Salt Lake Landfill Search Began Immediately

Deseret Morning News ^ | July 29, 2004 | Pat Reavy and Jennifer Dobner

[Bonaparte]

"Make Jimmy Boy come up with a better plan."

Hahaha! I'm on it!

[Bonaparte]

"...the spelling Nazis."

My personal favorites are the punctuation enforcers.

"Does MH have a pickup truck?"

I think he has one of these...

Dodge Durango

IIRC, the new mattress was lashed to the top of it before he left Bradley's Sleep Etc.

"Maybe she isn't in the landfill."

Could be. The police did say they had cadaver detecting dogs out there. But that could have been a head fake for Hacking's benefit. I don't know how much, if anything, he's hearing about the investigation. (Some days ago, I read an article in which Douglas Hacking was reputed to have said the family was being very careful about what they said to him -- whatever that means.)

I've stated this before, but my belief is that Hacking devoted the lion's share of his available time after the killing to two things: tidying up and making sure that body would never be found. If I had to guess, I'd say he drove way back in the woods and climbed. Then moved some heavy rocks, did some deep digging, pulled the body up there with rope, filled the grave with everything but the shovel and possibly a leveraging bar and replaced the rocks. Then he buried the tools the same way. Just a guess.

[Bonaparte]

"I'm beginning to think there's DNA connecting Hackings and Peterson. Both are novice "fishermen." "________________________________________________________________

"It's really quite simple. You commit my murder and I commit yours. Problem solved for both of us and nobody's the wiser. After all, we're just strangers on a train."

[the Deejay]

"Strangers on A Train"

Love that movie.

Today, they've rested from searching the landfill. No wonder. They've been searching 24 hours a day for the past week.

No hint as to who or what guided them to the landfill to begin with. Speculation is it's an eye witness. Makes me curious.

[TheSpottedOwl]

Those are nice SUV's. Nice and roomy.

I've stated this before, but my belief is that Hacking devoted the lion's share of his available time after the killing to two things: tidying up and making sure that body would never be found. If I had to guess, I'd say he drove way back in the woods and climbed. Then moved some heavy rocks, did some deep digging, pulled the body up there with rope, filled the grave with everything but the shovel and possibly a leveraging bar and replaced the rocks. Then he buried the tools the same way. Just a guess.

MH is a pretty big guy. This is possible for him. I wonder if there are tire tracks? If he was up all night, the clerks at the mattress store might notice. He'd look worn out, wouldn't he? I'm sure LE is already working on these angles, figuring out the available amount of time from death until daylight, then mapping possible locations.

[TheSpottedOwl]

I think he's homosexual.

That is a distinct possiblility.

[the Deejay]

It looks like news out of SLC is slowing on this case.
Soon as I let my guard down, something BIG will be
breaking news.

[JockoManning]

Hi Bonaparte. Thanks for the ping. I like the shot from the movie and the quote ...

'"It's really quite simple. You commit my murder and I commit yours. Problem solved for both of us and nobody's the wiser. After all, we're just strangers on a train."'

Very funny.

[JockoManning]

B, you said, 'I've stated this before, but my belief is that Hacking devoted the lion's share of his available time after the killing to two things: tidying up and making sure that body would never be found. If I had to guess, I'd say he drove way back in the woods and climbed. Then moved some heavy rocks, did some deep digging, pulled the body up there with rope, filled the grave with everything but the shovel and possibly a leveraging bar and replaced the rocks. Then he buried the tools the same way. Just a guess.'

I think you are on the right track. If he killed her right after the housewarming party and/or the stop at the convenience store, then he had ALL night to clean up and hide the body. And since they found a knife with hair on it, maybe he "hacked" (no pun intended) up the body into little pieces and then drove far away and spread the little pieces where coyotes / vultures would finish destroying the evidence. Or maybe, as you said, climbed and hid the body under a mountain of rocks.

As for not having any relatives to get DNA from since Lori was adopted. At our house, we kept our kids baby teeth, some are wrapped in plastic wrap and stapled in their baby books, others are in a little compartment in Mrs. Manning's jewelry box. Maybe Lori's mom has something like that. Or some curls she saved from Lori's first hair cut. ???

[JockoManning]

As for DNA samples, again, doesn't her mother have her baby teeth? Or did the Tooth Fairy throw those away?

foxnews.com has this title re. Lori H. today ...
Lab: Evidence may help solve Hacking case

'The landfill search may be a long shot, but police cannot afford to overlook tips that led them to cordoning off a sprawling area used to deposit a day's layer of trash, Smith said. One tip came from a neighbor of the Hackings who said someone may have used his plastic trash bin, left on the street, to dispose of a dead body. The neighbor found a foul "protein-rich" liquid in the bottom of the barrel after collection rounds the day Lori Hacking, a stock trader's assistant, disappeared.

'The landfill search is nothing if not daunting. "A car could be in there and you might not find it," Eslinger said. "This is very much like looking for a needle in a haystack." The state crime lab has a six-week backlog of samples from criminal cases awaiting testing. Smith said he was reluctant to drop everything for the Hacking case until police can identify their most important pieces of evidence.

'A single DNA (search) analysis can cost $700, he said. That makes it important for investigators to decide which pieces of evidence require a full chemical or DNA analysis. It can take several weeks to fully analyze a single piece of evidence. The fact that Lori Hacking was an adopted daughter is one factor that can complicate DNA testing, he said.

'Smith left the impression police have yet to collect evidence from her apartment or elsewhere that would obviously point to foul play in Lori Hacking's disappearance. But he wouldn't discuss the condition of an old mattress police recovered from a trash bin in the Hackings' neighborhood.' END QUOTE

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,127537,00.html

[JockoManning]

and this is on deseretnews.com this morning,

'However, KSL Radio reported early in the day that there may be more people who saw Lori Hacking the Sunday night before her disappearance. The station said that about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Lori visited a friend who has a new baby. That was two hours after the time a convenience store clerk said Hacking and her husband purchased soda from his store. Until Friday, the clerk was thought to perhaps have been the last person known to have seen Lori.

'Eslinger could not confirm the report but said that if the story can be substantiated, police would like to speak with the new mother.'


http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,595081028,00.html

[Bonaparte]

Good catch in post 51, JM!

And since they found a knife with hair on it, maybe he "hacked" (no pun intended) up the body into little pieces and then drove far away and spread the little pieces..."

He could have handled it this way. If so, I would guess he used something like an axe or saw to dismember her and did so after he'd reached a secluded wilderness area. I also imagine that the head and hands would have received "special handling." Regardless of the method he used, it must have been time-and-labor intensive -- just as I believe the search for her will be.

If it's true as reported, that the police are in possession of the original mattress and if there's blood on it, that will probably be enough, along with all the other evidence, to secure a conviction. There have been some cases in the US in which that has happened without a body and without a confession, but with mountains of circumstantial evidence.

[Krodg]

'sokay. I have asbestos knickers and goggles--leftovers from other threads. ;)

I remember some of those threads...you have some mighty fine armor!!