Vol. 7, No. 2, 1990

Articles on the New Age

James Walker

Nine students and associates of Terri Hoffman have died sudden deaths leaving her large sums of money or property launching an investigation by the Dallas County district attorney's office into her relationship with the deceased. (Dallas Morning News, 1/8/90 p.1-A).

Hoffman, 51, is described as a "spiritual guide," "metaphysical mentor," and "an incarnation of Christ," by former students and newspaper reports, (Ibid, 1/8/90; 12/17/89, p. 27A). Already two civil lawsuits have been filed accusing her of driving her students to suicide or accidental deaths by, "hypnosis, behavior modification, mind control and emotional manipulation." (Ibid, 1/8/90).

In addition to the civil lawsuits, a criminal investigation was begun after a "spiritual diary" linked Hoffman to David and Glenda Goodman whose bizarre duel (sic) suicide sparked two front page stories in the Dallas Morning News, (12/17/90). The badly decomposed bod¬ies of the former SMU professor and his wife were discovered in their Lake Highlands home on Nov. 25 and their deaths bring to nine the total number of close associates and students of Hoffman who have died by suicide or accidents in the last twelve years.

Like other dead associates, the Goodmans had given large sums of money to Hoffman. They had written checks totaling more than $110,000 and evidence indicates the couple had plans to transfer the title on a car and one of their homes to Hoffman. David Goodman, educated at Berkeley and Yale, was a professor of Business and Computer Science at Southern Methodist University until 1987.

Southern Methodist University Meditation Classes

Like others in the inner circle, he began attending sessions with Hoffman whose company, Conscious Development of Mind, Body and Soul, Inc., held weekly meditations on the SMU campus. Former students described the non-accredited course as a "...hybrid of metaphysical and Eastern philosophies." Classes included, "teaching materials, signed `Sri Terriji' or `Terri and the Masters and Heavenly Hosts of the Great White Brotherhood,' [which] explained the ins and outs of karma, energy, auras and astral projection." (Ibid, p. 27A).

Most of the company's rev¬enue was received from love offerings and the sale of such items as "ray gun shields" that sold for $2.50 each and were supposed to dissolve negative energies. According to the Goodman diary, through the SMU course and subsequent counselling, Hoffman had introduced them to the "purple realm" and the couple thought themselves to be astral travelers whose code names were Jupiter (David) and Venus (Glenda).

"Spirits" Advise Couple To Shoot

"Spirit guides" are also frequently mentioned in the manuscript which was taken as evidence by authorities from the couples' home. The "spirits" seemed to advise the couple to counteract "bad karma" with a gun. The manuscript quotes the spirits as saying, "Just like with the shooting. If you do that, I can make you both a success. That is, can make you yourself. Your spirit," (Ibid, p 26A).

Most of Hoffman's followers are described as wealthy, well educated, intelligent, and coming from more traditional religious backgrounds. "Most class members lived in and around North Dallas' affluent Preston Hollow neighborhood... regular members included a vice president of a major Dallas advertising agency, a school district curriculum writer and a City Hall bureaucrat," (Ibid).

Typical of other students were Don and Alice Hoffman who became disciples through the SMU meditation classes. After the drowning death of their 3-year-old son, the couple were unable to find solace in their Lutheran church and began studying books on reincarnation and were introduced to the class. Alice Hoffman later left the group and her husband of 22 years. He soon married Terri and later Don Hoffman, like Terri's first husband, Glenn Cooley, committed suicide.

Stepchildren File Civil Suit

In a wrongful death lawsuit, Don Hoffman's children have charged their stepmother, Terri, with using mind control techniques to convince their father he had terminal cancer. The autopsy after the suicide showed no cancer. The other deaths included a drug overdose, an accidental fall from a building under construction, the drowning of a 13-year-old girl and a double fatality when the mother of the drowning victim drove off a Colorado cliff with her housekeeper.

Authorities are using terms like "mind control" and "hypnotism" in connection with at least some of the deaths that seem too unusual to attribute to coincidence. Investigators are considering "the possibility of charging a person with a crime using evidences of complete psychological control," (Ibid, 1/8/90).

Discussing possible murder charges, Chief Felony Prosecutor Cecil Emerson said that, by law, no direct participation is needed for the conviction of a crime. As examples he cited the 1978 "mind control" related murder/suicides of the Jim Jones cult in Guyana in which 913 died and the 1969 Charles Manson murders in Southern California.

One member of Terri Hoffman's group who left, James Eubank, said he, "got turned off, kind of gradually, by the fact that it really was a cult." He explained, "In this inner circle, there's definitely a place for mind control.... definitely a place for witchcraft." (Ibid, 12/17/89 p. 27A).