Activists slam judge who set bail for man charged with strangling trans teen to death
Nikki Kuhnhausen, 17, had been missing since the summer. (Facebook)
Activists are “profoundly disappointed” that a judge has granted bail to a man who is charged with strangling a trans teen to death with her own hair extension.
25-year-old David Bogdanov is facing a charge of second-degree murder for allegedly killing Nikki Kuhnhausen, 17, after he learned that she was trans, KGW reported.
Kuhnhausen had been missing since June 2019, but on December 7 her skull was found in forested area in Larch Mountain, Oregon.
Police found hair extensions nearby and attached to the hair was “what appeared to be a ligature,” according to the probable cause statement.
Medical examiners later concluded that Kuhnhausen’s death was a homicide by asphyxiation.
According CBS, court documents stated that she met Bogdanov when he invited her to a bar for a drink. She went home, but later came out again to meet him.
Bogdanov told detectives that when he found out Kuhnhausen was trans he was “shocked,” “uncomfortable,” and “really, really disturbed”. Detectives believe that this is when Bogdanov killed the 17-year-old.
But according to The Colombian on Thursday January 2, judge David Gregerson set $750,000 bail for Bogdanov despite prosecutors calling for a no-bail hold in the case or at least a $6 million bail.
Gregerson said that the bail was appropriate because the alleged killer does not have a criminal history.
Lisa Woods, mother of the trans teen, told the judge at the bail hearing: “I want to stress that the LGBTQ community is not safe with this monster on the streets.”
Around a hundred supporters of Kuhnhausen and her family showed up to the hearing, chanting “justice for Nikki” three times after the judge set the bail.
Michelle Bart, president and co-founder of the National Women’s Coalition Against Violence and Exploitation in Vancouver, told the newspaper: “He doesn’t deserve to be out on the street. And the judge was wrong. The judge was wrong in this particular case. Nikki Kuhnhausen did not get justice today.”
She added that bail was recently set at $2 million in a case of attempted murder with teenage suspects and a victim in their sixties.
