'HATE MURDER'
BEFORE she was brutally murdered in 2019, Nikki Kuhnhausen was constantly snapping selfies and posting to social media.
Little did anyone know, the transgender 17 year-old's online presence would help prosecutors solve her case.
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While Kuhnhausen's mother was the first to issue a missing person's report, her sudden radio silence on social media also alerted her followers that something was wrong.
Kuhnhausen is one of many victims featured in Hulu's How I Caught My Killer series who left a trail of tips that pointed toward her killer.
GONE MISSING
The teenager had been staying with friends on the night of her disappearance, before she reportedly left to meet 25 year-old David Bogdanov for a date.
The two had spent some time communicating over the phone, exchanging photos and flirtatious messages.
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Kuhnhausen's mother, Lisa Woods, knew something was amiss when her daughter did not come home and she couldn't get a hold of her. They typically spoke over the phone every day.
At this point, the Vancouver police were not coming up with any leads. They needed hard evidence for a conviction.
TRAIL OF TEXTS
Investigators turned to Kuhnhausen's social media. The last time she spent using an app was traced back to a private chat on Snapchat.
Eventually, law enforcement was able to get a warrant for Snapchat to turn over private user information.
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They found that the Snapchat messages had been sent to David Bogdanov, confirming that they met prior to her disappearance.
The meeting did not go as planned. Authorities were led to believe that the two had a sexual encounter, after which Bogdanov learned that Kuhnhausen was transgender.
Following a tense exchange, Bogdanov told police that the teen got out of his car and he never saw her again.
HUMAN REMAINS
Six months later, Kuhnhausen's body was discovered by a hiker in a mountain outside of Portland.
Medical examiners determined that Kuhnhausen’s death was a homicide by asphyxiation.
Her body was found near a tangled phone charger, with wig hair intertwined in it. Examiners concluded that was the murder weapon.
The police turned back to their original suspect, Bogdanov, by pulling data from his phone.
Cell tower data placed his phone where Kuhnhausen's body was found. Bogdanov was arrested shortly after.
SOCIAL MEDIA SUPPORTERS
Before her disappearance, the transgender teenager gained a notable following on social media, especially among the LGBTQ+ community.
Many of her followers rallied the police, and offered their own theories on what transpired. Some of their suspicions turned out to be correct.
According to a CBS report, the altercation occurred just after Bogdanov found out she was transgender. He told police he was "shocked to find that out. And just uncomfortable and really, really disturbed."
At his trial, Bogdanov argued he killed Kuhnhausen in self-defense after she allegedly reached for his gun. He then panicked and abandoned her body.
Bogdanov was found guilty of murder and malicious harassment, a hate crime. He was given a sentence of up to 19 years in prison.
LASTING LEGACY
Much owed to her social media popularity, Kuhnhausen's murder will not be forgotten.
Kuhnhausen's mother and her supporters from the Justice for Nikki Task Force worked with legislations to pass Nikki's Law.
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According to The Reflector, the law was designed to prevent defendants accused of violent crimes from using sexual orientation or gender identity as an excuse for violence.
“This bill is not going to bring my daughter back, but what I hope (is) it will keep other families from experiencing the same kind of pain I feel,” Woods said.
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