MURDERED: Girly Chew Hossencofft

[00:00] Hi, Crime Junkies. It's Britt, and I have big news. One of my favorite seasonal shows, CounterClock, is back with a brand new season, and it is wild. Host Delia D'Ambra is digging into the 2008 Lane Bryant murders. I mean, this isn't just a recap. It is a reinvestigation. She's talking to law enforcement, people from the community, even sources who have never spoken publicly until now. And you know I love a show that asks all the questions. Listen to CounterClock Season 8 now wherever you get your podcasts. [00:31] Hi, Crime Junkies. I'm Ashley Flowers. And I'm Britt. And Britt, before we jump in today, we got one of the sweetest messages sent to us that I wanted to share because it's really important to me. And so it comes from [00:47] A listener. I'm barely going to make it through. It comes from a listener. Yeah, you're going to struggle with this one. Yeah. Name Luna. And she wrote to us and said, Hi, I just had this urge to send you guys something. [00:59] My... Oh, man... [01:01] My mom recently passed away on October 29th this year. She was 46. Her birthday was November 2nd. She almost made it to 47. She was battling cancer for 10 years. It went downhill so fast and so harshly. [01:19] Mm-mm. [01:21] She was an amazing woman, mother, and friend. I miss her every day, every moment. [01:26] I'm turning 18 in January, and she will never see my wedding or her grandchildren or my future.

[01:33] Oh, man, I'm sorry, you guys. And the one thing that we really bonded over was your podcast. We would listen to it together on car rides or mom and daughter days. Anywhere we... [01:48] anywhere and we would gossip over episodes all the time and whenever I listen to your episodes I just imagine her in the passenger seat deep in thought. Luna says I know you guys will never see this but I had the feeling to say that you guys are. [02:07] May tell gruesome stories, but you have touched many hearts and created a lot of good memories. So thank you. And thank you, Luna. Yeah, thank you, Luna. Thank you so much. Our, you know, our fan base has gotten really big and we can't thank you guys enough, but we still see all your messages. We still see all your comments and reviews and it's stuff like this that means so much to us that, you know, you know, there's so much we want to do in the crime space. [02:37] partner with nonprofits and all of that is so important to me, but I will never stop being so amazed and so touched by the way that we're able to impact people's lives in a small way, being that thing that they can bond over or connect with. It's amazing. It's just such an honor to be able to do something that we love and also, you know, bring people together at the same time. Yeah. And so I just wanted to say, you know, thank you to Luna for letting us be that

[03:07] her and her mom. And thank you to everyone who listens every week and who has made us such an important part of their daily lives. I know we can't talk back and forth, but people say all the time they feel like we're friends. And I feel like we have such a special connection with the people who listen to our show. And so I just wanted to say thank you guys. And we do never think we don't read your messages. We're reading all of them and they really do mean so much to us. [03:37] today. It has a little bit of everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. Mystery, murder, conspiracy theories, and reptilian alien overlords that control the human race. Oh, so basically right up your alley. Basically. And it all starts when a 36-year-old woman fails to turn up for her scheduled shift at a bank. The investigation into her disappearance uncovers a [04:07] so twisted, it is almost impossible to believe. And it shows everyone just how tangled people can become in the web of a con man's lies. So hold on to your hat, folks, because this is the story of Gurley Chu Hassenkopf. [04:26] And this one is for Luna, [04:28] and her mom. [04:29] Music

[05:00] It's around 8 in the morning on September 10, 1999, and the tellers at Bank of America in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are worried about their colleague, Gurley Chu Hassenkoft. [05:13] Gurley is late for her shift and she was never late, like never, not once, never, ever, ever. Not only that, but Gurley's closest friend, Ernie, had been calling the bank all morning asking if Gurley had made it to work yet. Ernie said that she'd been trying to reach her at her home since the night before, but Gurley wasn't answering and they talked every single night. So by this point, she's worried sick. [05:39] Gurley's boss at the bank, Kathy, speaks to Ernie on the phone and says, listen, don't worry, we're going to help track her down. So Kathy calls Gurley's home number and it rings and rings. She calls her cell phone. Same thing. No answer. And so one of the tellers, this guy named Jesse, volunteers to go check Gurley's apartment. But in the meantime, Kathy calls police to report Gurley missing. How late is Gurley at this point? [06:09] call to police somewhere around like 8 10 or 8 15 and girly was due at like [06:14] 8 a.m. So, I mean, this is not super long by any means. And it almost goes to show you just how out of character this is for her, that everyone who knows her is pretty freaked out within 15 minutes of her being late. Well, and especially knowing that, you know, it's maybe not just these 15 minutes, but a lot longer because the friend was trying to reach out since the night before. Right. But here's the thing. There's another reason that they're so concerned.

[06:44] by the way, Kathy and everyone who work at the bank with Gurley knew that her ex-husband, this guy named Diazen, was bad news. [06:55] According to an article from Amarillo.com, he'd been harassing her, threatening her. And at one point, he even told her he would kill her and that no one would ever find her body. I mean, it was so bad that Gurley actually told her bank colleagues straight up, if I am ever late for work, call the police right away. Oh, my God. And so on that morning when Gurley is late, that's exactly what Kathy does. [07:25] police aren't really taking it seriously and you know we give police a lot of flack when they won't take the report but i even kind of get this like someone's 15 minutes late for work that's not that abnormal sleeping in yeah yeah and the operator on the other end tells her listen it hasn't even been 24 hours yet we can't file a missing persons report and even though kathy keeps insisting because again it it is more than just the late right like she knows the stuff going on she keeps pushing keeps pushing but the operator on the other end is like listen there [07:55] do right now. [07:57] Now, not long after this conversation with police, the phone at the bank rings and it's Jesse calling from Gurley's apartment. He says that her car is in the lot, but her door is locked and she's not answering. So he tells Kathy that he's going to try and track down the super for the building to see if he can get into the apartment, which he does. And the first thing Jesse notices is that the deadbolt wasn't locked.

[08:27] lock on the actual knob. Yeah. Well, the lock on the knob is all that was engaged. And it's the only one that the super had to unlock. And now remember, Gurley was legitimately afraid for her life. And Jesse knew that. So there's no way if she was inside that she's going to be inside with just that one tiny lock engaged. Right. She would definitely put the deadlock in. Right. So when they get in, they call out for Gurley, but there's no answer. And they step inside. And the only thing [08:57] really see that even looked out of place were like a few wet stains on the living room carpet. [09:04] But it just looks like someone maybe like spilled something and tried to clean it up. Like nothing super alarming to them. [09:12] In his book, September Sacrifice, author Mark Horner writes that the smallest of these stains was about the size of a grapefruit and the largest was the size of a basketball. [09:23] so Jesse and the Super are like looking around they check her bedroom, they check her closet they're checking all throughout the apartment but there is no sign of Gurley and nothing really out of place either [09:33] Now, back at the bank, Kathy is now making her fourth call to Albuquerque PD, trying to get someone to take Gurley's disappearance seriously. She tells them, listen, there is this history of domestic violence. She says Gurley has made numerous reports over the years, and she's even got several restraining orders against Diazine. [09:55] Finally, police agree to at least look into it. They say, listen, we'll send a squad car to Gurley's place for a welfare check and we'll check in on Diazen 2. Now, when the officer arrives at Gurley's apartment building, he meets up with the super who tells him that he and Jesse had already been inside the apartment and Gurley wasn't there. But otherwise, the super says, listen, like nothing's out of place. Nothing is out of the ordinary at all. OK, but what about the stains on the carpet?

[10:25] He doesn't even mention the wet stains on the carpet. [10:27] at all. And I wish I could tell you why, but [10:30] I don't think it even registered for him that that's something that he should mention. What he does mention, though, is that he knows Gurley is a victim of domestic violence and that she moved to the building and this unit specifically to pretty much hide from her ex-husband. So the officer decides that's where he needs to go right away, to Diazen's place. Wait, he doesn't, like, look around the apartment at all first? He doesn't, not yet anyway. His next stop is to the Hassenkopf house. [11:00] he gets there. Unlike how Jesse found Girlie's place, the police find the front door [11:06] wide [11:08] open and the place is totally empty. Oh, you mean like no one's home? No, I mean like [11:13] No one is home. [11:15] And it is completely empty. No furniture, no dishes. Oh, it's been like completely cleared out. Oh, yeah. Nothing is there. A neighbor tells them that a moving truck came a couple of nights before and that Diazen said he was moving to El Paso so he could be closer to Mexico where he was getting cancer treatments. Now, [11:35] It's also important to note here that Diason isn't a complete stranger to the Albuquerque PD. He's been on their radar since [11:44] February, which is about six or seven months at this point. And he got on their radar because when Gurley initially left him, she had filed a domestic violence report. [11:55] According to an article by Benjamin Smith for Oxygen, she'd gone to Albuquerque-pedia at least twice to report domestic violence. And in fact, Diazin was just a couple of weeks away from standing trial for violating a restraining order Gurley had against him.

[12:12] When the officers hear all of this, they decide that, you know what, maybe we should go take a peek around Girlie's apartment after all, just in case. [12:21] And when they walk in, unlike the super with his untrained eye, investigators know right away what they're looking at. Those stains on the carpet, they look like blood stains. And not only are they still wet, the entire place smells like bleach. So whatever took place here, someone tried their best to clean it up. [12:45] When crime scene techs get there for a more thorough sweep and do a luminol test, the place lights up like a Christmas tree. Someone lost a lot of blood in this apartment. And it isn't just those larger spots, the one that still look wet when police first visited the apartment, but there are a bunch of smaller ones too all over. [13:08] But before they can even really start the work of running tests and comparing DNA, someone driving along a remote highway 120 miles away [13:20] makes a really disturbing discovery. [13:25] Summer's here, and whether you're traveling, shuttling kids to camp, or spending long days by the pool, staying healthy and on budget, is always top of mind. That's where GoodRx can help. GoodRx can help you save up to 80% on prescriptions for you and your family. [13:39] Even your pets, too. Just check GoodRx before every pharmacy run to find big savings on both brand name and generic medications.

[13:46] I love seeing how many options they have to save. [13:49] GoodRx is free and easy to use. Just search for your prescription on the website or app, compare prices, and get a free coupon to show your pharmacist. Use GoodRx to save at over 70,000 pharmacies nationwide, including Walmart, Walgreens, CVS, Publix, Kroger, and many more. GoodRx is not insurance, but it works whether you have insurance or not, and it could even beat your copay price. Save time and money at the pharmacy this summer. Go to GoodRx.com slash Crime Junkie. [14:19] Download the free GoodRx app. [14:22] A few hours after Gurley was reported missing by her colleagues at the bank, a state highway employee is driving along a remote stretch of road about an hour and a half from Albuquerque when he sees something out of the corner of his eye. [14:37] About 20 feet up the side of an embankment, he sees what looks like a blanket, which he realizes could be dangerous if the wind picks it up and drags it into the road. [14:47] I mean, this guy was already in the area to like empty trash cans from the public rest stops along the road anyways. So he's like, you know what? I'm just going to like pull over. I'm going to grab this thing, toss it in the back of the truck along with the rest of the stuff I have. So he gets out. He walks towards this thing. But what he realizes as he gets closer is that it's not a blanket at all. It's a tarp. And as he approaches it, he notices what looks like sand. [15:15] Blood.

[15:16] Now, he's not going into like a full crime junkie panic like you or I would because he knows that it's hunting season. And he's thinking like, listen, this is some kind of tarp that a hunter would wrap a deer in. But the panic does start to set in as he gets closer to this tarp and sees something else. He sees a piece of duct tape with long, dark hairs caught in it. And then another piece shaped like a figure eight. [15:46] he sees what looks like kids' clothes. A shirt, a pair of shorts, and a pair of underwear. And there's blood on all of those, too. Oh my god, kids' clothes? Yes, that's what it looks like at first glance. They are these small clothes. The kind, you know, maybe a kid would wear, but also the kind, say, a woman. Just five feet tall and less than 100 pounds, just like Gurley might wear. [16:12] Now, either way, he knows something is for sure not right here. So he gathers everything up, the clothes, the tarp, everything, and tosses it all into the back of his truck to deliver it to police. Wait, he just picks it up and moves it? Like, this is a crime scene, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, it's definitely some kind of scene, right? Which, like, I think probably should have been preserved. And I mean, I can't tell you why he moved everything, except maybe he just, wow, didn't know any better. [16:42] for this episode mentioned that he was worried about safety. Remember, like the wind, like catching the tarp and blowing it. So maybe that's part of it. Like he wanted to get it out of the way. But I'm guessing he also just didn't fully know what he was dealing with or how evidence should be handled. Which, I mean, fair enough. This is kind of pre-CSI on every single channel. Yeah. So maybe back then the only people who really knew about preserving scenes or forensic evidence were police officers. For sure.

[17:12] lab for testing, police in Albuquerque are still trying to reach Diazin. But at this point, dude's in the wind. Until on September 13th, four days into the investigation, police hear from not one, not two, but three different people all reporting threatening phone calls coming from Diazin. What? And this is where things start to get really strange. Yeah. One of these threatening [17:42] Amazon's divorce lawyer who says that he had called pretty much like ranting and raving. [17:48] The second one is from a former neighbor who, when she initially spoke to police, like we're talking the very beginning of their investigation, this neighbor told them that she saw Diazen get out of his car wearing full camouflage clothing with like black grease paint all over his body. And this was the night before Gurley was reported missing. [18:18] Now he's calling and threatening her. And then the third threatening call is going to this woman named Vonda. [18:26] who is the director of the adoption agency Diazin used just a few weeks before when he placed his son Dimitri up for adoption. Wait, did I miss something? Diazin has a son? You didn't miss it, but yes, he has a three-year-old son named Dimitri. According to court records, Gurley had signed the papers giving up her rights to Dimitri on August 26, so just a couple of weeks before she disappeared.

[18:56] Well, this is where things start to take a sharp left turn, so stay with me. Gurley was Dimitri's mother, yes, but he didn't come into Gurley's life in any kind of normal straightforward way. Diazyn just [19:11] showed up one day from a business trip with this month-old newborn baby boy in his arms. What? Like totally out of left field or like had they been planning to adopt? A hundred percent out of left field. So it was a complete surprise. I mean, not like an unwelcome one. Her friends say that Gurley wanted to have kids and she and Dyson had been like trying to conceive for a while at this point, but like weren't just having any luck. So she [19:37] Before, adoption wasn't really like on the table. They'd apparently discussed it and Gurley wasn't super keen on the idea. But then Diazen just like rolls up with an infant and is like, surprise. And I mean, like, what is she going to do? I mean, to be fair, I actually know exactly what that's like. I'm just going to say, I was like, I feel like this is a little bit how you guys got made. I mean, you were super down for adoption. It feels a little bit close to home for me. Yeah. Yeah. [20:07] conversations about [20:09] met with family members and lawyers about beforehand and it was very by the book and not like he just walked in from work one day with May. For sure. Okay, so now I, my mind has to know, where did Dimitri come from? Well, Paul Hardin reported for the El Defensor Chieftain that Diazen told Gurley that the little boy had been orphaned in Mexico by a friend, Dina.

[20:36] And he'd stepped up to help, which like, I mean, to me, all the red flags go up to because to your point to adopt a child, like lots of red tape, lots of paperwork. Yeah. And that's like we adopted May from like our county in our state. Like when you're dealing with adopting from other countries, there's a ton more paperwork and assessments. And like you said, red tape that goes along with it. Yeah. But he just like shows up with a baby. [21:06] him up for adoption now? Well, when Diazin first reaches out to Vonda, the lady at the agency about putting Demetri up for adoption, he told her that Diazin himself was dying of leukemia and he only had like a month or maybe even less to live. And... [21:24] Vonda said that at the time she totally believed it because as he's telling her this, he's like in her office, like literally coughing up blood. [21:32] everything starts to kind of unravel because as part of the adoption process, when you do it the appropriate way, they had to do a bunch of background checks and physical exams. And when the results of Diazin's blood work come back, Vonda was surprised to learn, [21:50] first of all that diazin was not in fact dying of leukemia or of anything else like his blood work was totally clear but second he's not dimitri's adoptive father he's dimitri's biological father what yeah so that's when she starts asking questions like okay

[22:11] If you're his father, who is this kid's biological mother? And Diazin then tells her that Dimitri doesn't have a biological mother. Well, not really, he says, because he says that Dimitri was created and grown in a lab using harvested eggs. Okay. [22:33] Yeah, and I'm not talking about the kind of thing that happens with, like, in vitro or, like, surrogates or any of that. [22:41] nine months growing this baby in a lap. So obviously Vonda's like, that's not a thing. That's impossible. This guy is bad news. And she's starting to wonder like, what the heck is she actually like getting herself into? What is going on with all of the lies? Right. This is like a time when you start like slowly backing away and being like, I want nothing to do with this. Exactly. So if Diazen isn't [23:07] sick and dying in the first place, or after all, I guess. [23:11] Why are they moving ahead with the adoption? I mean, it's a good question, and I wish I had a straight answer. So looking into this, it turns out Gurley actually didn't want anything to do with this plan. Like, she had grown really fond of Demetri. She was Demetri's mom. But Diazin had been basically making her life a living hell when it came to sharing custody. So for Gurley, signing those papers to give him up for adoption was about self-preservation. I mean, the domestic violence was bad. [23:41] at that point. She was afraid of Diazin and rightly so. So she knew that anything that tied the two of them together, even the son that she loved so much, was putting her life at risk. It was more or less just about completely severing that tie. Yeah. I mean, and it's why she left Diazin in January. It's why she hid the details of where she lived from pretty much everyone. And it's why she agreed to give Dimitri up for adoption, because she knew what could happen if she didn't go along with what Diazin wanted.

[24:10] Now, as for why Dyson approached the adoption agency in the first place, [24:15] That's a little harder to pin down. I mean, to be honest, maybe he didn't want to take care of a child on his own. Or maybe he started the process because he knew Gurley was going to disappear soon. And he might end up in prison for the rest of his life. And he didn't want to leave Dimitri unaccounted for. I mean, I really don't know what goes on in this guy's head. [24:36] Anyway, at the time all of this was going on, Vonda had been pretty shaken up by all of the lies and just this entire situation. I mean, it's strange. And she didn't know who or what to believe. And she was frankly starting to worry, not just about Dimitri, but even about herself, too. And she was worried enough that she ended up sharing some of the details and her concerns about Diazen with her husband. [25:06] on this case, Diazen randomly overheard this conversation. Like, they just happened to be at the same restaurant, which is like bananas to me. What are the odds? Yeah, what a bizarre coincidence. Yeah, but he hears her talking about him and obviously he's like not happy. [25:29] And so it's this anger that he had for Vonda after hearing her, like, gossiping about him. That's what led to him making the threatening calls to her. [25:39] So... [25:39] All of the people that he'd been calling and threatening, his neighbor, his lawyer, Vonda, they were all people he felt wronged him in some way. And because all three of them reported the threats, police are able to trace the calls to a residence in South Carolina. And that's where they finally track Diazen down.

[26:00] Only now he's got a brand new fiancé. [26:07] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. [26:27] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now. [26:34] wherever you get your podcasts. [26:38] When police finally catch up with Diazen in Charleston, South Carolina, they're able to arrest him on three counts of making threats across state lines. I'm sorry, and you said he has this new fiancé already too? Oh yeah, he's got a new fiancé already, and not even just one. Over the course of the investigation, police learn that he's engaged to three different women at this point, none of whom know about the other. [27:08] anything about the fact that he has a missing wife or even that he had a wife at all. [27:12] all. Oh my God. So with Diazen under arrest and heading back to New Mexico, police move in to do a physical search of the home that he's been staying in in South Carolina. And during that search, they find a gun, [27:26] two vials of blood, a bunch of different medications like prescriptions and stuff that's over the counter, needles and glass vials, and they also find Gurley's address book and her Malaysian photo ID. In addition to that, they also find a steam cleaner like the kind used to clean carpet and two sticks of the type of charcoal that a person might use to say...

[27:52] paint their whole body black? Okay, you're gonna have to rewind just for a second. Two vials of blood? Yeah. Like his blood? Harder to answer, maybe, but probably not. So again, this case keeps getting weirder. Dyzen was known to take blood from people for what he called scientific research. Yeah, totally normal. Yeah, hard air quotes on the scientific research. So [28:22] one of the women that he was seeing or someone he was scamming. [28:26] At this point, police have a decent case building against Diazin. So they convene a grand jury in Albuquerque with the goal of having him indicted for Gurley's murder. [28:39] like put all that together this quickly? Yeah, this is September 27th, just a little over two weeks after Gurley went missing. Yeah. Now, the key witness during that grand jury trial is a woman named Linda [28:51] Henning. [28:52] Linda is a name that came up pretty early in the investigation as a person close to Diazin. But when police went to speak with her the first time, just like a day or two after Gurley went missing, she said that she and Diazin hardly knew each other and that she'd never heard of Gurley, let alone even met her, which is what she tells the grand jury, too. But the more they press her with questions, the less coherent her answers become.

[29:22] into a bunch of bizarre claims about government officials and pedophile sex rings. And what investigators are finding out, along with the grand jury, is that this woman is... [29:36] hard into conspiracy theories. And it's actually how she met Dyson in the first place. They were at a lecture at a local college where this guy named Dave Icke was speaking. And Dave Icke believes that shape-shifting reptile aliens control everything and that the only way they can maintain their human form is to drink human blood. Okay. Yeah. And not only that, but they say that [30:06] powerful blood is full of hormonal secretions that you can only get from a woman who has been tortured and terrorized. That's very disturbing. Were Diazin and Linda like hardcore followers of this guy? Well, Linda was definitely hardcore. Diazin, I mean, it's hard to say. Like he certainly played like he was, but how much of that is for real? How much of that is like part of his whole [30:36] fan club kind of deal [30:38] as well. And Linda had been a member for a while and she started bringing Diazin with her to meetings. And everyone else in the group was kind of like, like, who the heck is this guy? And I mean, how bananas do you have to be to raise eyebrows in like... At a UFO fan club? Yeah. I mean, listen, I would join a UFO fan club, no lie. But like, Diazin stood out even among that crowd. And, you know, in this group, he was telling everyone that he was a doctor, that he was a

[31:08] He wasn't, but fine. But then he also told them, [31:11] This is my favorite part. [31:13] that he was a 4,000-year-old alien... [31:17] And that he was immortal. Ashley, this is going off the rails quick. Listen, stay with me. I promise you are listening to an episode of Crime Junkie. This is not supernatural. I'm going to rope it back in. So police find out that there is one guy who's been like chumming around with Linda and Dyson a lot. His name is Bill Miller. And the more closely police look at Bill, the more suspicious they get. [31:47] things like he knew more than he could talk about when it came to Girlie's disappearance. [31:52] And also, he just randomly happened to go elk hunting for two days right around the time that Gurley disappeared. Hmm. [32:02] Of course, police go talk to Bill, and when they do, he tells them, yeah, I know Linda, and I know Diazin, too. And by the way, Diazin tried to recruit me to kill his wife. Okay, then. Bill tells them that he didn't do it, of course. He had nothing to do with it. But when they get a warrant to search his house, they find a few things that don't sit super well. [32:32] saved. [32:33] Not only that, but they also found a notebook in his truck that says, and I quote,

[32:38] The pituitary gland and the pineal gland has strong drug in it, like heroin endorphins. Need terrorization for it to be put in blood. [32:53] Sound familiar? [32:55] So police learn that Bill had a hunting cabin in this town. [33:02] called Magdalena, which is the exact town that's an hour and a half from Albuquerque where the tarp and the duct tape and the bloody clothes were found on the day that Gurley was reported missing. And if that wasn't all suspicious enough, Bill also opened a brand new safe deposit box at a brand new bank. [33:24] on the day that Gurley disappeared, using someone else's name and an address in Colorado. And what do police find when they look in the safe deposit box? They find $10,000 in cash split between four packages and then wrapped in tinfoil, which I... [33:42] only assume it's like an alien thing. Okay, that seems pretty pointed. Yeah, and then they find $12,000 worth of coins. So they have to be thinking that this guy is a hitman. I mean, absolutely. But the only problem is, we know this, it is really hard to prosecute someone for murder without a body. Right. And even though everyone working the case is sure by this point that Gurley is likely dead, Bill and Linda are probably both involved, and Diazin is the mastermind behind

[34:12] a big problem when it comes to prosecuting someone for murder. Right. It just throws a ton of reasonable doubt into the mix. Exactly. But what police do have is a mountain of circumstantial evidence. And then on October 21st, this is six weeks after Gurley disappeared, police finally get the break that they've been looking for. [34:35] For decades, some cold cases have been reduced to files in a cabinet, but not anymore. I'm Ashley Flowers, and me and my team on the deck have been traveling across the country to report on these forgotten cases. And in some instances, it's resulted in these cases being solved after decades. [34:54] Join me every Wednesday as we revive these stories one card at a time. Listen to the deck now. [35:02] wherever you get your podcasts. [35:06] - On October 21st, investigators get the call that they've been waiting weeks for. The results of the forensic testing on the carpet from Gurley's apartment and the Magdalena Tarp are finally in. [35:19] and they are [35:21] Kind of surprising. [35:22] The blood on the tarp and on the clothing and the strands of tangled hair in the duct tape all come back as a positive match to Gurley. [35:33] The blood evidence from the carpet in Girlie's apartment, that's what was more surprising. [35:39] So remember how I said there were a few big spots of blood and then some smaller ones too? Uh, yeah. Well, the larger spots, even though they were pretty degraded from the bleach,

[35:49] were found to be consistent with Gurley's DNA. [35:53] But the tiny droplets of blood, those were a match to Linda. You mean like she was injured during a struggle or something? Well... [36:02] Probably. Like, so the way it worked is a droplets of Linda's blood were kind of all mixed up with droplets of Gurley's blood. So investigators are thinking that that's probably what happened, that there was some kind of struggle and Linda got injured. In John Springer's reporting for Court TV, he quotes prosecutors saying the blood droplets suggest a, quote, pitched battle, end quote, occurred between Linda and Gurley inside the apartment. [36:32] Was there any DNA evidence from Diazin? - No blood DNA evidence, but they did find hair and saliva on the carpet that matched Diazin, as well as on Gurley's clothing, which I think is important because again, people are like, oh, you know, they did used to be married. But remember, she got this apartment to like hide from him. He wasn't supposed to know where she was living. So I do think it's significant that that was found in her apartment. - Right. - The other thing that they found though, that's interesting is like, [36:59] All this other stuff in the carpet. So they found glitter. They found this sand that's used for like arts and crafts, both of which police think connect back to Linda. And not only that, according to Mark Horner's book, investigators also learn that the carpet, Gurley's clothing and the steam cleaner found in South Carolina in that house all contain a bunch of animal fur, lots of cat hair,

[37:29] bit fur and feathers. Okay, I have to ask this question, but I know you would have brought it up if she had. But did Gurley have any pets? I mean, obviously she wasn't like keeping a deer in her apartment, but a cat or a dog? No, no, she didn't have any animals and neither did the person who lived in the apartment right before her. But you want to know who had six cats? [37:52] Linda Henning. Okay, so that explains some of the evidence, but not really the rest of it. Like, where do they think the fur and feathers came from? Well, I mean, I think they think that those belong to the third person in this complicated little murder trio, Bill Miller. I mean, remember, Miller was the guy who went elk hunting right after Gurley disappeared, and who was known to hunt pretty regularly, including in the woods, [38:17] near his fixer-upper cottage in Magdalena. And sure enough, when police go back to search Bill's house again, they do find traces of the same fur and feathers, like same colors and everything. [38:31] So at this point, investigators might not have a body, but they have enough to finally bring charges. [38:38] So on November 17th, a grand jury indicts both Linda and Diazin on a slew of charges, including murder and kidnapping. What about Bill Miller? Well, the grand jury says that they don't feel like there's enough to proceed with murder charges against him at this point. But they do charge him with conspiracy. And I'll actually come back to him.

[39:08] They have that pile of physical evidence leaking Dyson and Linda to both the primary crime scene, which is Gurley's apartment, and that second one in Magdalena. [39:17] They know that Linda bought a tarp from Home Depot just before Gurley went missing, the same kind found with Gurley's hair and blood on it. According to court records, they also found two guns and a ninja sword hidden at her home. And this is a sword Diazin had bought just before Gurley's disappearance. Now, there was blood evidence on the sword, kind of like all over it. [39:47] all of the blood that was actually on the blade was too compromised to test. [39:52] So, I mean, for a largely circumstantial case and for a nobody homicide, I mean, that's that's a pretty solid case. And Dyson must have recognized it because in January 2000, before he could even go to trial, he surprises everyone by changing his plea to guilty. To avoid a trial or to avoid the death penalty. Oh, but that doesn't stop the state from pursuing the death penalty in Linda's case. [40:19] As Jalene Gutierrez Kruger put it in her story for the Albuquerque Tribune, quote, three years, four attorneys and five judges later, end quote, Linda's trial finally begins. And I've already told you about the state's case, like the forensic, all the circumstantial evidence. Right. But. [40:38] The defense's case, well, that relies pretty heavily on one key witness –

[40:44] Die as in [40:45] himself. He is the key witness for Linda's case. Diazon tells the jury that he was the person ultimately responsible for Gurley's murder and that he hired Bill Miller to do the job. And he says that his role, besides like hiring a hitman, was to clean up the crime scene. And he says Linda was absolutely not involved. But her DNA was at the crime scene. Well, Diazon says [41:15] From CNN, his plan was to take a vial of another woman's blood. And remember, he's like prone to just like storing random vials of blood around. But he was going to take this vial of blood and use it to confuse police. Because according to his thinking, is that like if there was two different types of blood and none of it was really usable or identifiable because of like the bleach cleanup, that it would throw off the whole investigation, basically, is like what he was aiming for. [41:45] But like it broke in his pocket and the only other one he had was Linda. So he just like grabs that. And before he cleaned up the crime scene, he just like sprinkled it around. [41:56] Seriously? I mean, if you believe Diazin, which I mean, the jury didn't. And I mean, why would they? He is a full time liar. Everything about this guy was a lie. I mean, like just even put it in perspective, like this dude made a living conning people out of their money. I mean, he told them B vitamins were this special serum that would stop the aging process or cure cancer. He claimed to be a doctor and a geneticist, which he was neither. And in fact, I mean, he lied so well that he got people to give them their blood.

[42:26] of booted from med school for faking his resume. And this is the kicker. Even his name is made up. What? His real name was Armand Chavez, and he's from Houston, Texas. And listen, [42:39] Diason's testimony on the witness stand is some of the most chilling, disturbing testimonies I've ever heard. I could tell you about it, but... [42:50] You really need to hear it for yourself. [42:54] I think you've seen murder as the most heinous crime known to mankind. But when you decide you're going to commit murder, you decide that you're going to trade your life for theirs. [43:06] I did that. She knew that you were looking for her. She knew she was going to be hunted like the dog she was. And yes, she knew. Like a scared rabbit in an open field, she knew. [43:19] So I don't know about you, but everything about that makes my skin crawl. 1000%. But is his story legit? You know, I don't know what to believe anymore. [43:34] I mean, [43:35] The evidence at the scene makes sense with his story, and I think he for sure did the cleanup. That whole thing about him like sprinkling the vial of Linda's blood around to throw police off. I mean, that could be true. It's just at some point it gets hard for me to believe that he wasn't actually there, like when Gurley was kidnapped or even killed. Yeah, I mean.

[43:57] Even by the way he talks in the clip from his testimony, like, it sounds like he wouldn't want to miss being there, you know? Yeah, but I guess the thing I can get past, though, is I don't know what the jury did or didn't see that they didn't feel like they could... [44:11] get Bill Miller on this because it also in my mind, like, I don't see a way that Bill Miller wasn't involved. Like, totally. Did he end up facing any murder charges in the end? Like, what's his deal? No. So actually, Bill didn't face trial until the summer of 2003. [44:26] And in the end, he was only ever charged with evidence tampering and sentenced to time served plus a year of probation. Even with all that evidence, like the fur and the stuff that was on Gurley's clothes that they matched back to his cottage? Yeah, Dyson testified at that trial too, telling the same story, but this time as a witness for the prosecution. [44:51] But here's the thing, he was like total sleazebag on the stand. He was like really difficult. He was really combative and hateful. [44:58] I don't think that the grand jury found him credible. So they wouldn't indict Bill for murder, just like the evidence tampering and stuff. Okay, we didn't really get into this, but was there ever any closure or was ever addressed as to why Dyazin did this? Like, what was his motive? Well, Dyazin said that it was because Gurley threatened to try and get full custody of Dimitri and he was just dead. [45:23] mad about it. But I mean, really, I think if he was mad about anything, it was that she dared leave him in the first place. Not to mention Gurley had uncovered his like youth serum B vitamin scam and his fake cancer. So I mean, who knows what other lies that she uncovered? And like she's probably starting to learn who he really was. And that might have been a motivating factor for what he did. Right, right. I mean, I think the unfortunate truth is that, yes, this story is one

[45:53] tristiest, most absurd we've ever told on this show. But it's also just like so many other stories. Because the truth is, Gurley Chu Hassenkoft was a victim of domestic violence, just like so many women in this country and around the world are every day. And I think it's easy to lose sight of that when you're talking about alien overlords. But that is what this story is about. [46:23] that she was in danger. She went into hiding. She filed restraining orders. She started divorce proceedings. I mean, she actually called the FBI the night before she was kidnapped and killed, asking for protection from Diazin. [46:38] And she didn't. [46:40] get it. Whatever happened to Dimitri? According to Mark Horner's book, he was adopted into a new family, but there's really no solid information out there about where he is now. And probably for the best. I mean, this kid deserves to live a peaceful life. [46:56] And... [46:56] Actually, a little bit of an aside here, but during their investigation, police actually tracked down Dimitri's actual birth mother. She's a Japanese woman who was living in Canada and carrying on a bit of a long-distance relationship with Diazin, one of the many while he was married to Gurley. Right, right. And shortly after the baby was born, he had asked her to meet him in Mexico and to bring their son, which she did.

[47:26] would be capable of handling. [47:29] This is how he got Dimitri. He actually convinced her. He basically conned him away from his mom. Yeah, when he was just a few weeks old. [47:39] She never did see him after that. And she never learned the truth that Dimitri was 100% fine, that Diazin was neither a geneticist or a doctor, until the police called her. So I would assume that she isn't the person who... [47:52] adopted him then? No, by the time she found out about all of this, he was with his new family. And she did say that she missed Dimitri every single day, but she had a family of her own too, and an elderly husband, and she said it was just really complicated. In the end, Linda Henning avoided the death penalty, but was sentenced to 73 and a half years for her role in Gurley's death, and she's serving that time in New Mexico. [48:20] Diazon is serving a life sentence and then some in Wyoming, where he requested to go as part of his plea deal. And in return, he said that he'd point investigators to Gurley's body. [48:34] But... [48:35] That hasn't happened. Police have done several extensive searches over the years, but as of this recording, [48:41] her remains have still [48:43] never been found. [48:45] If you want to see pictures and source material for this episode, along with resources for victims or those who have loved ones who are victims of domestic violence, you can find all of that on our website, CrimeJunkiePodcast.com.

[49:12] And be sure to follow us on Instagram at Crime Junkie Podcast. We'll be back next week with a brand new episode. [49:18] Thank you. [49:39] you [49:40] you [49:41] you [49:42] you [49:45] Crime Junkie is an AudioChuck production. [49:48] So? [49:49] What do you think, Chuck? [49:50] Do you approve? [49:51] *Moooooo* [49:54] Okay, crime junkies, you know I absolutely love a twist and a turn, especially when it comes to people who turn out to be someone they're not. That's why I have been obsessed with the podcast Chameleon. Every Thursday, host Josh Dean deep dives into a scam so bizarre, it will leave you wondering, how did they get away with that? [50:13] It is truly one of my favorite podcasts right now and I've been listening for years. [50:17] I think you'll love it too. [50:18] Listen to Chameleon wherever you get your podcasts.