x
Breaking News
More () »

Slain Vancouver teen Nikki Kuhnhausen subject of Washington bill

The Nikki Kuhnhausen act would prevent a defendant from using the "panic defense" of diminished capacity based on the victim’s gender or sexual orientation.

VANCOUVER, Wash. — Editor's note: Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the Nikki Kuhnhausen Act into law on March 5, 2020.

A Vancouver teen who was allegedly strangled to death by a man who had just learned she was transgender is the subject of a bill making its way through the Washington Legislature.

The remains of 17-year-old Nikki Kuhnhausen were found in the Larch Mountain area of east Clark County in December 2019. She had been missing since June.

According to court documents, 25-year-old David Bogdanov strangled Kuhnhausen to death after he learned she was a transgender woman.

Bogdanov pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder. His trial is scheduled for July 2020.

A bill in the Washington Legislature would prevent a defendant from using a defense of diminished capacity based on the discovery of the victim’s gender or sexual orientation. 

The defense is also called the "gay/trans panic defense," according to the American Bar Association, that calls it “a legal strategy which asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for the defendant’s violent reaction, including murder." 

More from the American Bar Association 

House Bill 1687 would also block a defendant from using force against another based on the discovery or disclosure, including under circumstances in which the victim made an unwanted romantic or sexual advance towards the defendant.

Credit: KGW
David Bogdanov,25, appears in Clark County Superior Court on Dec. 18, 2019 facing a charge of second-degree murder in the death of Vancouver teen Nikki Kuhnhausen.

The bill would be known as the Nikki Kuhnhausen act.

It was approved in the House by a 90-5 vote. It has moved on for consideration in the Senate.

RELATED: N.J. bans gay and transgender 'panic defenses'

RELATED: 'He chose to murder my baby girl': Vancouver teen’s accused killer faces family, supporters in court

RELATED: 'She was a rainbow of light': Loved ones remember murdered Vancouver teen

Before You Leave, Check This Out