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Albuquerque Journal
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Former Girly Chew Murder Suspect Sues
By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
A former murder suspect has filed suit against Albuquerque
police investigators and a prosecutor, claiming they manufactured
evidence and lied under oath in an attempt to convict him.
In the suit filed in U.S. District Court, William Miller,
who was indicted in connection with the 1999 death of Girly Chew
Hossencofft, claims that investigators and prosecutors presented
false evidence and lied to a grand jury so he would be indicted
as a conspirator in the killing.
Prosecutors had presented a case to three grand juries. Miller
was a target in two of them.
The second grand jury to hear the case indicted Miller on
charges of conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping and conspiracy
to commit kidnapping. Prosecutors went to a third grand jury
and unsuccessfully tried to get Miller indicted on first-degree
murder charges.
Eventually, the charges handed down by the second grand jury
were dismissed by the District Attorney's Office, and Miller
pleaded no contest to charges of tampering with evidence.
Hossencofft's husband, Diazen, and his girlfriend, Linda
Henning, were convicted of murder in connection with her disappearance
and death.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said
Friday her staff was "honorable and above any reproach"
in handling the investigation. She said because of the suit she
could not comment on why her office reached a plea agreement
with Miller.
"There is no question that they acted in good faith
and more than fulfilled any professional or ethical obligation,"
she said. "Because of the line of work we do, it is not
uncommon for one of us to be sued from someone that is displeased
with the work that we do."
APD homicide detective Michael Fox; Donna Arbogast, a civilian
employee of the department's crime lab; and former assistant
district attorney Paul Spiers were named in the suit.
The homicide was one of the most "intense" cases
investigated by Albuquerque police during the 1990s, spokesman
John Walsh said.
"The assertion of a lawsuit in this matter is not only
ridiculous, but has been seen time and again by our department,"
he said. "This matter is yet just another attempt that barely
rises to the level of comment."
Hossencofft's body has never been found, but matching DNA
was found on several items recovered on a stretch of U.S. 60
west of Magdalena.
At one time, prosecutors alleged that Miller had helped plan
the woman's murder.
In the suit, Miller alleges that when prosecutors presented
the case to the second grand jury they "deliberately and
maliciously presented false and incomplete evidence" to
return an indictment.
And, during the fifth search of Miller's home, a detective
told Miller he "was going to nail (his) ass to the wall,"
the suit says.
Because of the "malicious" actions of police and
prosecutors, Miller spent seven weeks in solitary confinement
at the Bernalillo County Detention Center and had to file for
bankruptcy, the suit says. |