The young Malaysian bank teller told her co-worker one day, “If I don’t show up for work, something bad has happened and my husband was involved.” Girly Chew-Hossencofft was punctual and an excellent employee. When she failed to report to her window on September 10, 1999, her co-workers began to worry. They called the Albuquerque police to report her missing. That phone call started one of the most bizarre criminal investigations in New Mexico.

Girly Chew came from Malaysia to visit the United States. While at Sea World, she met a charming man by the name of Diazien Hossencofft. The two corresponded via postal mail for a few months, then Girly moved the US to marry Diazien in 1993. That was the beginning of the end for Girly. To say that Diazien was unfaithful would be a disservice to the word.

He brought home a child at one point during their marriage and informed Girly they were adopting the child. Girly agreed, hesitantly, but soon became accustomed to being a mother. Then she discovered the horrible truth—Diazien was the biological father. When she left him in January of 1999, he wanted sole custody of the child. Reluctantly, she granted his wishes. He had threatened her with death several times before and she was not anxious to know if he would truly follow through with his threats.

She confided in her co-worker. She told her of the threats and the tone in which they’d been given. When Mark Horner, author of September Sacrifice, talked with the co-worker, she said that they weren’t so much death threats as death promises. Hossencofft would boast that he would kill Girly and no one would ever find her body.

On September 10, her worst fears came true. She vanished without a trace.

Three people were indicted and charged with her kidnapping and assumed murder: Bill Miller, the leader of a small militant group in Albuquerque; Linda Henning, Hossencofft’s girlfriend; and Diazien Hossencofft himself. In video footage of the trial, Diazien laughs from the witness stand and states, “She knew she was going to be hunted like the dog she was. I only hope that she felt as much pain as humanly possible.”

What caused three “average” people to commit murder? Diazien Hossencofft was hardly average. According to records, his real name was Armand Chavez and he’d been living as a conman for many years. He admitted to conning cancer patients out of thousands of dollars for his “miracle cure,” which was nothing more than vitamin shots. He’d convinced Linda Henning, a rather down to earth fashion designer, that he was actually 2,000 years old and held an elixir of youth. When Henning gave her statement to police, she spoke of a reptilian race that was out to take over the planet. Diazien had been coaching her and Bill Miller on how to kill the Queen to save the world.

The Queen, apparently, was the unassuming Malaysian named Girly Chew.

Girly never asked to be murdered. She never asked to be harassed. She simply fell in love with what she thought was an upstanding and loving American man. She worked hard for what she had and lived her last years in fear for her life. Girly was only 36 years old.

So much more can be written on this case. The details of it are bizarre, at best, and skewed at worst. From the ramblings of Henning about a reptilian race of aliens that were coming to take over the world, to Hossencofft’s claims of cancer cures and youth serums, the unlikely pair created a courtroom scene unlike any other in the history of America—well, that is, at least, my opinion. Even the Menendez brothers didn’t put on a show quite like these two. Henning claimed to have killed Girly, then denied it. Hossencofft fingered her, then said it was a set up and Bill Miller was the real killer. If nothing else positive can be said for Diazien, he was certainly creative.

I encourage anyone reading this article to peruse Mark Horner’s site and read September Sacrifice. Truth is, after all, stranger than fiction. And in this case, the truth is stranger than science fiction. This entire case started with a domestic violence report. If a man is weak enough to strike his wife, he’s weak enough to kill her.

For more information on this case, please visit Mark Horner’s Site or pick up a copy of September Sacrifice. Mark Horner is an investigative reporter in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

For video footage or other information on the case, please visit AETV.com