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AUDIO: Former prosecutor Paul Spiers shares memories of “no body” case (runs 53:07)
(Text of audio’s introductory remarks)
Welcome to Beyond90Seconds.com. I’m Mark Horner.
As I sit at my desk at home this evening…recording these words…I do so thinking about a murder that began to unfold exactly 10 years ago tonight.
For it was right around this time…on the evening of September 9, 1999…that a woman named Girly Chew Hossencofft was kidnapped from her Albuquerque apartment…
Her final breaths unfolding…along with the unspeakable acts that investigators believe led up to her death…and, in an even more grotesque fashion, the acts they say immediately followed Girly’s death.
You see…Girly Chew Hossencofft’s body…her remains, really…still have not been found.
But the evidence…the bloodstained tarp…the ninja sward…the saliva mixed with her blood…well, the prosecution, the police…they say it speaks volumes.
The man Girly was divorcing—the diabolical, severely impish, Diazien Hossencofft… is doing life in prison…So is his girlfriend, Linda Henning…a believer in the teachings of David Icke…to include the belief that many of our world’s leaders are, in their view, shape-shifting, blood-thirsty reptilians…who prefer nothing more than the drink of “starfire”…found within the blood of a freshly killed menstruating woman.
A third person in this case…the guy investigators claimed was the muscle behind the murder…was never convicted of anything resembling the gravity of all of that. Instead…Bill Miller pleaded guilty to a few misdemeanors related to the tampering of evidence. He got credit for time served….about 7 weeks in jail.
In fact, Miller’s filed suit against three of the investigators, essentially claiming he was the victim of their “malicious prosecution.”
The suit struck-out in one court. But the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals recently kicked it back for for another go-round…due to what you might say amounts to a technicality: The lower court’s addressing the allegations (from Miller) separately…rather than collectively as a single claim.
But back to Girly…for it is all too often that we forget the victim in cases of murder…and other severely brutal crimes…but not tonight. Not now.
And I assure you the significance of this night is not lost on many people.
To include the lead prosecutor in the case: Paul Spiers.
Earlier today…I spoke with Spiers by telephone.
Shortly after the 2002 Linda Henning trial…Spiers left the DA’s office in New Mexico and went to work for the United States Attorneys’ Office in Albuquerque. That is where he continues to work to this day as an Assistant US Attorney.
I now share our recorded, unedited, conversation.
I won’t even begin to further lay-out the extremely widespread facts of the case…but feel free to google Hossencofft…H-O-DOUBLE-S-E-N-C-O-DOUBLE-F-T. Or you might even choose to visit the website I started back in October of 1999…dedicated to this case. You can find that website at septembersacrifice.com. That’s H-O-S-S. If you want even more information, you can feel free to look up my book, September Sacrifice. The book is also available on Amazon.
One disclaimer before we hear from Mr. Spiers: The views he expresses during our conversation are not necessarily the views of the Department of Justice or the United States Attorneys’ Office. He was speaking to me not as an Assistant US Attorney…rather, he spoke to me in a personal capacity.
Now, with that said…I’ll share that our discussion began with my mention of this…the 10th anniversary of Girly’s disappearance. Does Paul Spiers find this benchmark date especially meaningful?
(Please click “play” button at beginning of this post in order to hear the unedited interview with Paul Spiers).
note: Over the years that transpired during the Hossencofft case, I took hundreds of photographs during my time spent reporting on the investigation and court proceedings. This all started before digital cameras were mainstream. So, a typical day involved shooting film, then rushing to TJ’s Camera & One Hour Photo on Tramway Boulevard immediately after work at KRQE-TV (and, in later years, after work at KOB-TV). I suppose that’s a long-winded way of saying that I also shot a lot of pictures of the large-scale search for Girly’s body conducted west of Magdalena, New Mexico on June 24 & 25, 2000. You can find 50 of those pictures here.
Unlike that big search in June of 2000, another attempt to locate Girly’s body on the outskirts of Magdalena went undetected by the media. I had recently become unemployed as my contract had not been renewed at KRQE. But that didn’t stop me from showing-up at the small scale search on July 7, 2000. Please click here to see pictures from that day (I started work at KOB about a week or so after these pictures were taken).
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I saw on the news today that it had been 10 years. Such a long time!
Although I’m glad they were able to get at least 2 of the people involved, I’m sure it would bring peace and closure to her family to have her remains.
Like you said in the interview, people get cocky and someone, someday might spit out information that will lead police to where she is. We can only hope after all these years.
Good story!
Thanks, KM. Yes, we can only hope someone will step-up and “do the right thing.”
BTW, I’ve got a future blog treat coming up that was inspired by you. (Hint: “birds”)
Fun! Can’t wait to see it. 😉