Nikki Kuhnhausen's Life and Death: Sneak peek | Forensic Files

[Music] what do you think the most striking part of her young personality was to you her
confidence her confidence in who she was she could bring light to any situation she was just full of beauty
she was just like i'm unstoppable she stood out cheerful caring down for adventures
she had hopes and dreams and aspirations for her life that there was a big future ahead for
her i was getting ready to go into work someone text me call the police nikki's gone
in the first week i figured she was just hanging out somewhere lost her phone or something
we start making fires and putting up fires i just knew that she was being held against her will or
or worse one of the first clues in this case came from 17 year old nikki kunhausen herself
when investigators discovered messages on snapchat a social media platform about someone she had met that night a
man named david bogdanoff all right this is detective david jensen with vancouver police and i have with me uh
david bogdanoff do i have your consent to record this conversation i saw her walking i
walked up to her asked her why she walking alone in the middle of the night and she said that
she had some big fight with her boyfriend and she's really upset and uh i was just trying to be a nice guy you
know so you're the last person to ever see her after she left with you no one ever saw
her again i don't know what i can tell you david is kind david is caring they had made everyone laugh he
was everyone's friend [Music] i try to keep my hopes high but after six months it's a little hard for that
when you heard that her remains were found what was your initial reaction it was devastating
investigators say david bogdanov killed 17-year-old nikki kunhausen after suspected killer david bogdanov
made his first court appearance by the time we got to trial now we had three different versions of what
happened mr bogdanov will testify to what happened that night the whole time i was just yelling for
her to stop he was lying and he was full of anger she's trying to fight me and just
reaching back and scratching at my face he had no regard for her life at all there's a struggle going on here trying
to gouge my eyes there's a life or death struggle going on his actions and his words show that he
intended to kill nikki and he intended to kill her because of who she was a transgender young woman
this is a narrative and a story that plays out all the time when trans people go missing they're
usually found deceased [Music] you

A young woman disappears after a Snapchat rendezvous. Her murder inspired a new law. "48 Hours" contributor Jamie Yuccas reports Saturday, June 25 at 10/9c on CBS and Paramount+.

Crime. Social justice. Impact. "48 Hours" investigates the most intriguing crime and justice cases that touch on all areas of the human experience including greed and passion. "48 Hours," which premiered in 1988, has developed a rich history of original reporting and impact journalism that has helped exonerate wrongly convicted people, caused cold cases to be reopened and solved, and along the way changed lives.

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Brief Summary

Nikki Kunhausen, a transgender teen, was murdered by David Bogdanoff after a night out, highlighting issues of safety for transgender individuals.

Key points

The Disappearance of Nikki Kunhausen. Nikki's vibrant personality and aspirations are overshadowed by her tragic disappearance.
The Investigation Begins. A text leads to a police call, revealing the urgency of Nikki's case.
Trial and Testimony. Conflicting accounts emerge as the trial unfolds, revealing the struggle for truth.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

I'm unstoppable.

0:29WatchDec 15, 2021

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