In the quiet woods near Tolmie State Park in Olympia, Washington, a grim discovery was made on March 10, 2020. The bodies of 34-year-old Charlene Van Auken, a Caucasian female, and her 4-year-old daughter, Zoey Peetz, were found on a trail in the 5700 block of Puget Beach Road Northeast. Both had been fatally shot in the head, with Charlene's wound being a contact gunshot wound.
The heartbreaking event sent shockwaves through the community and left family and friends mourning the senseless loss of a loving mother and her young child.
The investigation into the double homicide quickly pointed to a suspect: Nicholas Joseph Denham. Detectives with the Thurston County Sheriff's Office identified him as a person of interest, and just two days after the discovery of the victims, Denham was arrested. The investigation revealed that Denham had been in a previous relationship with Charlene Van Auken. While incarcerated, Denham attempted to obstruct the investigation by writing coded letters that aimed to create doubt about his involvement and suggest another person was responsible for the murders. However, this scheme ultimately failed.
After a nearly two-month-long trial, a jury found Nicholas Denham guilty of two counts of aggravated first-degree murder. In addition to the murder charges, he was also convicted on multiple other felony counts, including unlawful possession of a firearm and burglary. For his crimes, Denham was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The court proceedings brought a measure of closure to the family and community, though the pain of losing Charlene and Zoey remains. The senseless act was described by the Thurston County Sheriff's Office as something that "forever impacted the family and friends of these victims, our community and our first responders."
