Linda Henning

Case overview

Linda Henning was convicted of felony murder and kidnapping in connection with the disappearance and presumed death of Girly Chew Hossencofft, whose body was never found.

Henning was sentenced to life imprisonment plus 43 1/2 years in prison. The New Mexico Supreme Court upheld Henning’s murder and kidnapping convictions, while overturning her convictions on four counts of perjury and affirming the other convictions, including felony murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, and tampering with evidence.

Timeline

• September 9, 1999 — Girly Chew Hossencofft was last seen at a little after 5 p.m. at an Albuquerque Bank of America where she worked as a teller.
• September 10, 1999 — Police were contacted after Girly Chew Hossencofft failed to show up for work; a warrant was obtained and the apartment was searched. Henning was later arrested from a hotel in Albuquerque.
• September 10, 1999 — A state highway employee near Magdalena, New Mexico observed a blood-smeared tarp (“drop cloth”) on the ground near the shoulder of the highway, with women’s clothing stained with blood found nearby.
• September 12, 1999 — Henning gave an initial statement to police.
• January 14, 2002 — Diazien Hossencofft pled guilty to non-capital crimes including murder of Girly Chew Hossencofft, kidnapping, and other charges.
• April 18, 2003 — Henning was sentenced.
• April 17, 2003 — Sentencing was recorded as occurring on April 17, 2003.
• May 5, 2003 — The Judgment, Sentence and Commitment were entered; Henning received a total sentence of life plus 43.5 years or 73.5 years.
• April 25, 2006 — The New Mexico Supreme Court issued its opinion on Henning’s appeal.
• August 27, 2007 — Henning filed a petition for writ of certiorari.
• March 26, 2008 — Henning filed the present federal habeas petition.
• February 13, 2009 — A recommendation was made regarding Henning’s federal habeas petition.

The victim and relationship

Girly Chew Hossencofft was married to Diazien Hossencofft for about six years. She was considered an exceptional and efficient employee at Bank of America and was a permanent resident in the United States and a citizen of Malaysia, where her family still lived.

Girly Chew was 36 years old in September 1999, petite, five feet tall, and weighed about 95 pounds.

In February 1999, Girly Chew left Diazien because of his domestic abuse and violence; she filed a domestic violence proceeding in 1999. Friends and co-workers reported that Diazien intended to kill her.

The disappearance and death investigation

Girly Chew returned to her apartment after working on September 9, 1999, but her friends could not reach her later that evening or the following morning, and she did not show up to work on September 10, 1999. Police were contacted and a lengthy investigation ensued.

Girly Chew’s body was never located and it was not determined how she was killed.

A search of Girly Chew’s apartment after her disappearance showed signs of foul play, including the presence of blood. The apartment was described as looking freshly vacuumed or cleaned without forced entry, and large bleach stains were found on the carpet that tested positive for blood. There was a strong odor of bleach, and the stains were moist to the touch.

Evidence described at trial and in related proceedings

Evidence found in Girly Chew’s apartment

In Girly Chew’s apartment, several items of physical evidence were described:

• Carpet removed from the apartment contained four small blood stains matching Henning’s DNA and two blood stains matching Girly Chew’s DNA.
• Blood smears found on Girly Chew’s couch matched Henning’s DNA profile.
• Trace evidence from the carpet included one hair sample consistent with Henning’s hair.
• Art sand and glitter in Girly Chew’s apartment matched art sand and glitter found in Henning’s garage.
• Cat hairs were lifted from Girly Chew’s carpet and were consistent with Henning’s cats and Miller’s cats.
• Dyed animal hairs, dog hairs, and feather fragments were also described as found on Girly Chew’s carpet and the tarp, with some consistent with samples found in Miller’s residence.

Evidence found near Magdalena, New Mexico

A tarp/drop cloth (“drop cloth” or “drop cloth” described as smeared with blood) and women’s clothing stained with blood were described as being found near Magdalena, New Mexico on September 10, 1999.

State Police took custody of the tarp and clothing and collected items in the area, including duct tape with strands of hair attached and bloody gauze. DNA testing indicated the blood on the items was Girly’s and the hair on the duct tape was consistent with her hair. The clothing included items that were urine-stained, including panties and women’s shorts, and mixed stain of body fluids was described as consistent with known samples from Girly and Diazien.

A hair removed from the tarp/drop cloth was initially tested as consistent with Miller’s hair but after mitochondrial DNA analysis was described as consistent with Henning’s hair.

Evidence linked to Henning and other alleged participants

The proceedings described multiple connections alleged between Henning and the kidnapping and murder:

• Banking records and a bank transaction involving Henning interacting personally with Girly Chew and showing Girly Chew’s name tag at her teller window.
• Henning’s banking visits on August 26th and September 3rd, 1999.
• A friend’s testimony that Henning pointed out Girly Chew’s apartment as the two drove past it on September 17, 1999.
• Henning purchasing gasoline and a tarp/drop cloth similar in size and style to the tarp found smeared with blood near Magdalena.
• Henning renting walkie-talkies for a two-week period.
• Witness testimony describing Henning’s nervous and erratic behavior and describing that she and Diazien transformed into “cat-like” people during sexual encounters, including a description of purported fangs growing out of her mouth.
• A sword described as hidden in Henning’s garage and previously purchased by Diazien; blood on the sword’s handle was described as matching Diazien’s DNA and human blood was found on the blade but could not be identified as to source.
• A shotgun earlier seen at Diazien’s house found later in Henning’s home closet, and a .22 Baretta handgun found in Henning’s home, along with .9 mm rounds later found in Henning’s vehicle.
• A button found in Henning’s vehicle that might have belonged to Girly Chew’s shorts found near Magdalena.

Arraignment, representation, and charges in state court proceedings

Henning was initially indicted in Bernalillo County on November 18, 1999, with first degree murder or in the alternative first degree felony murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, first degree kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, four counts of perjury, two counts of criminal solicitation to commit perjury, five counts of tampering with evidence, and five counts of conspiracy to commit tampering with evidence in the murder of Girly (20 counts). The State filed notice of intent to seek the death penalty alleging aggravating circumstances that Henning committed the murder during the commission of or attempt to commit kidnapping.

Her bond was set at $2,500,000 cash only by Judge Albert Murdoch; she was arraigned and pled not guilty and was represented at arraignment by attorney Darryl Cordle.

Later, her representation included:

• Trienah Meyers Gorman, after attorney Cordle’s motion to withdraw was granted.
• Edward Bustamante, entering an appearance on December 27, 2000.
• Attorney Monica D. Baca and attorney James Loonam for arraignment purposes.
• Gary Mitchell and Monica Baca entered appearances as her counsel for the second indictment proceedings.
• Attorney Mitchell and Monica Baca appeared for Henning in later pretrial and trial proceedings.

A first indictment was nolle prossed as to the entire indictment on July 17, 2001, after Henning filed a motion challenging the grand jury’s indictment.

A second indictment was returned on July 17, 2001, charging Henning with first degree murder or, in the alternative, felony murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, four counts of perjury, one count criminal solicitation to commit perjury, six counts tampering with evidence, and five counts conspiracy to commit tampering with the evidence (20 counts). Judge W. John Brennan was assigned on August 13, 2001.

Henning was arraigned under the second indictment on July 27, 2001, with attorney James Loonam representing her for purposes of the arraignment only.

Trial proceedings and verdict

Jury selection took place from September 23, 2002 through September 26, 2002. During trial, the court instructed jurors not to consider any news accounts and advised that media including Court TV would be present but could not film jurors.

The trial began on October 1, 2002.

The State presented its case through October 15, 2002; defense began presenting evidence including calling Diazien on October 15 and continuing into October 16, 2002. Michael Harvey was called as a witness for the defense, and the defense briefly re-called Detective Fox. Evidence concluded on October 16, 2002.

On October 18, 2002, counsel presented closing arguments and jury deliberations began; deliberations continued through October 25, 2002, when the jury reached a verdict.

The jury found Henning guilty of felony murder and various other charges, including:

• kidnapping
• conspiracy to commit kidnapping
• perjury (three counts)
• criminal solicitation
• tampering with evidence (two counts)
• conspiracy to commit tampering with the evidence

The jury found Henning not guilty of:

• the alternative count of first degree murder
• conspiracy to commit first degree murder
• perjury (one count)
• tampering with evidence (four counts)
• conspiracy to commit tampering with the evidence (four counts)

During the death penalty-qualified phase, the jury rejected the prosecutor’s request for capital punishment and sentenced Henning to life rather than death.

After deliberations in the death penalty-qualified proceeding, the jury deliberated about 25 minutes before determining Henning would receive life.

Sentencing

A sentencing proceeding took place on October 31, 2002. The State filed notice seeking to aggravate sentences by one-third and to run non-capital felonies consecutively to each other and the first degree felony murder conviction.

Judge Brennan did not sentence Henning on October 31, 2002 and requested a psychological evaluation. Judge Brennan told Henning he believed, whether correctly or not, that she was involved but felt she was one of Diazien’s victims. The judge hoped Henning would cooperate and be more frank during a 60-day evaluation. Judge Brennan said he would do whatever he could to give Henning the minimum sentence and to run sentences concurrently.

At the evidentiary hearing regarding sentencing on April 16, 2003, testimony was described as showing that Miller’s investigator told someone that he or “they” knew the location of Girly’s body; the location was not revealed. On April 18, 2003, Henning was sentenced.

Henning made a statement at sentencing, including that she never asked Diazien to testify at her trial and that she believed Diazien was lying and that there was evidence of sloppy and fraudulent evidence gathering and handling by APD that was not elicited at trial.

The court elected to run sentences consecutively but did not aggravate them as requested by the State.

Henning received a total sentence described as life plus 43.5 years or 73.5 years, and the Judgment, Sentence and Commitment were entered on May 5, 2003.

Appeal and post-conviction proceedings

State appeal

On April 25, 2006, the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld Henning’s murder and kidnapping convictions. The court unanimously reversed Henning’s perjury convictions on four counts of perjury due to inadequate notice, but affirmed all other convictions, including felony murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to kidnap, and tampering with evidence.

State habeas and certiorari

Henning filed a state habeas petition on October 3, 2006. Judge Murdoch denied the state habeas petition on August 7, 2007, addressing some arguments specifically.

Henning filed a petition for writ of certiorari on August 27, 2007. The New Mexico Supreme Court entered an order denying the petition for writ on September 21, 2007.

Federal habeas

On March 26, 2008, Henning filed a federal habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. She proceeded pro se and was confined at the New Mexico Women’s Correctional Facility in Grants, New Mexico.

Henning filed an addendum on May 8, 2008, and respondents filed an answer and motion to dismiss on August 7, 2008. Henning responded on August 25, 2008, and filed a second addendum on September 9, 2008.

A Chief Magistrate Judge Lorenzo F. Garcia recommended on February 13, 2009 that a motion to dismiss based on failure to exhaust certain claims be granted in part and denied in part. The district court later entered an order amending the recommendation in part and adopting it on March 20, 2009.

The federal court determined it recommended denying Henning’s § 2254 petition and dismissing remaining claims with prejudice.

Other details

Names, co-defendants, and related individuals

• Diazien Hossencofft was described as Girly Chew Hossencofft’s husband and was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for her murder. He pleaded guilty in January 2002.
• Bill Miller was described as a friend of Henning’s and was implicated as an alleged co-conspirator. A grand jury indicted Miller only on evidence tampering charges.
• A psychic and a criminal investigator were described as testifying at a hearing requested by prosecutors as part of proceedings after trial.
• The court described Judge Albert Murdoch, Judge Richard Knowles, Judge Frank H. Allen, Jr., and Judge W. John Brennan in different stages of the proceedings.
• Attorney Darryl Cordle, Trienah Meyers Gorman, Edward Bustamante, Gary Mitchell, James Loonam, Monica D. Baca, and Attorney Mitchell were described as participating in representation of Henning at various times.

Additional factual details from the proceedings

Henning’s behavior and beliefs were described in the proceedings, including promoting or being associated with conspiracy theories. People described a marked change in her personality and beliefs after she met Diazien Hossencofft following a UFO-believers’ meeting that summer.

Henning rented walkie-talkies and was seen using them in an Albuquerque bookstore on the afternoon of September 9, 1999. An acquaintance described Henning’s behavior as nervous and erratic, and described conversation about “cat-like” transformations during sexual encounters.

On September 21, 1999, Diazien was arrested on federal charges of using a telephone to harass three witnesses associated with the case, including Felissa Garcia Kelley, Vonda Cheshire, and Maryann Skidmore.

Henning was described as having been offered plea bargains and as stating she would continue to fight for exoneration.

Body never found

A central factual point across the proceedings was that Girly Chew Hossencofft’s body was never located.