Jury finds Olympia man guilty of killing mother, daughter
UPDATED: Thu., April 21, 2022
Associated Press
OLYMPIA – An Olympia man was found guilty Wednesday in the March 2020 double homicide of a mother and 4-year-old daughter, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
On March 10, 2020, the bodies of 34-year-old Charlene Van Auken and her 4-year-old daughter, Zoey Peetz, were found in the 5700 block of Puget Beach Road Northeast, KIRO-TV reported.
Detectives called the deaths suspicious and said all signs at the time pointed to homicide.
The suspect, Nick Denham, was quickly identified by detectives, and he was arrested on March 12, 2020.
After two months of trial, a jury found Denham guilty on two counts of first-degree murder along with 10 other felony charges.
Local journalism is essential.
Give directly to The Spokesman-Review's Northwest Passages community forums series -- which helps to offset the costs of several reporter and editor positions at the newspaper -- by using the easy options below. Gifts processed in this system are not tax deductible, but are predominately used to help meet the local financial requirements needed to receive national matching-grant funds.
Subscribe now to get breaking news alerts in your email inbox
Get breaking news delivered to your inbox as it happens.