On March 10, 2020, the quiet community of Olympia, Washington, was shaken by a grim discovery. The bodies of 4-year-old White female Zoey Peetz and her 34-year-old mother, Charlene Van Auken, were found on a trail in the 5700 block of Puget Beach Road Northeast. The circumstances of their deaths were immediately deemed suspicious by detectives, with all indications pointing towards a homicide.
The Thurston County Coroner's Office later confirmed that both mother and daughter had died from gunshot wounds to the head.
The investigation quickly led authorities to a primary suspect, Nick Denham. Just two days after the discovery of the victims, on March 12, 2020, Denham was arrested in connection with the double homicide. The investigation revealed that the bodies had been moved to the trail after they were killed. Evidence found in Van Auken's car, which was located near Lacey Elementary School, included blood stains and a bullet hole in Zoey's car seat, indicating the child was shot while strapped in her seat.
Following his arrest, Nick Denham faced a trial that lasted nearly two months. In April 2022, a jury found him guilty on two counts of first-degree murder, in addition to ten other felony charges. These charges also included unlawful possession of a firearm and burglary. The court learned that one of the firearms stolen by Denham from a former girlfriend was linked to the murders. For his crimes, Nicholas Denham was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. During the sentencing, family members remembered Charlene and Zoey for their bright smiles and infectious laughter, expressing the profound and lasting grief their murders caused.
