ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (TCN) — A judge has ruled that a woman 24 years into her 73-year sentence was mentally incompetent at the time of her trial.
According to the Albuquerque Journal, Linda Henning had dated Diazien Hossencofft for a short time before his estranged wife, Girly Chew Hossencofft, disappeared in September 1999. Girly Chew Hossencofft had reportedly begun divorce proceedings earlier that year. Prosecutors believe that Henning and Diazien Hossencofft conspired to kill Girly Chew Hossencofft. Her body was never found, but her DNA was located on a tarp, clothing, and other items found near a New Mexico highway.
Henning was convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping, and related charges in 2002 and sentenced to 73 ½ years in prison, and Diazien Hossencofft, now 61, was sentenced to 60 years to life in 2002 after pleading no contest to murder, kidnapping, and related charges, according to the Journal.
KRQE reports that on Oct. 19, Judge Cindy Leos ruled that Henning, 73, was incompetent at the time of her trial. Henning’s defense attorney argued that her defense during the trial knew she had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but did not share that diagnosis with the court.
The Albuquerque Journal reports that Leos said it was absolutely overwhelming miscarriage of justice” for Henning to stand trial in 2002. According to Leos, Henning was delusional to the point that she did not understand that she was involved with the killing. She reportedly believed that she was on trial because of possessing “golden discs.”
KOB reports that according to Gary Mitchell, who served as Henning’s defense attorney during her trial, “She should have never been convicted, she did not commit the homicide, nor did she really help with it, and… the errors that occurred in her trial, I always thought were sufficient to overturn it.”
Henning’s new attorney claimed that Mitchell did not present evidence regarding her mental incompetence because he did not want to lose her as a client. KOB reports that in response, Mitchell said, “I’ve never worried about losing clients…What it had to do with, frankly, at the time is, she didn’t want to be looked at as incompetent. I had a neuropsychologist that said she was not incompetent, the state had a psychologist said she was not incompetent, and so I didn’t have much choice.”
A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 22 to discuss the possibility of Henning’s release pending a new trial, per KRQE.
MORE:
