A prosecutor advised a Clark County Superior Court docket jury Tuesday that David Bogdanov strangled 17-year-old Nikki Kuhnhausen with a phone twine after studying the teenager was transgender, dumped her physique on Larch Mountain and later within the Fled the nation evening.
In his opening tackle, Assistant Legal professional Colin Hayes led the jury by means of the evening in June 2019 that Bogdanov and Kuhnhausen met in downtown Vancouver and the occasions surrounding their demise.
Vancouver-based Bogdanov, 27, is on trial for second diploma homicide and malevolent harassment, now legally labeled a hate crime in Washington. Its course of is alleged to take as much as two weeks.
Vancouver protection legal professional Erin McAleer advised jurors in his opening speech that Bogdanov didn’t kill Kuhnhausen out of prejudice, however moderately to forestall them from attacking or probably killing him.
Earlier than opening the statements, the events argued over whether or not Bogdanov may testify that Kuhnhausen used methamphetamine and his earlier expertise with individuals who behaved violently whereas underneath the affect of medication.
McAleer promised to provide the jury a conclusion on the case that the state lacks.
Declaring the variations in stature and power between Kuhnhausen and Bogdanov when refuting the self-defense declare, Hayes identified that Bogdanov was a lot taller and heavier than Kuhnhausen.
He mentioned that because the trial progresses, the jury will hear of recorded jail communications that includes Bogdanov in Russian slang, which is a derogatory time period for members of the LGBTQ group.
Hayes mentioned he was assured the jury would discover Bogdanov responsible of homicide and malevolent harassment for “shortening what was already a brief life”.
On Tuesday afternoon, the state known as its first witnesses: Kuhnhausen’s mom, the assistant to a Clark County sheriff who responded to the 911 name when Kuhnhausen’s stays had been discovered, and a Vancouver police officer investigating the disappearance of Kuhnhausen.
Kuhnhausen’s mom Lisa Woods described {the teenager} as one among seven kids and a dancer. She mentioned she reported Kuhnhausen lacking on June 10 after she stopped replying to or studying her mom’s every day messages.
Rep. Timothy Gosch was engaged on patrol in North County when he answered a telephone name on December 7, 2019 on Larch Mountain, he advised the jury. He was guided alongside Division of Pure Assets gravel roads to a junction and right into a wooded space by the caller from the Larch Corrections Heart.
Gosch mentioned he was taken to a cranium and tennis shoe that investigators would later establish as belonging to Kuhnhausen. It will have taken about an hour to get from downtown Vancouver to the distant space, the deputy mentioned.
Detective David Jensen learn Snapchat messages he had requested from the social networking app between Kuhnhausen and Bogdanov’s accounts. The information describes the 2 who wished to fulfill round 5 a.m. on June 6, 2019 and Bogdanov arrived on the home the place Kuhnhausen lived. Geolocating his Snapchat account additionally confirmed he was there.
The jury heard tapes of two police interviews with Bogdanov. In it he described how he met Kuhnhausen on the road when he was along with his two brothers and he or she was touring alone. He additionally advised police he was “actually, actually bothered” after Kuhnhausen advised him she was transgender, however he mentioned she obtained out of his van and left.
The state will name witnesses Wednesday morning, together with different law enforcement officials within the case and the person who discovered Kuhnhausen’s stays on the mountainside.
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