Posted on 08/05/2004 7:06:48 AM PDT by MizSterious
(Excerpt) Read more at sltrib.com ...
I have no doubt that Hacking was a problem missionary, but I think it is unlikely that he was sent home for having a sexaual relationship. If that was the reason, it would NOT have been an honourable release and he would have faced a church court when he got home to determine if he should be disfellowshiped from the church or not. Nor does the church keep a rap sheet of a member's past sins, so there is no 'report' to come out.
When a missionary is sent home for disobedience, it usually sparks a lot of gossip and speculation. He could have been sent home for not staying together with his companion elder, but that doesn't make an exciting story. Unless there is an eyewitness coming forward on this matter, this should be counted as nothing but gossip.
Thanks, Grig, that's helpful for those of us who aren't that familiar with this religion.
Criminal acts are excluded from insurance policies.
I think this is why the two families still seem to be close. They are genuinely interested in doing what is right. Lori's family seems to recognize that one bad Hacking is not representative of the family, and they are proving that. Good for all of them in this most difficult time.
I'm glad his family is doing the right thing--my gosh, that is so rare these days. What a terrible thing for his brothers to have to do. May God give them consolation and strength.
Deseret Morning News, Thursday, August 05, 2004
Landfill search is on again
Mark Hacking alias was for hospital use, his attorney says
By Pat Reavy and Jennifer Dobner
Deseret Morning News
As questions continued to swirl about Mark Hacking's recent past, including alleged use of an alias, investigators with cadaver dogs returned to Salt Lake County's landfill Wednesday night to search for the body of his missing wife, Lori.
Mark Hacking, who was arrested Monday for investigation of first-degree criminal homicide, was asked as part of the standard Salt Lake County Jail booking procedure whether he had ever used any aliases.
Hacking replied that he had used the name "Jonathan Long," Salt Lake County Sheriff's Sgt. Rosie Rivera said. The jail was not obligated to confirm whether Hacking had actually ever used that name or to find out when, where or under what circumstance he might have used it.
Seeking to clarify the situation, Hacking's attorney, Gil Athay, said "Long" was the name assigned to Hacking when he was admitted to the University of Utah psychiatric unit. The name, intended to help avoid media attention, was picked totally at random, Athay said, comparing the selection to the alphabetic method for naming hurricanes.
Athay said he used the name whenever calling the hospital to contact his client.
Federal medical privacy law prohibits the hospital from confirming whether Mark Hacking was even ever a patient at the university's facility, hospital spokeswoman Anne Berliner said.
However, it is not unusual for high-profile patients to request or be assigned "aliases" in order to maintain their privacy, she said.
"It does occur, yes," said Berliner. "You can opt out of providing information altogether. An alias is sort of a medium ground whereby family members can call and get information on the patient."
Hacking's family confirmed on July 21 that Mark had checked into the hospital the day after Lori vanished after suffering severe emotional distress. His father, Douglas Hacking, said at that time Mark Hacking was medicated and undergoing psychological testing by doctors.
A week ago, Salt Lake City police detective Dwayne Baird told the Deseret Morning News that he knew of no fictitious names that Mark Hacking might have used or that police were checking in connection with the case.
But for several hours Wednesday Hacking's alleged alias caused a stir. A man with the same name as the alias Hacking gave police was interviewed by various media outlets. Police said later that he had no connection to the case, although according to Long's mother, her son was initially concerned that he may have been a victim of identity theft.
"(He) has spoken to the police, and they say it's just a case of mistaken identity, they have no interest in talking to him." Long's mother, Janet Killgore, said.
Click on link above for the rest of the story.
At first, it appeared they were going to go the Peterson route, but now it seems more like they'll support him as long as he faces the music. Good family, wish there were more like them!
All the talking heads, kept guessing it to be a patient. Well, I knew that couldn't have been the source because only family members were permitted to visit Mark.
I don't know that I buy this. The media knew he was there, so there was no need for an alias. And why would he need to open a post office box under that name, as other reports have stated?
Yeah, this is his "attorney" speaking. Mark would not have to give LE an "alias" for being in hospital under an assumed name. LE would already have known that & wouldn't have put it on the warrant for arrest.
I really doubt that his lawyer has allowed him to make a "confession" to police. If he is any lawyer at all. Most lawyers tell you to shut your mouth. One would assume that this lawyer is no different. He has already came out saying that just because Mark was inspecting his hands in the video doesn't mean he was checking for blood. His response to this video was "People smell thier hands when they pump gas all the time, this means nothing." Soooo...go figure!
Yes. But this appears to be one of those rare instances where a family member armed with nothing more than moral suasion got a confession from a represented accused that the police could never have gotten without some sort of pretrial agreement.
Hacking's attorney, Gil Athay, was and is pretty much powerless to prevent this sort of thing from happening. He probably told Hacking not to tell a soul anything, including and perhaps especially members of Hacking's family, but if Hacking chooses to disregard the advice, that's his choice.
Unless the brothers obtained the confession at the urging or request of the police there is no constitutional basis for challenging the confession. All Athay can do now is attack the reliability of the confession (that Hacking lied just to get his brothers off his back etc) or the credibility of the brother(s) (they're making it all up etc).
Athay can still defend Hacking against a murder charge, but it's a lot tougher now.
If the prosucution had a brain (which is doubtful, it appears), they'd tot him up to the witness stand along with the arrest pics of Scott, and hopefully photos of the brother from about that time, if he's changed HIS appearance by now.
True True. I guess I had never thought that Althay would tell him not to talk to his family. Either way I say Kudos to the Hacking family for being strong, and having the courage to stand up for the truth. Obviously this is a trait that seemed to skip Mark.
This guy is so stupid. He should have just told her the truth and end there marriage.
I think at that point ending of the marriage would not have done it either. He had lied to so many people, not just to Lori, but the entire family. Maybe he killed her to create a disturbance to take the heat off of him and his lies. Only because he is so warped anyway, he created more of a situation that placed the attention "entirely" on him. Well come to think of it, maybe that was his actual plan. He seems to desire attention. If you look at it...he had to create a disturbance while everyone was focusing thier attention on finding Lori. Maybe that was his prime goal all along.
All in all. The guy is a total freak.
I can't believe that Athay will actually try for an acquittal. You notice, he has challenged some of the "evidence" published in the press, but he has never said Hacking didn't do it. There really isn't an effective "insanity defense" in Utah. But he may attempt to avoid the death penalty.
If Hacking has any kind of a conscience left, he won't drain his dad's bank account with a phony defense.
If Hacking has any kind of a conscience left, he won't drain his dad's bank account with a phony defense.
Unfortunately, it seems that any man who could sit on information about the situation for 5 days....I would say he has no conscience at all.
It would be useless and a big waste of his parents' money to go to trial. Besides, being a huge waste of taxpayer money. Look at how much LE has been going through to recover the body from the landfill and most likely have a lot more days to search.
To say nothing of the manpower slogging through all that debris. How horrible for those poor guys & the dogs.
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