“Should Be Alive” tells the story of Nikki Kuhnhausen, a transgender teenager from Vancouver, WA, that was murdered in 2019. The six-part series looks at how detectives and prosecutors built the case against Kuhnhausen’s killer and explores the life of a transgender teen.
“Nikki deserved to live a long and fulfilling life, but that opportunity was taken away from her because of a senseless act of violence,” said Ashley Korslien, news anchor and podcast host. “By telling this story, we hope to give a voice to Nikki’s family and bring attention to a growing trend in violence against the transgender community.”
The murder led to the passage of “Nikki’s Law”, which outlaws the use of the ‘panic’ defense in Washington state. The ‘panic’ defense is a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for a defendant’s violent reaction.
