Nicholas Denham has again been found guilty for the aggravated first-degree murder of his former girlfriend, Charlene Van Auken, and her 4-year-old daughter, Zoey Peetz, in 2020.
A sentencing hearing had not been scheduled as of Friday morning.
Denham’s retrial began Oct. 27 after Denham successfully appealed his 2022 conviction for the same crime.
The Court of Appeals issued an unpublished opinion in December 2023 siding with Denham, finding that Thurston County Superior Court wrongly overturned the defense’s objection to a potential juror being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 Court of Appeals ordered that Denham be retried, and his case was refiled in October 2024.
After 24 days of trial, a jury found Denham guilty of two counts of first-degree aggravated murder.
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.
Thurston County Sheriff Derek Sanders thanked his staff, the Thurston County Prosecutor’s Office, Thurston County Superior Court and the family and friends of Zoey and Charlene for getting through the second trial.
“We look forward to a repeat of the first round of sentencing, which included two consecutive life sentences with no parole for his vile actions that led to the senseless killing of Charlene and Zoey,” Sanders said in a social media post on Thursday.
