Thurston County man who killed woman and her 4-year-old gets life without parole
A 37-year-old Thurston County man convicted of killing a 34-year-old mother and her 4-year-old daughter in 2020 has been sentenced to life in prison – again.
Thurston County Superior Court Judge Carol Murphy sentenced Nicholas Joseph Denham on Thursday.
Murphy delivered the sentence a week after a jury found Denham guilty of murdering Charlene Van Auken and her daughter, Zoey Peetz. Judge Mary Sue Wilson sentenced Denham to life in prison in 2022 for the same crime. However, he successfully appealed his conviction, which led to a new, seven-week trial.
“The evidence in this case is so tragic,” Murphy said. “It’s impossible to make sense of why these crimes were committed and why two amazing and promising lives were ended so violently.”
The Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II, sided with Denham in a December 2023 unpublished opinion. The appeals court found Thurston County Superior Court wrongly rejected his defense attorney’s objection to the dismissal of a potential juror.
Despite winning the appeal, Denham found himself facing a life sentence again.
“The justice system does not work in ways that are healing or make things better,” Murphy said. “But it is important to recognize that the justice system has a purpose, and although very slow in this case, that purpose is being met.”
Prosecuting Attorney Jon Tunehim said Denham burglarized his ex-partner’s home, stole firearms from that home and then shot at the Olympia tavern where the ex-partner worked.
Tunheim said Denham gained the trust of Van Auken and stayed at her home following his separation with his ex-partner. Evidence presented at trial suggested she wanted him to move out, he said.
One day, Denham shot a “helpless” Van Auken and Peetz, both in the head, near his parent’s residence in northeast Thurston County and dumped their bodies by a trail, he said.
Court records indicate a couple found the bodies and called 911. This prompted a double homicide investigation that led to Denham’s eventual arrest.
“The nature of the crime then, that we see from the evidence in the vehicle and from autopsy and how the crime was carried out, it was clearly an act of surprise if you will, for Charlene (Van Auken).”
While in custody, Denham wrote strange, coded letters from the point of view of someone confessing to the murders, according to court records. He told investigators he did so with the intent of creating reasonable doubt he murdered Van Auken and Peetz.
Denham wrote in one of the letters that Peetz wouldn’t “shut up,” Tunheim said. That statement shows Denham harbored a “brutality” and lack of empathy or conscience, he said.
Given the “heinousness” of these crimes, Tunheim asked the court to sentence Denham to life in prison without parole for two counts of murder as well as the high-end sentences for 10 remaining convictions.
The jury convicted Denham of 12 counts on Dec. 11.
- Aggravated first-degree murder while armed with a firearm for the death of Van Auken.
- Aggravated first-degree murder while armed with a firearm for the death of Peetz.
- First-degree unlawful possession of a firearm for the firearm he possessed while murdering Van Auken and Peetz.
- First-degree burglary while armed with a firearm for burglarizing an ex-partner’s home.
- Three counts of theft of a firearm for firearms he took from the burglarized home.
- Three counts of first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm for possessing the firearms that were stolen from the burglarized home.
- First-degree unlawful possession of a firearm for possessing a handgun stolen from the burglarized home during the shooting of the Olympia tavern.
- Aiming or discharging a firearm or dangerous weapon during the shooting of the Olympia tavern.
Jordan Peetz, Zoey Peetz’s father, addressed the court during the sentencing hearing Thursday.
“I cannot stress enough about how for myself and how for so many of us, his prior conviction was a foundation of peace,” Jordan Peetz said. “It allowed us to transition into a place of healing. Going through this again was a dramatic reopening of the wound.”
And quite frankly, I’m not quite sure why so many of us deserve to go through this again. I wouldn’t wish this on anybody, not even on him.”
Van Auken and Zoey Peetz lost their lives to a “temper tantrum” thrown by someone who does not take rejection well, Jordan Peetz said.
“I understand that it was through heartbreak, but I would stand here and say that every day I wake up, and I miss my daughter a little bit more, my heart is more broken than his heart was, and I still didn’t go out and kill people,” Jordan Peetz said. “So, I don’t understand what drove him to the actions of his choices. That’s not how a man reacts when a woman says, ‘No.’”
Defense attorney William Starnes spoke on behalf of Denham at the sentencing hearing. He said Denham does not wish to delay this matter any further and will accept the court’s sentence.
“He understands the court has to order consecutive life sentences,” Starnes said. “The court does not have discretion on that. He understands. He does not wish to try to make himself look better for posterity.”
Aggravated first-degree murder carries a mandatory sentence of life without parole in Washington state.
Starnes said Denham’s lawyers were obligated to appeal on his behalf and Denham did not choose to go through another trial.
“There are practical concerns that made it relatively impossible for it to go down a different way,” Starnes said.
Murphy asked Denham if he’d like to speak before she issued a sentence. Denham initially declined but then uttered a few words.
“Jordan (Peetz), I’m sorry,” he said.
Murphy sentenced Denham to life in prison without parole for the two counts of first-degree murder. For the remaining counts, she ordered high-end sentences in alignment with Tunheim’s request.
“I thank everyone involved in this process,” Murphy said. “I thank everyone who has worked on either side and in our justice system to hopefully bring this case to a final conclusion.”
