September Sacrifice

"Horner skillfully compiles facts and recites dialogue from thousands of pages of police supplemental files, court transcripts, and personal interviews." -- Weekly Alibi (Albuquerque)


"Horner tells this incredible story of the life and death of Girly Chew with the vivaciousness of a seasoned pro." -- Investigative Journalist M. William Phelps, author of Perfect Poison and Lethal Guardian.


"If there is a better story in the annals of true crime, I haven't seen it yet." -- Gregg Olsen, New York Times Bestselling Author of If Loving You is Wrong


"If I'm ever late for work, call the police!" – that's what Albuquerque, New Mexico bank teller Girly Chew, 36, told her boss. The Malaysian-born beauty lived in mortal fear of her pathologically deranged husband and had taken out a restraining order against him. She was late for work for the first - and last - time on September 10, 1999. Her bloodstained clothes were found near a lonely stretch of desert highway. Chew's estranged spouse was an unrepentant scam artist with a terrifying violent streak. Born Armando Chavez, Jr. in Texas, he changed his name to Diazien Hossencofft and said he was from Switzerland. Claiming to be a surgeon and DNA expert with an anti-aging formula, he conned a woman dying of cancer out of nearly a half-million dollars. While married, he conducted numerous affairs - even managing to wangle sole custody of the infant son he fathered with one of his mistresses. Nursing a sick obsession with his wife while exerting Manson-like control over his girlfriend/accomplice, UFO fanatic Linda Henning, 47, Hossencofft set the stage for Girly Chew's murder and followed through on his plan with sadistic enthusiasm.