Don Hoffman
Real Name: Richard Donald Hoffman
Nicknames: Don Hoffman
Location: Las Colinas, Texas
Date: September 16, 1988
Case[]
Details: Richard Donald "Don" Hoffman was the fourth husband of Terri Hoffman, founder of the spiritual movement Conscious Development of the Body, Mind, and Soul. In the fall of 1988, he began to fall ill. On September 16, 1988, he checked into the room of the Marriott Hotel in Las Colinas, Texas. Later that night, he took his own life. His family later discovered a video of Don taken just prior to his death. In the video, he said goodbye to his family and revealed that he had terminal cancer, which had been proven by three different doctors. However, Don's autopsy showed that he had no trace of cancer in his body. His family was never able to learn the names of the three doctors, if they existed.
Don's family suspects that Terri convinced him that he had cancer and had him name her the sole beneficiary to his estate. His family believes that she was directly responsible for his death, and investigators believe she was involved in the disappearances and deaths of several people in her spiritual group; however, she has never been charged.
Suspects: Terri Hoffman
Extra Notes: The case was featured as a part of the November 10, 1995 episode, which focused mainly on missing follower Charles Southern Jr.
Results: Unsolved. Terri died in 2015; she was never charged in Don's case, nor any of the other cases.
Links:
- Terri Hoffman's Website
- Texas Monthly - The Curse of the Black Lords
- Troubling deaths of spiritual seekers: Allegations of mind control follow Dallas couple's suicide - January 28, 1990
- Police Seek Link Between Cult Leader, Nine Deaths - March 4, 1990
- Prosecutor out to prove that beliefs can kill - May 4, 1990
- Mystery Lingers About Mystic and 10 Deaths - February 13, 1994
- After nearly four years, mystery remains in case of mystical leader - February 13, 1994
- Families charge meditation expert caused death of loved ones - February 16, 1994
- Dallas mystic sentenced to jail for fraud - May 21, 1994
- D Magazine's 40 Greatest Stories: Death in a North Dallas Cult - June 26, 2014