Sometimes, I come across a case that’s just so farfetched, it seems way too absurd to be true. The murder of Girly Chew Hossencofft is just such a case.
Girly Chew was born on August 27th, 1963, in Malaysia. She and her family would often visit the United States for vacation. During one such visit, Girly met Diazien Hossencofft at SeaWorld, and was immediately smitted.
Diazien Hossencofft, real name Armand Chavez, was born on March 5th, 1965 in Houston, Texas. Prior to meeting Girly, he legally changed his name to Diazien Hossencofft, claiming to be a doctor, usually a thoracic surgeon.
In 1993, Girly married Hossencofft. The couple settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where Girly worked as a bank teller, and Hossencofft peddled ‘cures’ and ‘remedies’ to wealthy patientes. He was also known to collect their blood, for the use of ‘experiments’.
He claimed that he had degrees from the University of Tokyo, and Cornell Medical College. In reality, he had been expelled from medical school, and had doctored his transcripts. He claimed, off and on throughout the years, to have leukaemia, which he’d cured. He then conned his patients with these cures. He also claimed to have an anti-aging injection, which he sold to his patients for thousands of dollars.
Hossencofft also often claimed that he was a CIA agent, with a twist. He worked for the CIA because he was really over 2000 years old, and he’d developed a youth serum, which they wanted. Hossencofft claimed that this serum is what kept him from aging.
In 1995, Hossencofft was put on the FBI’s radar when he attempted to purchase a bioreactor from a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania company. The company, for obvious reason, refused to sell the bioreactor to him, and then proceeded to get in touch with the FBI in regards to the odd behaviour. The FBI opened an investigation, but nothing came of it.
A year later, in 1996, Hossencofft came home with a one-month-old infant boy. He told Girly that the boy’s name was Dimitri, and that he was an orphaned Mexican child, whom they were adopting. Girly was ecstatic. She and Hossencofft had been trying to have a child, but were yet to be successful. Girly immediately fell in love with little Dimitri.
However, Dimitri’s parentage was not quite as Hossencofft had described. In reality, he was the father of the child. Dimitri’s mother was a Japanese woman, living in Canada, whom Hossencofft had been carrying on an on-again-off-again long distance relationship. When Dimitri was born, he’d convinced the child’s mother that Dimitri had a debilitating, fatal illness that only he could cure. Without a second though, Dimitri was handed over. His mother never saw him again.
In January of 1999, Girly filed for divorce, and moved out of their home. She filed multiple restraining orders against her husband, and was fearful that he could, and would willingly, harm her. Breaking her own heart, but putting her safety into consideration, Girly signed paperwork recinding all of her parental rights to Dimitri.
Girly moved out after a particularly horrendous incident where Hossencofft threatened to kill her. During the incident, he also smashed in all of her car windows.
After Girly left him, Hossencofft began repeatedly harassing and threatening her, thus resulting in the restraining orders. So fearful for her life, she confided in her colleagues at the bank that if anything were to ever happen to her, they should contact law enforcement, and inform them that Hossencofft was responsible.
It was as Girly left Hossencofft that she’d discovered all of his lies and deceit. Realizing that he was not, in fact, a doctor, she contacted the FBI, and asked them to look into him. She had planned on handing over all of the evidence that she’d uncovered.
Hossencofft was livid that Girly had left him. And he began to plan. Shortly thereafter, he began making arrangements to have Dimitri adopted. He was also carrying on three other engagements. Two of the women indicated that they were unaware that Hossencofft was married. The third woman, though, she knew all too well.
Linda Henning was born on October 10th, 1953, in Hollywood California. When she was 11-years-old, her father left her mother. Those close to Henning as a child believe that this wounded her so deeply, she pinned her unrealistic expectations and emotional needs on her romantic partners to fill the void.
After graduating high school, Henning worked as a fashion model, and then turned to the design side, where she was very successful. Henning also became very, very interested in conspiracy theories involving a reptilian race of overlords waiting to enslave humanity, and UFOs.
In 1999, Henning met Hossencofft at a seminar led by prominent conspiracy theories David Icke. Icke’s believed that the world was being controlled by an ‘unseen’ global network. This network consisted of “inter-dimensiona, pedophilia, shape-shifting reptilians that include most of the ruling elite”. Henning was so smitten with Hossencofft, who agreed with Icke’s beliefs, that she quickly broke up with her then fiancé, and became immediately engaged to Hossencofft instead.
Henning’s ex-fiancé noticed an immediate change in her. She stopped bathing, and changing her clothes, and otherwise gave up entirely on personal hygiene. She often pushed her friends to seek out Hossencofft’s ‘miracle anti-aging treatments’. Her friends and family were put off by this, but eventually most of them cut contact when Henning began telling them all that Hossencofft was a one-thousand-year-old alien who’d promised her immense powers.
At around 8:10 AM on the morning of September 10th, Girly’s manager at the bank called the police. Girly hadn’t shown up for work. Remember how terrified she’d been when she’d warned them all about her husband, they were quick to report her missing.
Girly’s best friend had also been calling the bank, repeatedly, asking if Girly had made it in. She told Girly’s manager that they never failed to talk on the phone every evening before going to bed, but Girly had missed their phone call the night before, and she was worried.
One of Girly’s colleagues was very distressed by this news, and volunteered to go check up on her at her apartment. When he arrived, he called the bank to inform them that she wasn’t answering her door, but her car was in the parking lot.
Tracking down the landlord, who knew that Girly was hiding from her abusive ex-husband, the landlord let them into Girly’s apartment. At the time, they noticed that her deadbolt hadn’t been locked, only the lock on her doorknob. When the two went in, they didn’t notice anything else amiss, only that there were wet spots all over the living room carpet.
Still adamant that something had happened to Girly, her colleagues at the bank convince police to conduct a wellness check for her. When officers arrive, they run into Girly’s landlord, who let them into the apartment. Immediately, the officers picked up on what the landlord, and Girly’s colleague had missed – the apartment smelled heavily of bleach. They immediately roped off the area, and began investigating it as a crime scene.
Upon discovering the state of Girly’s apartment, her ex-husband, Diazien Hossencofft, was immediately named a person of interest. Having learned of his tendency to harass and threaten Girly, despite the restraining orders, they knew they needed to find him, and find him fast.
When police arrive at his residence, they find the front door of the house wide open, and the house completely empty. A neighbour made a statement to police indicating that a moving truck had been there a couple of days before. The neighbour also told them about Hossencofft’s strange behaviour.
The night before, on September 9th, 1999, Hossencofft had returned late, dressed head to toe in hunting camouflage, with dark grease painted all over his skin.
As police were interviewing Hossencofft’s neighbour, the forensic’s team was investigating Girly’s apartment. Conducting a luminol test, Girly’s apartment completely lit up, indicating blood evidence all over the apartment. Investigators immediately began taking samples.
A few days after Girly’s disappearance, a bundle of her clothing was found on the side of the highway, along with duct tape with long strands of dark hair attached. The clothes were covered in blood, and the bundle, as well as the samples from Girly’s apartment were sent off for testing.
As investigators were trying to track down Hossencofft, they began looking into his personal life. In doing so, they came across the name Linda Henning, who appeared as a personal referene for Hossencofft. Investigators interviewed her immediately. In the interview, Henning indicated that she knew Hossencofft to be a successful doctor, an immortal alien, and that she had no knowledge of Girly’s disappearance.
Investigators began receiving reports that Hossencofft was making threatening phone calls to Albuquerque residentes. The first report came from his divorce attorney, who stated that Hossencofft had been ranting and raving. Another report came from Hossencofft’s neighbour, who stated that Hossencofft had called her and berated her for making a statement to police. The third, and final, call came from the woman Hossencofft had been in touch with at the adoption agency who was handling Dimitri’s adoption. She stated that Hossencofft had called her, ranting and raving about the case.
The calls allowed investigators to trace Hossencofft to Charleston, South Carolina, to the home of Cheryl Culp. Cheryl had no idea that Hossencofft had fled New Mexico, that he’d been married, or that his ex-wife had gone missing. Cheryl was also under the impression that she and Hossencofft were engaged, and intended to get married soon.
Investigators arrested and charged Diazien Hossencofft for making threats across state lines, and had him extradited back to New Mexico.
After the arrest, investigators searched Cheryl’s home. The search uncovered two vials of blood, Girly’s address book, Girly’s Malaysian photo ID, a steam cleaner, a couple of firearms, and charcoal sticks, often used by hunters to paint their faces when hiding in blinds.
Despite all of the circumstantial evidence leading to the belief that Hossencofft and Henning had been involved in Girly’s disappearance, and most likely murder, there was one problem. They couldn’t find Girly’s body. However, they did have enough to proceed with an investigative grand jury.
While on the stand, Henning claimed not to even know who Girly Chew was, nor that she had been Hossencofft’s wife. However, police had surveillance of Henning being a customer of the bank where Girly worked, and surveillance of Girly tending on Henning on at least one occasion. After this, Linda Henning was charged for perjury for lying to the grand jury.
The new charges allowed for investigators to conduct a search of Henning’s home. There, they found a ninja sword, in her attic, with a receipt with Hossencofft’s name on it. The receipt showed that the sword was purchased the day that Girly disappeared.
When testing came back on all the samples, they found that the blood from Girly’s apartment was a mix of both hers, and Linda Hennings. The duct tape, found in the bundle also came back with one of Henning’s hairs attached. Following these new discoveries, Linda Henning and Diazien Hossencofft were both indicted and charged with the first degree murder of Girly Chew.
In January of 2002, Diazien Hossencofft pleaded guilty to the murder of Girly Chew in an effort to avoid the death penalty. He firmly denied taking part in Girly’s murder. He was sentenced to life in prison, plus 61 years, to be served, at his behest, in Wyoming State Penitentiary. In exchange for his plea, he agreed to tell investigators where Girly’s body was. He has yet to live up to his end of the bargain.
In September of 2002, Linda Henning’s trial for the first-degree murder of Girly Chew Hossencofft began. Linda Henning was the first woman in the history of New Mexico to face the death penalty. Linda’s friends testified that she never would have been involved in any of this, had Diazien Hossencofft not brainwashed her. They all testified about how much she’d changed since meeting him. The Linda they knew before she met him would never have been able to stomach being involved a situation such as this.
Diazien Hossencofft testified for Henning’s defence. He proclaimed that he had planned the murder, but that Henning had not participated in any way, shape, or form. Hossencofft claimed that a man named Bill Miller was responsible for Girly’s murder.
Bill Miller had been a known contact of Hossencofft and Henning’s, and had been investigated by police. He was an avid hunter, and he knew his way around a rifle. On the day Girly disappeared, Miller claimed to have gone elk hunting. In the end, Miller had been arrested with Hossencofft and Henning, but they only had enough to charge him with five counts of tampering with evidence.
When the issue of Henning’s blood being present in Girly’s apartment came up, Diazien claimed that he had planted it there. He told the court that he often collected blood from his patients, and had intended on using multiple samples to confuse the investigation. However, at the time, the only blood he had on hand was Henning’s. The defence believed that this was Hossencofft’s attempt to frame Henning for the crime.
On October 25th, 2002, Linda Henning was convicted of the first-degree murder of Girly Chew. Along with the murder conviction, she was also convicted of “kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, tampering with evidence, and four counts of perjury”.
On April 18th, 2003, Linda Henning faced her sentencing. Prior to the sentencing, Prosecutor Paul Spiers wrote in his presentence investigation report that he’d received reports that Linda Henning had cannibalized Girly’s body, in order to ensure that her body would never be found. These claims could not be substantiated, but they definitely added a dramatic effect to the sentencing hearing.
In the end, Linda Henning was sentenced to 73 years in prison. Bill Miller, for his role, was sentenced to time served, as well as a year of probation.
In 2010, the perjury convictions against Henning were overturned by the New Mexico Supreme Court.
In January of 2020, Diazien Hossencofft made a request to a judge to vacate his life sentence. He claimed that prosecutors and police conspired to hide evidence that would have exonerated both himself, and Henning. The request is still pending.
The body of Girly Chew has never been found, and Hossencofft continues to refuse to tell law enforcement where her body is.
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Sources:
The Disappearance of Girly Chew Hossencofft: A Con Man, A Fashion Designer, UFOs, And A Ninja Sword – Benjamin H. Smith – Oxygen True Crime
Ghost Town: Strange History, True Crime, & the Paranormal podcast – The Disappearance of Girly Chew Hossencofft
Crime Junkie podcast – MURDERED: Girly Chew Hossencofft
Murder of Girly Chew Hossencofft Wikipedia page