In 2021 David Bogdanov was found guilty of Second degree murder, and Malicious harassment, a hate crime in WA. He was sentenced to 20 years for the murder of Nikki Kuhnhausen, a 17 year old transgender teenager.
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Nikki Kuhnhausen was a 17 year old transgender youth who was murdered in June of 2019. Her remains were discovered December 7th, 2019. Nikki was murdered when the man she was with found out that she was transgender and had a violent response.
That man has been arrested and charged with 2nd degree murder with a hate crime add-on. He was granted bail, though is currently still incarcerated.
Nikki, like a lot of trans youth, lived in a world that is not safe. Where most youth can be who they are, go on dates, and enjoy being young, trans youth are at risk if they do the same things.
Nikki was lucky that she had family support and love. A large number of trans youth are disowned by their families when they come out, a fact that plays into the disparity of LGBTQ youth experiencing homelessness. 40% of all youth expericning homelessness are LGBTQ identified, while only about 4% of the total population are LGBTQ identified. Homelessness leads to issues in accessing education, employment and all areas of wellness.
The known upcoming court dates are set for March 17th, July 2nd and July 6th. More information about these dates and the opportunities for activism will be made public via the Justice For Nikki Facebook group. ( www.facebook.com/groups/justice4nikki )