Bend woman pleads not guilty to murder, kidnap charges in fatal shooting of Madras man who disappeared a year ago

OSP, sheriff's office had asked public to help find 'missing and endangered' resident

(Update: Hahn enters not-guilty pleas to all 9 counts)

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – A 31-year-old Bend woman pleaded not guilty Friday to five counts of murder with a firearm, as well as kidnapping and other charges in the fatal shooting of a Madras man who disappeared a year ago and was sought in a public law enforcement plea as “missing and endangered.”

A Crook County grand jury this week returned an indictment charging Audrey Nicole Hahn with three first-degree and two second-degree murder charges with a firearm, as well as first- and second-degree kidnapping, unlawful use of a weapon and felon in possession of a firearm in the killing of Thomas Patrick Nielson, 61, between Sept. 7 and 11 of last year.

Crook County Circuit Judge Kirsten Thompson set a status-check hearing in the case for Oct. 12. Hahn has been provided a court-appointed public defender, court records show

Hahn's second court appearance of the week came one week after she was arrested in Crook County by Jefferson County sheriff's deputies and Oregon State Police detectives and booked into the Crook County Jail, where she was held without bail.

One of the first-degree murder charges alleges Hahn killed Nielson “in the course of or as a result of intentional maiming or torture” of the victim, between Sept. 7 and Sept. 11 of last year.

Nielson last was seen on Sept. 6, 2022 at his home in the 1600 block of SW Culver Highway, OSP and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said in its public alert, issued last Sept. 21.

The two other first-degree murder counts accuse Hahn of causing Nielson’s death “in an effort to conceal the commission or identity of perpetrator of the crime of assault,” or while committing a second-degree kidnapping. Prosecutors frequently file multiple charges in a single crime, based on different possible explanations of their commission.

"I don’t believe there is any risk to the public, but it is an ongoing investigation,“ District Attorney Kari Hathorn told NewsChannel 21 Monday, so "no additional information is being released at this time.”

According to court records, Hahn was living in Madras when she was arrested in June of last year on first-degree theft and unlawful entry into a motor vehicle charges. She pleaded guilty in August of 2022 to the theft charge and was sentenced to 20 days in the county jail and two years probation. Hahn also pleaded guilty at the same time to fourth-degree assault in a 2021 arrest.

Other court filings also show Hahn was living in Redmond when she was arrested in May 2020 on a misdemeanor second-degree theft charge. She pleaded guilty three months later and was sentenced to a day in jail and a year probation.