Nicholas Denham has again received two life sentences without the possibility of parole for the 2020 murders of Charlene Van Auken, and her 4-year-old daughter, Zoey Peetz.
He was sentenced by Judge Carol Murphy on Thursday, Dec. 18, in Thurston County Superior Court after a jury found him guilty of two counts of first-degree murder, five counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, first-degree burglary, three counts of theft of a firearm and discharging a firearm or weapon in a public space following his retrial.
“Nothing I can do at this sentence is going to make things better for anyone. I wish that could happen,” Murphy said Thursday.
Denham received the same sentence Thursday that he received when he was first convicted in May 2022. The Court of Appeals overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial after finding that Thurston County Superior Court wrongly overturned the defense’s objection to a potential juror being dismissed during jury selection.
Denham’s defense attorney, William Starnes, insisted Thursday that Denham was not responsible for the case being retried.
“An appeal was submitted on Mr. Denham’s behalf after the first trial, because that's what we do. That is what his lawyers are obligated to do,” Starnes said. “There were practical concerns that made it relatively impossible for it to go down a different way. Mr. Denham didn’t ask to be here a second time.”
Regardless, the retrial was “a traumatic reopening of the wound” for the victims’ family and friends, Zoey’s father, Jordan Peetz, said Thursday.
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.
Denham had stolen three firearms and cash from an ex-girlfriend’s home on Feb. 5, 2020. He murdered Van Auken in her car before murdering Zoey, who was buckled into her car seat behind the driver’s seat.
While the defense noted that Denham has been in counseling in prison and is working on self improvement, Peetz criticized Denham’s apparent lack of remorse and his behavior during the retrial, calling it callous.
“We’re still in the same position that we were five years ago,” Peetz said.
When given the opportunity to speak before his sentencing, Denham declined. When asked if he was sure, he apologized to Peetz.
“I’m so sorry, Jordan,” he said.
All parties expressed their condolences for those impacted by the murders.
“My hope for all of you impacted by these incomprehensible crimes is that you will live your lives in ways that honor the lives lost, rather than focusing on the way that they died,” Murphy said.
To Denham, she said, “I just don't know if you will ever allow yourself to take that responsibility for the crimes that you are convicted of, or what your future holds. But in prison, you will have opportunities to live your life in ways that are productive, although the community will be safer while you are incarcerated.”
