51] the curve of the jawbone, and the contours of the nasal cavity all pointed
[20:56] towards it being a human. Deputy Timothy Gosh was on patrol in the North
[21:03] County area when he received the report from the man. The man led Deputy
[21:08] Gosh to a difficult to reach location where a human skull was indeed discovered.
[21:15] Nearby, Deputy Gosh observed a woman's shoe, a jacket, underwear, and
[21:21] a bandana, all of which matched the clothing Nicki had been wearing when she
[21:26] was last seen by her friends. After six agonizing months, Nicki had finally
[21:32] been found. Upon arrival, forensic experts cordoned off the area and began their
[21:41] examination. Not too far from the skull, they discovered hair extensions entangled with
[21:47] a phone charger. Among the hair, they also found a hyoid bone.
[21:53] The remains were carefully transported to the medical examiner's office, where it was determined
[21:59] that he had been asphyxiated with the phone charger. Lads, do you enjoy
[22:08] getting traumatized on a weekly basis? Well, neither does my co host Neil.
[22:15] People call me a victim, Marvin a co host anyway, Welcome to
[22:19] the Mortal Music's podcast. I'm your host, Megan. Each week we dive
[22:23] into truly dark and disturbing cases. Do you ever find yourself listening to these
[22:29] horrific tales and saying to yourself, huh, No, huh, what the
[22:33] actual why? Why did you do that? Solved it? Mate? There's
[22:37] no need for that. They're just acting the box. Our episodes include cases
[22:41] of serial killers, the story of a socialite that was held captive for twenty
[22:47] five years, prison riots, wrongful executions, and scandals in the death industry.
[22:53] At the end of each episode, we throw in a tale of oddity,
[22:56] anything from medical mishaps to the real life weekend up Bernie's or Mike the
[23:02] Headless Chicken. New episodes every Wednesday, available wherever you get your podcasts,
[23:08] and remember here at the Martin Musings podcast we'd like to take the cases seriously,
[23:14] but not ourselves. The detectives held a press conference that evening. We
[23:27] cut probably the biggest break when a citizen on December seventh of this year walking
[23:33] in the Large Mountain area came across a human skull. Clark County deputies arrived
[23:40] and confirmed the findings and called out our County Search and Rescue. They conducted
[23:45] an extensive search of the area over two days and collected a number of items
[23:52] of evidence and human remains. Should be noted that that area is extremely steep,
[23:57] heavily wooded, and a lot of underbrush, and they really did an
[24:02] amazing job of collecting all that evidence for us. Over the next week,
[24:07] analysis was done on those items, along with the forensic examination of the remains,
[24:12] and with that information we were able to confirm the remains to be Mickey
[24:15] to Annas. A murder investigation was promptly initiated, with detectives focusing their attention
[24:22] on their prime suspect, David Bogdanoff. He was apprehended and taken to the
[24:27] police station for further questioning. When we spoke to you last time, I
[24:33] don't know if you recall the whole conversation, but she said that you met
[24:37] her earlier in the evening, met her downtown, hung out with her for
[24:42] a while, drank some vodka together, you gave her a coat, and
[24:48] then she went home, and then you met her again later. Is that
[24:52] ring a bell? Yeah? Okay. What you told us at the time
[24:56] was that you you and Stan went back to Archer's house at there at one
[25:03] fourteen, and you needed your band because you're gonna go to work, and
[25:07] Stan he needed to take his band to his job, right, And at
[25:10] that time was when Niki told you that Nicky was really a Heath And that's
[25:18] when you're like, I'm an I'm got into this and kicked her out of
[25:23] the van center on her way. Okay. Then after that you said that
[25:30] you went see you said you're gonna go to going to work Stands. You
[25:36] were said you're gonna go to Stands job site. No, I went to
[25:38] my other brother. Okay, Well your other brother is the Archer's job site.
[25:41] HELI. Okay, so you're gonna go to his job site. But
[25:45] then you ended up you're gonna go to your job site, you end up
[25:48] just staying his us. Remember, Yeah, sound like you said that you're
[25:52] gonna go to your job side and went to work. Yeah, you went
[25:53] to work. Detective David Jensen was aware of Bogdanof's presence in the Larch Mountain
[25:59] are ye wrong the time that Nikki disappeared, and he pressed him for information.
[26:06] What got us here today is I want to talk to you about a
[26:07] trip that you took before you went to the job site. So before we
[26:12] before we go on, he's basically summarized everything that you guys talked about.
[26:18] Is there anything about is there anything that you want to revise before we continue
[26:22] on? I mean you might just stop by the gas station, okay.
[26:33] So at the time that we talked, I didn't have the benefit of all
[26:36] of your your phone records, okay, But but now there's been some initial
[26:41] analysis done. Okay. So you left your phone, left Archer's house,
[26:48] and then went east out past Largemount. What happened on that trip? That
[26:57] trip took about our ground trip from Murcher's house pause Arch Mountain, US some
[27:03] long roads and then back again. I ever, Balgdanov chose to remain silent
[27:11] and requested a lawyer. Despite his silence, the evidence of mass against him
[27:17] was deemed sufficient to obtain an arrest warrant Sergian that you're being arrested to day
[27:22] from the murder Nikki to the cassel whose remains have been discovered Okay who was
[27:30] strangled to death. Subsequently, David Bogdanov was formally charged with second degree murder.
[27:36] Detectives how the brass conference to annoyance his arrested, during which they presented
[27:41] their theory of the events leading to Nicki's murder. The information we have is
[27:48] we just to believe that they had a kind of a hookup meeting and that
[27:52] it wasn't targeting Nikki for a particular reason. That it rose probably from the
[28:00] hookup meeting. According to their account, Bogdanov had intended to engage in sexual
[28:06] activity with Nicky. However, when he learned that she was transgender, he
[28:11] reacted with anger, allegedly resulting in him strangling her to death. This narrative
[28:18] prompted speculation regarding potential hate crime charges against Bogdanov, although detectives clarified during the
[28:25] press conference that such decisions would be up to the prosecution. Lieutenant Tom Ryan
[28:30] further stated, we would love the community to know we take all of these
[28:34] cases seriously. Whenever we have a case with a person in a group that
[28:38] is sometimes targeted because of their personance, their beliefs, and lifestyles, then
[28:44] we tend to bump that up on our concern levels. The community called for
[28:48] the charges to be upgraded and for Bogdanov to be charged with a hate crime.
[28:55] Nicki's mother, Lisa, was at the forefront of the movement, commenting
[29:00] he didn't deserve this. That hatred the last thing she felt on earth.
[29:04] Yes, she was murdered out of hatred because she was transgender. It's a
[29:10] common fact that transgender people face high rates of violence and discrimination. When transgender
[29:15] people go missing, they're most often found dead. They are disportionately targeted for
[29:22] violent attacks, even including murder, and the epidemic of violence is fueled by
[29:26] a combination of prejudice, ignorance, and systemic discrimination. According to your recent
[29:33] UCLA Law School study, transgender people are four times more likely than non transgender
[29:38] people to become victims of violent crime. In twenty nineteen, there have been
[29:45] countless attacks against transgender individuals in the United States, and Nicky was the twenty
[29:49] third transgender person to be killed that year. In twenty eighteen, Washington ranked
[29:56] as the second nationwide for most hate crimes, with six hundred and sixty six
[30:00] reported. California was first with over one thousand reported. However, detectives later
[30:07] shared that they didn't think that the charges would be upgraded because they didn't believe
[30:11] that it was a targeted killing. Advocates disagreed with Michelle Bart, president and
[30:18] co founder of the Vancouver based National Women's Coalition Against Violence and Exploitation, stating,
[30:26] although investigators cannot show premeditation, we believe there was a hate crime and
[30:32] Nicki had no chance whatsoever, whether she was lgbt Q even a woman for
[30:37] that matter. On the twentieth December, Nicki's loved ones this gathered at the
[30:44] Vancouver United Church of Christ to pay tribute to. In a deeply emotional moment,
[30:49] her mother, Lisa tearfully addressed the crowd. My fears, in my
[30:55] visions and nightmares were true stories. For six months, I prayed that wasn't
[31:00] what was happening. Despite the agony, Lisa celebrated Nicky's life, describing her
[31:06] as a beacon of love who touched countless hearts and made a positive impact on
[31:10] everyone she encountered. The overwhelming support, especially from the transgender community, deeply
[31:17] moved Lisa. They vowed to ensure that Nicky's memory would endure, offering solace
[31:22] in their promise never to forget her name. This sentiment reverberated throughout the memorial,
[31:29] echoed by the mayor, who urged please remember to say her name.
[31:34] In a later memorial, Nicky's family spoke some more. Her brother Conrad stated,
[31:41] the one thing I hope everyone can take away from this is to be
[31:45] yourself. Be who you were made to be. Don't give up. Lisa
[31:49] said that she still couldn't talk about her daughter in the past tense and that
[31:53] she hadn't accepted that she was gone forever. Nicky's stepfather, Vince Woods,
[31:59] said that he is having a really hard time coming to terms with what had
[32:01] happened. Last six months has been the longest six months of her lives.
[32:09] It's just been a roller coaster right up and down, playing in our minds,
[32:15] what has happened? Where is she? People have been awesome with their
[32:23] you know, putting out flyers and all the work. A lot of people
[32:29] did a lot of hard work, you know, trying to bring her home
[32:32] early. The next year, Bogdanov appeared in court where he was charged with
[32:37] a hate crime. Judge David Gregorson ordered him to be held on seven hundred
[32:43] and fifty thousand dollar bill, much lower than the six million dollar bill requested
[32:47] by the prosecution. The judge had set the lure a moment because Bogdanov had
[32:52] no prior criminal history, and the following month the bill was approved limiting the
[32:59] soup call panic defense. This is a legal strategy in which a defendant claims
[33:04] that they're violent actions were a response to a sudden and intense feeling of fear
[33:08] or panic. This defense is often used in hate crimes and is used to
[33:15] excuse or justify acts of violence against LGBTQ plus individuals, especially transgender people,
[33:22] by portraying their mere existence or expression of identity as a legitimate trigger for panic
[33:29] and fear. House Bill one sixty eight seven, which was named the Nicky
[33:34] Kunhausen Act, would block a defendant from using a panic defense based on discovery
[33:38] or disclosure of the victim's actual or perceived gender or sexual orientation. More specifically,
[33:45] the bill would prevent a claim of diminished responsibility because the defendant did not
[33:51] fully comprehend the nature and gravity of the alleged crime. Representative Sharon widely commented,
[33:59] what this bill is us? It removes a possible defense for the kind
[34:01] of thing that happened to NICKI. Nicky was strangled by somebody who was upset
[34:07] about who she was at lea satastified at the Senate Committee urging the bill to
[34:13] pass. I knew something was wrong, and I in my car A daughter,
[34:20] Niki kind of has an ambassy engine. Cheered of twenty eighteen and her
[34:24] remains were found in December twenty eighteen. Nick He was murdered by a person
[34:30] who found out she was transgender. I responded violently by taking her that those
[34:35] sixteen eighty seven would remove the ability to claim diminished capacity and was forced based
[34:40] on the discovery of gender identity. Now this film is not ever bringing my
[34:46] honor back? Oh would I hope because they'll keep other families from experiencing the
[34:52] same kind of a field. Thank you for your time when I asked it
[34:57] you past hospital, when were sixteen eighty I mean very much for suction.
[35:02] The bill passed on a forty six to three vote, and on the sixth
[35:07] of March, Washington banned the use of gay or transgender panic as a legal
[35:10] defense. They became the tenth state to ban the defense, following California,
[35:15] Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Nevada, New Jersey, New York,
[35:22] and Rhode Island. Following this, bogdanov'spiel was increased to two million dollars.
[35:29] This had come after it was discovered that on the day that Niki was
[35:31] killed, he had purchased a one way ticket to Ukraine. The reason detectives
[35:37] couldn't get a hold of him after he was identified as a person of interest
[35:42] wasn't because his cell phone had broken, but because he had fled the country.
[35:46] He stayed in Ukraine until the fifteenth of July, when he returned to
[35:51] the United States. The jury selection for the murder trial began in August of
[36:00] twenty and twenty one. The prospective jurors were asked questions about perceptions of LGBTQ
[36:07] plus people, Russian people, the use of the Fifth Amendment protection against self
[36:12] incrimination and self defense. By the eighteenth of that month, the jury had
[36:17] been selected and opening statements began. Senior Deputy Prosecutor Colin Hayes was the first
[36:24] to take the floor before the jury. He walked jurors through that night in
[36:29] June of two thousand and nineteen, telling them how Nicki and Bogdanoff had met
[36:32] in downtown Vancouver. During the opening statements of defense attorney Aaron mclere, Bogdanov's
[36:40] new defense became apparent. While he had first of all, completely denied killing
[36:46] Nicki during the opening statements, his defense attorney admitted that he killed her.
[36:53] However, she said that it wasn't out of prejudice, but instead to stop
[36:59] her from attacking or potentially killing Kim. Prosecutor Hayes rebuffed this defense and pointed
[37:06] out that Bogdanov was much taller and heavier than Nicky. He further said that
[37:12] after his arrest, Bogdanov was recorded in a jailhouse phone call using Russian slang
[37:16] that translates to a derogatory term for members of the LGBTQ plus community. The
[37:24] testimony got underway promptly, with Bogdanov's brothers testifying about the night Nikki disappeared.
[37:31] His former girlfriend also told the jury that she had known him to make derogatory
[37:36] comments about people he suspected were gay, bisexual, or transgender. Building on
[37:42] this, a court certified translator and Vancouver Police officer testified the Bogdanov had used
[37:47] a Russian anti gay slur when talking with family while in jail. Evidence was
[37:53] then presented about Bogdanov's meeting with Niki and the evidence collected from his cell phone.
[38:00] It showed that they had been together that night and then the next morning.
[38:04] Bogdanov's cell phone showed that he had spent an hour and a half in
[38:08] the area where Nikki's body was found. After that, Bogdanov searched Cape Flights
[38:15] and then purchased a one way ticket. The prosecution's case was short, since
[38:22] Bogdanov had now admitted that he actually did kill Niki. They just wanted to
[38:27] show that he was motivated by hatred of people in the LGBTQ plus community,
[38:31] not self defense. The defense then began their case by calling Bogdanov to the
[38:37] witness stand. His defense attorney asked him some questions about his beliefs and his
[38:44] upbringing. Yes, I was born and raised into Christianity, and in the
[38:52] last eight years kind of transitioned into Christian Jewish and I'm going to church my
[39:01] whole life pretty much. Do you have certain views of the LGBT community based
[39:07] on your religious or cultural upbringing? Yes, yeah I was. I was
[39:14] taught that it is a sin and it's not okay, but as well as
[39:22] other sins. Okay. Does this belief mean that you hate LGBT H members
[39:30] are community people. No, it doesn't mean that. But why not because
[39:40] we are all human, We all we all have things that we do,
[39:46] and I'm not nobody to hate on one person. I'm another person that does
[39:52] one thing. You know, I have my own, my own things to
[39:54] to deal with. The defense attorney then engined his ex girlfriend's comments. The
[40:01] state offer testimony through your girlfriend or your ex girlfriend Vanessa where they talked about
[40:12] you and her in the mall, where she said that you observed a either
[40:16] a gay couple or heterosexual something or gay, bi sexual or transsexual couple and
[40:23] you remarked to her that it was disgusting. Is that right? Yeah?
[40:29] What exactly was disgusting? Nothing? Nothing that I can really remember of from
[40:40] that from that moment, except it probably might have been had to have been
[40:46] something something like I probably saw some two men kissing or something like that,
[40:52] which would have prompted me to say say in private to my girl a little
[40:55] that's disgusting. Okay, So do you find homosexual activity disgusting? Then yeah.
[41:08] The testimony then shifted to the night that Nikki disappeared. I was in
[41:13] the car. I was in the vand with my brother Arthur, were just
[41:16] smoking a cigarette waiting on Stamp to come down from the apartment, and we're
[41:23] just standing sitting in the car apart on the road, and saw Nicky walking,
[41:27] Nikki walking across the street by herself. Okay, did you approach her?
[41:31] Yes? I did. I told my brother to wait in the car
[41:35] and I went went and approached Nikki by myself. Okay, So when you
[41:39] first appeared to approach Nikki, how did she appear to you? At that
[41:44] point she seemed a little emotionally off, maybe upset, and it was trying
[42:00] to talk to her. She just as if she was just like looking right
[42:04] through me. You know, we're looking at each other, but she's like
[42:07] looking past me, almost as it. Bogdanov described meeting Nikki that night after
[42:12] he had been drinking with his brothers. Later that night, he picked her
[42:16] up and they drove over to his brother's house. He said that they drove
[42:21] there so that he could switch into his own car and I D A E.
[42:24] L. They switched into the car, and Balgdanov said that Nicki moved
[42:30] to the back seat. I came back, and I opened my driver's door
[42:34] and saw that Niki was moved to the back seat. Now in the back
[42:38] of the car, okay, And what was NICKI doing at that point?
[42:43] She was smoking something out of a pipe. Wasn't gonna wasn't gonna make a
[42:47] big deal out of it. I didn't really like that she was smoking that
[42:52] in my car. And why weren't you going to make a big deal about
[42:54] it? Because I was anticipating thought that We're just gonna hook up, probably
[43:02] and and I'm just gonna drop her off. Okay, And did you get
[43:07] in the front or the back of the car? I I eventually got in
[43:14] the back. She she invited to come sitting back with her. Balked and
[43:16] I have explained to the jury that they chatted in the box staked for a
[43:20] while. That transitioned into us making up. Okay, and so by making
[43:27] out, what do you mean exchange? Is the liva? So kissing?
[43:32] Yes with tongue? Yes? Is there touching or anything else? Yes?
[43:39] Okay? Who was touching? Who? Is a little bit of both?
[43:47] At first? Where was she touching you? Her? H? She started
[44:12] touching me in my private area? Okay. Bogdanov said that he then removed
[44:20] his trousers. She engages him, giving me oral sex. I reach over
[44:28] as she's bent over, I reach over and put my hand in her pants.
[44:34] Okay, you kind of tell me about that. What do you feel
[44:36] when you put your hands in her pants? I worked around the layer layers
[44:45] of clothing again, Tobo was clearly balls and penis. According to Bogdanov,
[44:52] he pushed Nikki away from him and began swearing at her and ordered her out
[44:55] of the car. I freak out, and I uh push your back,
[45:06] push her back towards the passenger's door, and just start freaking out, saying
[45:15] I'm sorry if I because but I was saying, you know, what the
[45:17] fuck? What is this? You didn't tell me you were a dude.
[45:22] Bogdanov explained that he was humiliated and that he would have been shunned if his
[45:25] family found out. According to Bogdanov, Nicki started fighting with him after he
[45:31] pushed her into the passenger door. He claimed that Nicki then reached towards the
[45:37] front seat, where he had a loaded handgun tucked away. He described attempting
[45:43] to pull Nikki back away from the gun. He said she knew there was
[45:46] a gun there because he had told her earlier that he always carried a gun
[45:51] so that she wouldn't freak out, and that he had a concealed carry permit
[45:54] for it. And at that time, when I put him down, she
[45:59] just jumps up and goes towards the center console, towards my gun. Okay,
[46:05] what's your what are you thinking at this point when she jumps or springs
[46:10] towards the center console and you think they're going out her console and you think
[46:14] she's going to your gun? What's going through your mind? I I'm thinking,
[46:24] you know, I just was deceived by this person into oral sex,
[46:31] and this person's hile meth. She's jumping from my gun. At this point,
[46:39] the overwhelming feeling and thought was like a fight or flight mode just kicks
[46:46] in. Bogdanov described bearing for his life if Nicki got her hands on the
[46:51] gun. He said that she elbowed him and tried to clawed his face,
[46:55] and that he struggled to get a grip on the jacket that she was wearing
[47:00] in the passenger's seat, the front passenger's seat in the rear pocket was hanging
[47:06] out my phone cord, my charging the cable and in the in that struggle,
[47:12] I I grabbed that cable and put it around her and so I can
[47:17] hold onto it and hould her back like that and hold her, hold her
[47:22] from from going keep going forward for the gun. He alleged that he wrapped
[47:25] a phone charger around her shoulder area, but during the struggle, the cord
[47:30] slipped around her neck. Balkedanov told the jury that once Nicky stopped moving,
[47:36] he removed the charger. He claimed he believed that she had only passed out.
[47:42] Bogdanov said that he then grabbed the gun and put it in the trunk
[47:45] of the car and then came back to check on Nicki. I came back
[47:50] around to check up on Nicki, and uh, she wasn't she wasn't waking
[47:55] up, and I started, I try to check if she's breathing, you
[48:04] know, was she Bogdanov testified that he was too afraid to call the police.
[48:12] He didn't think that they would believe him because he had been drinking.
[48:15] He said that there were drugs in the car as well, but said that
[48:19] these belonged to Nicki. Bogdanov maintained that he didn't mean to kill Nikki,
[48:24] He just wanted to get her out of the car and get her away from
[48:28] the loaded gun. He then decided he needed to get rid of Niki's body
[48:32] and thought of large mountain he'd been shooting there before, so he drove over
[48:37] there with Nicki's body in the back seat. He pulled up along a steep
[48:42] hillside and pushed Nikki's body out of the car. Later that day, he
[48:46] booked a one way ticket to Ukraine, telling the jury that he was an
[48:50] emotional wreck. According to Bogdanov, he had called a friend to get rid
[48:54] of his car and said he had no idea where the car was nor the
[48:59] gun that was allegedly inside it. Under cross examination by prosecutor Hayes, he
[49:06] pointed out the differences in their size. Is it a true that with your
[49:09] size and strike advantage, you knew you would be able to overpower Nicki in
[49:14] a physical altercation. I didn't know that I'd be able to overpower her,
[49:17] but I was definitely trying to keep her away from the gun. And I'll
[49:23] say in goodness, I have the strength, because otherwise it might have been
[49:27] different. But it wasn't a strong person. So you are a strong person,
[49:32] right by some standards. You moved Nicki's body on your own right.
[49:39] Yes. The prosecutor then asked Bogdanov about his interviews with detectives. He never
[49:45] once mentioned anything about self defense or any violent altercation with Nicki. Bogdanov said
[49:52] that he hadn't said anything, claiming that he was too afraid that it wouldn't
[49:55] be believed. After Bogdanov testified, the defense rested their case. He was
[50:04] the sole witness for their entire case. The crux of the case truly hinged
[50:08] on whether or not the jury believed him. During closing arguments, Deputy prosecutor
[50:14] Kristin Arnold pointed out inconsistencies in Bogdanov's testimony. She said that he had used
[50:22] more force than was necessary or that a reasonable person would use when he strangled
[50:27] Nicki with the phone cord. She argued that his testimony showed the thought going
[50:31] through his head as Nicki fought back was that he had been deceived, not
[50:37] that he was fearful. She also said that he lied multiple times to detectives
[50:43] and pointed out that he never told them that he was defending himself from Nicki.
[50:49] Defense attorney Matthew Hoff touched on this during his closing arguments. He said
[50:53] that Bogdanov didn't tell the truth because he didn't want people to know that he
[50:58] had sexual contact with the transgender woman. He said that Bogdanov had pushed Nikki
[51:04] away and cursed at her because he didn't consent to having sexual contact with her.
[51:09] He stated, that's not a primary aggressor, that's someone reacting how most
[51:15] people would react under the same situation. The jury would then send off to
[51:22] deliberate, but there was a problem. Some mors later, the jury expressed
[51:27] concern to the court about potential dur or misconduct. They said that they had
[51:32] reached a verdict on one count but were deadlocked on the other. In the
[51:37] notes that were passed to the court, they said that one juror appeared to
[51:42] be basing her decision on personal no views and not on the facts of the
[51:45] case. By the next day, however, they had reached a unanimous verdict.
[51:52] They found David Bogdanov guilty of second degree murder and hate crime. As
[51:58] the verdict was announced, Nikki's family quietly celebrated from the public gallery, but
[52:02] Bogdanov showed no semblance of emotion. In a Facebook post that evening, the
[52:08] Justice for Nicki group applauded the jury's findings. They wrote, the long build
[52:15] up to this trial and the defense's attempts to somehow paint Nikki, who was
[52:20] a seventeen year old girl, as being responsible for the defendant's violent actions were
[52:25] excruciating for us, and particularly for Nicki's mother, Lisa. There's no excuse
[52:31] for what happened to Nicki. This hate crime wounded our community. After the
[52:38] verdict, Bogdanov returned to court on the twenty ninth of August for the sentencing
[52:43] phase. He took his place alongside his defense to him while Nikki's mother sat
[52:47] in the public gallery, she was clutching a stuffed animal that her daughter used
[52:52] to sleep with. The prosecution were seeking the maximum sentence aloud, while the
[52:59] defense wanted just eleven years. Judge David Gregorson addressed Boganov. He became very
[53:07] emotional as he described how he was struck by the darkness of the case.
[53:12] He further noted that there was an element of predation in the case because Nikki
[53:15] was only seventeen years old, whereas David Bogdanov was twenty five and he had
[53:22] provided her with alcohol. He stated, everyone in this courtroom has been seventeen
[53:28] at some point in their lives. She could have been anyone's son or daughter.
[53:34] The judge then sentenced David Bogdanov to twenty years in prison. In a
[53:39] world where acceptance and understanding often falter, transgender people navigate a perilous path brought
[53:46] with danger, particularly from the hands of violent men. Simply living their truth
[53:52] becomes an act of bravery as they faced the grim reality of hate, crimes,
[53:58] discrimination, and physical astas solely for being who they are. Ikey Kunhausen
[54:04] was a proud transgender woman who had lived a difficult life. In the end,
[54:08] she found out the hard way that by simply existing she was seen as
[54:13] a threat by a man clinging to narrow minded ideologies. Well, Bessie's that
[54:36] is it for this episode of Morbidology. It's always thank you so so much
[54:39] for listening, and I'd like to say a massive thank you to my new
[54:43] supporter up on Patreon, Lisa. In exchange for your support up on Patreon,
[54:49] I upload adfree in early release episodes, bonus episodes of Morbidology plus that
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[55:22] read or true crime articles. Until next time, take care of yourselves,
[55:27] stay safe, and have an amazing week.

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