A YOUNG WOMAN DISAPPEARS AFTER A SNAPCHAT RENDEZVOUS - HOW THE DEATH OF A TRANSGENDER TEEN INSPIRED A NEW LAW

"48 Hours" Investigates the Groundbreaking Case in "The Life and Death of Nikki Kuhnhausen"

Nikki Kuhnhausen disappeared after connecting with a man in a Snapchat rendezvous. Her murder inspired a new law and started a nationwide movement. 48 HOURS and Jamie Yuccas investigate the groundbreaking case and the impact it continues to have on LGBTQI communities in "The Life and Death of Nikki Kuhnhausen," to be broadcast Saturday, Dec. 18 (10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

The murder of Kuhnhausen illustrates the real-life dangers and struggles many in the transgender community face every day, says her mother, Lisa Woods. Prosecutors, experts and Kuhnhausen's friends talk about the challenges faced by transgender people and how her death will not be forgotten.

Prosecutors say Kuhnhausen, 17, vanished from Vancouver, Wash., in June 2019, just hours after meeting David Bogdanov, then 25, and exchanging messages on Snapchat. Afterward, Bogdanov, too, seemingly disappeared. Four months later in a meeting with police, Bogdanov told them the last time he had seen Kuhnhausen was when he asked her to get out of his car, after she told him she was transgender.

He told police he was "shocked to find that out. And just uncomfortable and really, really disturbed." Bogdanov told police he had no idea where Kuhnhausen went after she left him.

"This is a narrative and a story that plays out ... all the time," says Devon Davis Williamson, a transgender activist and co-founder of the Justice for Nikki Task Force. "When trans people go missing, they're usually found deceased."

"I prayed and prayed to bring my baby home, just bring my baby home to me," says Woods.

Six months after she disappeared, Kuhnhausen's body was discovered by a hiker on Larch Mountain. Bogdanov was arrested after cell tower data placed his phone where Kuhnhausen's body was found.

"Most of the time in our culture and our country, if a trans person is killed, there is not an arrest made," Williamson says. "We think it's right around 30% of trans people who are murdered ... have someone arrested and fully prosecuted."

Prosecutors and investigators say Bogdanov killed Kuhnhausen in a hate-filled rage after learning she was transgender. At his trial, Bogdanov said he killed Kuhnhausen in self-defense when, he says, she reached for his gun. He testified that he panicked after realizing she was dead and dumped her body at Larch Mountain. He was found guilty of her murder and malicious harassment, a hate crime. He was sentenced to the maximum, 19 and a half years in prison.

Kuhnhausen's mother and supporters from the Justice for Nikki Task Force were determined something positive should come from her death. They worked with legislators in Washington to pass Nikki's Law. It's designed to prevent defendants charged with violent crimes from using sexual orientation or gender identity as an excuse for violence, the so-called "gay" or "trans panic defense."

"I'm glad it will help other people," Woods says. "I want her death to mean something to someone who may contemplate hurting another transgender person."

48 HOURS "The Life and Death of Nikki Kuhnhausen" is produced by Susan Mallie. Mead Stone is the producer-editor. Jennifer Terker is a producer. Gayane Keshishyan Mendez is the development producer. Emma Steele is the field producer. Greg Kaplan, Marcus Balsam and Phil Tangel are the editors. Lauren Turner Dunn is the associate producer. Anthony Batson is the senior broadcast producer. Nancy Kramer is the executive story editor. Judy Tygard is the executive producer.

48 HOURS is broadcast Saturdays at 10:00 PM, ET/PT, on CBS and streams on Paramount+. Follow 48 HOURS on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Listen to podcasts at CBSAudio. Stream 48 HOURS on Paramount+.