Where’s the tape?

Prosecutors still seeking recorded conversation between Henning and Miller

Monday, July 3, 2000

Defendant Linda Henning wearing blue prison uniform and white undershirt.
Linda Henning

(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 the following:

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.

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