On March 10, 2020 the bodies of 34-year-old Charlene Van Auken and her 4-year-old daughter Zoey Peetz were discovered on a trail near Tolmie State Park in Olympia, Washington, in the 5700 block of Puget Beach Road Northeast. Both had been fatally shot in the head; Charlene suffered a contact gunshot wound.

Detectives identified Nicholas Joseph Denham as a person of interest and arrested him two days after the discovery. Investigators reported Denham had been in a previous relationship with Van Auken. While jailed, Denham wrote coded letters that attempted to cast doubt about his involvement and point to another person, but those efforts did not succeed.

A jury later convicted Denham of two counts of aggravated first-degree murder and several related felonies, and he was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The Thurston County Sheriff’s Office said the killings forever impacted the victims’ family, friends, the community and first responders.

If anyone knew Charlene or Zoey, or has information about their deaths, please share what you can.