Closing arguments in the retrial of Nicholas Denham began the morning of Wednesday, Dec. 10. The jury was expected to begin deliberations either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning.
The trial began on Monday, Oct. 27.
Denham was originally convicted by a jury in 2022 for the aggravated first-degree murder of his former girlfriend, Charlene Van Auken, and her 4-year-old daughter, Zoey Peetz, in 2020.
A couple walking their dogs found the victims’ bodies at about 6:30 p.m. March 10, 2020, on a trail near Tolmie State Park in northeast Thurston County.
Denham was arrested two days later following an investigation by the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
The Thurston County Coroner’s Office later determined both victims died from gunshot wounds to the head.
Denham received two consecutive lifetime sentences without the possibility of parole, but appealed his conviction to the Washington State Court of Appeals shortly after his sentencing in May 2022.
The Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion in December 2023 siding with Denham, finding that Thurston County Superior Court wrongly overturned the defense’s objection to a potential juror being dismissed during jury selection.
The prosecution had challenged the selection of a juror due to “concern about a possible underlying bias towards defense,” according to appeals court documents. The defense objected to the prosecution’s challenge under a rule, GR 37, that sets guidelines intended to eliminate unfair exclusion of potential jurors based on race or ethnicity.
The Court of Appeals ultimately found that the court “failed to adequately apply and analyze the correct legal standard under GR 37,” and ordered Thurston County Superior Court to retry the case.
While the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office opposed the Court of Appeals’ decision and asked it to reconsider, the Court of Appeals finalized its decision in October 2024.
Denham was booked back into the Thurston County Jail on Oct. 25, 2024, and his case was refiled in Thurston County Superior Court a few days later, according to jail records and court documents.
His second jury trial began about a year later.
Denham’s first trial lasted nearly two months, according to reporting by The Olympian.
