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(Albuquerque) Prosecutors
in the Girly Chew Hossencofft murder case filed a "Motion
to Show Cause" today involving key witness Bill Miller of
Albuquerque. Although Miller was twice served subpoenas last
month, he has still failed to turn over an audio tape that he
made of a phone conversation between himself and murder suspect
Linda Henning.
The "Motion to Show Cause" asks the Second Judicial
District Court to conduct a "show cause hearing" wherein
Miller would have to provide a "satisfactory" explanation
for his failure to produce the audio tape and for his failure
to appear and provide a statement.
According to the motion filed today (Monday, July 3, 2000),
Miller appeared before a Special Grand Jury on October 20th,
1999 and testified thefollowing:
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Miller stated that he received a page from
defendant Henning following her appearance before the Grand Jury
on September 22, 1999. Miller testified that he returned Henning's
page by telephoning her from his attorney'soffice, where his
call to Henning was taped. |
Henning and her friend Diazien Hossencofft both received "target
letters"from the state on October 19, 1999, informing them
that they were murder suspects in the death of Ms. Hossencofft.
On June 6, 2000, investigators set-out to serve Miller with a
subpoena requesting that he produce the audio tape for the prosecution.
In addition to that subpoena, investigators also planned to give
Miller a notice stating that he would have to give a statement.
The investigator's didn't locate Miller, so they delivered the
subpoena and the notice to Miller's attorney,Timothy Padilla.
According to court papers, Miller and Padilla both later informed
the District Attorney's Office that Miller would be unable to
provide a statement or the audio tape at the scheduled June 14
appointment with prosecutors. Miller and his attorney told the
DA's office that Miller would be out of state until June 26.
But according to the Motion to Show Cause, on June 15, undercover
police officers watched Miller park his Ford truck "some
distance" from his Albuquerque home. Miller walked to his
house and entered through the front door. Moments later, Miller
was served with a second subpoena instructing him to produce
his recorded phone conversation with Henning. He also received
another notice explaining that prosecutors wanted to take a statement
from him.
At four o'clock in the afternoon of June 21, all of the key attorneys
in the Hossencofft murder case met inside the Office of the District
Attorney; Diazien Hossencofft's attorney Ron Koch, Henning's
attorney Trienah Gorman, and Miller's attorney Timothy Padilla.
Bill Miller was also present. Of course, prosecutors were present,
too. Miller and his attorney did not produce the audio tape.
The Motion to Show Cause asks the court to have Miller--under
swornoath--explain his "failure to produce material and
relevant evidence" in the Girly Chew Hossencofft case. *Reporter's
Notebook: In mid June, this reporter spoke with Miller'sattorney,
Timothy Padilla. When asked if Miller would produce the audio
tape for the prosecution, Padilla told this reporter that Miller
would cooperate with investigators and produce "everything"
the state might ask him to produce. |