Court TV trial coverage (air date: December 9-13, 2002)

The Hossencofft case first gained national television exposure when Court TV aired about forty hours of Linda Henning's murder trial . The trial had taken place in October 2002. Two months later, Court TV aired about eight hours of the trial each day from Monday to Friday, December 9 through 13 (Court TV rebroadcast the trial nearly a year later, beginning October 27, 2003). Court TV anchors and several nationally-known courtroom figures provided analysis of the trial.

"This trial has had us spellbound."
-Catherine Crier, Court TV anchor

"I tell you what, Nancy (Grace), you couldn't have even made up a case like this: You've got sex. You got money. You got murder. You got UFOs. And you've got aliens!"
-John Q. Kelly, prosecutor who successfully convicted O.J. Simpson in civil trial

"It's one of the most bizarre fact patterns you could come up with. One of the most bizarre casts of characters."
-Lawrence Goldman, President, National Association of Criminal and Defense Lawyers

"I would love to have a case like this. This is the most exciting case I've ever seen!"
-William Montross, Jr., veteran New York City public defender

"This case is by far the most unusual that we have ever covered since I've been here at Court TV."
-Lisa Bloom, Court TV anchor

"One of the most bizarre cases ever."
-Nancy Grace, Court TV anchor

"It is, clearly, the most bizarre case I've seen in eight years at Court TV."
-Rikki Klieman, Court TV anchor

"It's so weird. It is a really bizarre, bizarre case."
-James Curtis, Court TV, anchor

"For those of you jaded people who think you've seen it all, take a deep breath and settle in because this is one of the most unusual cases we have ever covered here on Court TV."
-Lisa Bloom, Court TV, anchor

"I tell ya', if you don't love this case, then my sense of judgment is way off. This is a case that has it all."
-Rikki Klieman, Court TV anchor

"It seems like a plot only Stephen King could conjure."
-James Curtis, Court TV, anchor

*All statements made during Court TV's December 9-13, 2002 coverage of Linda Henning's murder trial

History Channel's Dead Reckoning (air date: September 13, 2003)

A step-by-step account of the first murder case in New Mexico to go to trial without a body.
Examine landmark cases that have contributed to the current state of trace evidence law and technology.
See how the smallest of clues, properly analyzed, can point to a killer.
Girly Chew Hossencroft, a well-liked Albuquerque resident, vanished without a trace in 1999. Almost immediately, her estranged husband and his new girlfriend emerged as the chief suspects in the case, but the only evidence investigators had to work with was blood from the scene, cat hairs and strangely colored sand.

Despite the lack of a body and paucity of material evidence, Hossencroft's killers were ultimately convicted, and TRACINGS IN BLOOD shows how with the help of forensic experts, investigators who worked on the case and others who were intimately involved. We'll also see how similar techniques were used to solve another New Mexico case, where five workers at a Hollywood Video Store were murdered in 1996. There, one piece of plastic proved to be the vital link that led to the killers.

(product description taken from The History Channel's Web site. Contrary to text above, Girly's murder is not the first New Mexico case with a conviction in a no body case. I'm aware of at least one other. In a case I investigated at the time, Roy Yancy was convicted in the death of Marie Parker. Parker's body has still not been found. Yancy was an associate of the man at the center of the 1999 Elephant Butte Sex/Torture case, David Parker Ray. Yancy told investigators Ray forced him to strangle Parker at gun point inside Ray's trailer, known as "The Toy Box.")

Order The History Channel's Tracings in Blood

Dateline NBC (air date: December 12, 2003)

Dateline NBC dedicated nearly a full hour to the Hossencofft case. Correspondent on the piece was Keith Morrison. The episode included interviews with convicted killer Linda Henning,, lead Detective Mike Fox, forensic scientist Catherine Dickey, and investigative journalist Mark Horner.

A&E's American Justice (air date: April 7, 2004)

Did a manipulative con-man convince his lover to kill his ex-wife?
Hear from investigators and attorneys who have worked the case.
Trace the strange chain of events that started with the murder of Girly Chew Hossencrofft.
When 36-year-old Girly Chew Hossencrofft did not show up for work on September 10, 1999, her boss was worried immediately; Girly had told him many times he should call the police if she was ever late. She has never been seen since, and no trace of her has been found, but investigators believe they know who the killer is.

TRACES IN BLOOD reveals the steps that led police to Girly's ex-husband, Diazen Hossencrofft, and his lover, Linda Henning. Despite mounting one of the most expensive investigations in the New Mexico history, they still have not been able to conclusively tie the couple to the death. There is no body, no eyewitness, no murder weapon, and no fingerprints, just a con-man and a woman who claims to be an "alien queen," who many believe Diazen duped into doing his dirty work.

(above product description from A&E's Web site)

Order A&E's Traces in Blood

Court TV's The Investigators (air date: July 26, 2004)

Alien Conspiracy

When Girly Hossencofft was late for her job as a bank teller in Albuquerque, New Mexico, her supervisor immediately called the police. Girly had recently left her philandering and deceptive husband of six years, Diazien Hossencofft, and feared for her life. Unraveling the mystery of who killed Girly Hossencofft would take Albuquerque police on a bizarre and fascinating journey. Their prime suspect, Diazien Hossencofft, would eventually confess. But police believed from the start that Diazien could not have acted alone. In the course of the investigation, they uncovered two accomplices: one of Diazien Hossencofft's many lovers, Linda Henning, and another man, Bill Miller, who shared their belief in UFO's and reptilian life forms.

(above product description from Court TV's Web site)