The Life and Death of Nikki Kuhnhausen
This episode appears to contain dynamically inserted ads. Transcript timestamps may be approximate.
[Music] What do you think the most striking part of her young personality was to you? Her confidence. Her confidence in who she was. She could bring light to any situation. She was just full of beauty. [Music] She was just like, "Huh, I'm unstoppable." [Music] She stood out. [Music] Cheerful, caring, down for adventures. [Music] She had hopes and dreams and aspirations for her life. That there was a big future ahead for her. [Music] I was getting ready to go into work. Someone texted me, "Call the police, Nikki's gone." In the first week, I figured she was just hanging out somewhere, lost her phone or something. We start making pliers and putting up pliers. I just knew that she was being held against her will or worse. [Music] One of the first clues in this case came from 17-year-old Nikki Koonhausen herself. When investigators discovered messages on Snapchat, a social media platform, about someone she had met that night, a man named David Bogdanov. All right. This is Detective David Jensen with Vancouver Police, and I have with the David Bogdanov to have your consent to record this conversation. [Music] I saw her walking. I walked up to her. I asked her, "Why is she walking alone in the middle of the night?" And she said that she had some big fight with her boyfriend. And she was really upset. And I was just trying to be a nice guy, you know? So you're the last person to ever see her. [Music] After she left with you, no one ever saw her again. I don't know what I can tell you. [Music] David is kind. David is caring. David made everyone laugh. He was everyone's friend. [Music] I tried to keep my hopes high, but after six months, it's a lot of hard for that. [Music] When you heard that her remains were found, what was your initial reaction? [Music] Investigators say David Bogdanov killed 17-year-old Nikki Coonhausen. As her suspected killer, David Bogdanov made his first court appearance. By the time we got to trial, now we had three different versions of what happened. [Music]
Transcription truncated.
A young woman disappears after a Snapchat rendezvous. Her murder inspired a new law. "48 Hours" contributor Jamie Yuccas reports.