Hacking May Have Learned Of Husband's Lies

Missing: The family hires a criminal defense attorney to represent Mark Hacking, who remains hospitalized

By Ashley Broughton
and Matthew D. LaPlante
The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune

Three days before she disappeared, Lori Hacking may have uncovered her husband's deceptions.
   She received a phone call at her work, started crying and went home early, said a colleague at Wells Fargo Institutional Brokerage and Sales.
   "I could hear her say things such as, 'But he's already been accepted. He's already applied. This can't be correct,' said Darren Openshaw, a Wells Fargo employee who overheard the phone call about 2:15 p.m. on July 16.
   Openshaw said he believes the caller was from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
   "I don't know for sure it was the school," he said. "I can only assume."
   Lori Hacking and her husband, Mark Hacking, were preparing to move to Chapel Hill, where he said he had been accepted to medical school.
   But last week, shortly after Mark Hacking reported his wife missing, police learned he had never applied at North Carolina and had lied to his family about graduating from the University of Utah.
   His family members, meanwhile, said Monday that they have retained Salt Lake City criminal defense attorney Gilbert Athay to represent him. Family spokesman Scott Dunaway said the move was necessary because of news media reports regarding Mark Hacking.
   Monday marked one week since Lori Hacking, 27, dis- appeared.
   The Salt Lake City woman, who reportedly was five weeks pregnant, failed to return from an early-morning jog in City Creek Canyon, according to her husband.
   Friends have said that Mark Hacking contacted them about his wife's disappearance about 10 a.m., claiming he had twice run his wife's usual jogging route three miles each way, looking for her before he called police.
   But police said last week that before Mark Hacking reported his wife missing, he was purchasing a new queen-sized mattress at a South Salt Lake furniture store.
   Authorities have been unable to confirm Lori Hacking was in the canyon that morning and consider her husband, Mark Hacking, the only "person of interest" in the case.
   Dunaway said relatives were not aware of the phone call Lori Hacking apparently received at work July 16.
   The last time Lori Hacking contacted her mother was by e-mail July 14 or 15, he said, making arrangements for her to take care of the couple's cat while they were preparing for their move to North Carolina.
   Before Lori Hacking received the phone call on Friday, Openshaw said, he had seen her looking at UNC-Chapel Hill's Web site.
   Afterward, "she hung up the phone and sort of sat there crying," he said. "We asked her if she was OK and if she wanted to leave a little early."
   She did. But by the time she arrived at her going-away party held that evening, she seemed fine, Openshaw said. Co-workers were so relieved at her elevated mood that they didn't bother to inquire about the phone call.
   "We didn't think of it," he said. "We assumed everything had been worked out, that there may have been a misunderstanding. Whatever it was that upset her seemed to have been resolved."
   Pictures from the party, held at a supervisor's cabin in the Uinta Mountains, show Lori Hacking in a baggy gray University of Utah sweatshirt, smiling widely with her husband's arm wrapped around her shoulder.
   Another shot depicts her standing next to her supervisor, Randy Church, and a cake that reads: "We'll miss you, Lori."
   But those present didn't intend the party to be the last time they saw Lori Hacking. Her last day at Wells Fargo was to be Aug. 5, according to a company spokesman.
   Those at the party said the guest of honor didn't speak in detail about her future plans, but seemed optimistic about the impending move.
   Openshaw said he asked Mark Hacking at the party whether he was planning on rooting for UNC or rival Duke. "He said he didn't really get into stuff like that."
   A close friend of Lori Hacking, who saw the couple at a housewarming party the night before she disappeared, said she made no mention of an upsetting phone call.
   "Lori was just acting totally normal," said Erin Galbraith, a former college roommate of Lori Hacking. "I would have sensed something weird. I was in their apartment. I was looking at boxes."
   Mark Hacking remained hospitalized Monday, Dunaway said, after suffering what relatives have called a "breakdown" the evening of June 19.
   Police last questioned Mark Hacking on Wednesday. "To go back and re-question him on the same issues when we don't feel he's been truthful the first time - I don't think that would do us any good," said Detective Dwayne Baird, a police spokesman.
   Baird said Mark Hacking has been cooperative with authorities, however.
   Police are still awaiting test results from the state crime lab. "They have a lot of material," he said.
   Athay said he was retained to represent Mark Hacking late Thursday and has met with him several times. He would not describe the meetings or discuss his conversations with his client.
   Asked why Mark Hacking needs an attorney, Athay said, "Everybody needs a lawyer when they're under investigation or suspicion."
   He said he was returning calls to reporters Monday because of curiosity regarding his role in the case, but said he will not be saying much in the future.
   "You know me," he said. "I'm pretty closed-mouthed and tight-lipped."
   Mark Hacking called his wife's office about 10 a.m. on July 19, speaking first to Brandon Hodge, another trading assistant she was training. He didn't ask where his wife was, but instead how she was doing, Hodge told The Associated Press.
   ''By the way, how is Lori?'' Hacking reportedly asked. Hodge said he replied, ''Well, she's not made it into work yet.''
   Church then took the phone and recalls Hacking saying she hadn't returned from a sunrise jog at Memory Grove, a downtown park near the office. Hacking made it seem he was calling from his apartment, Church told the AP.
   ''Oh, my God, her [work] clothes are still here,'' Hacking reportedly said to Church, who had been expecting Lori Hacking at 7 a.m. and says she was never late to work.
   ''I said, 'You need to call police immediately. Just get off the phone,' Church said.
   Police said Mark Hacking's call came in at 10:49 a.m. Monday - about 25 minutes after he used his credit card to buy the mattress at Bradley's Sleep Etc.
   In other developments Monday:
   l Salt Lake City Police officers used dogs to search the city landfill Monday night. Baird said they were finishing up a search of the area that had started last week. High temperatures and the availability of the dogs were the reason for the night search, he said.
   l Police said they are looking into a lead that Mark Hacking may have visited an R.C. Willey Home Furnishings store nearby before going into Bradley's.
   l Authorities have asked anyone who was in Memory Grove Park or City Creek Canyon between 5 a.m. and 11 a.m. on July 19 to call 799-3000 or 799-INFO (4636).
   l Police continued to decline comment on reports of blood and a bloody knife found at the Hackings' apartment, saying the information is evidentiary in value.
   l Police rejected a Salt lake Tribune open-records request for initial police reports in the Lori Hacking case, as is routine in most disappearance cases. In a letter to the newspaper, Capt. Mark Peck said releasing the information might interfere with a law-enforcement investigation, disclose investigative techniques or deprive a person of a right to a fair trial.
   l A BFI Waste Services driver who picked up the Hackings' garbage at about 3:30 p.m. on July 19 said he saw nothing unusual and wasn't asked by police to inspect his collections, as is often the case in drug investigations and other crimes.
   l The Salt Lake City office of the FBI said it has not been involved in Lori Hacking's case. The FBI has offered its help through agents and profilers but police have so far has not accepted, said spokesman Bob Wright.
    aebroughton@sltrib.com
   mlaplante@sltrib.com
    ---
    Tribune reporters Stephen Hunt and Michael Westley contributed to this story.

I agree that this is a possibility... Your might be right... it could be that he could have snuck back and killed her (while in NC) and try to pull off "I was in NC, I couldn't have killed her."

Maybe this idiot thought he could get away with even by doing it on Sunday night. Something is not right unless Lori was very good at putting up a front in front of others. She was happy and still talking about moving to NC on Sunday night. The people at the party said everything seemed fine. Also no one has said they heard a fight between them at apartment complex (well no one has said anything in the media).

I don't know if he was really out to kill her... Maybe he thought he could get her out in NC and keep up the lies or convince her the move was a good thing after they got out there despite all his lies if she found out about them later. Something tells me he was trying to get away from SLC, his family and hers. Maybe they ended up arguing Sunday night and maybe she threatened to leave him. and he killed her out of fear she would leave him and expose him to his family.

I also don't think the pregnancy is what set him over the edge at this point. It was his lies and getting found out about or the possibility of loosing Lori over his lies made him snap. (If I can't have her no one can... mentality)

"I suspect this is more a matter of laying groundwork for his defense..."

I think so too. IMO, he's taking refuge in a "crazy" act. He may not be "all there," as you suggest, but he's "there" enough to face the needle or firing squad, IMO. If I'm right, MH took many rational steps to not only hide his lies but to cover up the crime as well. That demonstrates that he was rational (if misguided) and that he knew the difference between right and wrong.

This is publicized only to cover up the sleaze that would otherwise be on peoples minds! like the dnc!

Maybe. It's a human interest story, but I don't think intelligent people are going to forget about the Roman Circus, ooops DNC.

Besides the evil that the DNC represents, people need to see the evil that happens in our everyday lives. I'm keeping a close eye on my daughter's bf. Hearing about Lori and Laci's murders should be a call for family members to keep a closer eye on their adult children. It may not help, but then again maybe a tragedy could be prevented.

I understand your point of view, but I think stories like this should be discussed and distributed far and wide.

(Rolling eyes).

>>I hate to tell you but you need to read more... The party was hosted Sunday night by her boss (Church) from Wells Fargo at a local eatery. <<

Please read the article posted here: "Pictures from the party, held at a supervisor's cabin in the Uinta Mountains, show Lori Hacking in a baggy gray University of Utah sweatshirt, smiling widely with her husband's arm wrapped around her shoulder." The timing of the party is reported by a phrase a little earlier: "But by the time she arrived at her going-away party held that evening,"

and...

"A close friend of Lori Hacking, who saw the couple at a housewarming party the night before she disappeared" . . . "'I was in their apartment. I was looking at boxes.'"

This is what is reported by the SLC Tribune in this article. If you have something substantial that disputes this report, please post it. But I ask that you at least read it before posting here.

>>They left at about 8pm. This is the last time other people saw her alive.<<

They left their own apartment?

>>they found a blooding knife stashed in the apartment <<

This has not been confirmed by authorities.

>>The first place he went to told him that he could not take a mattress home with him today, so he went to another place that had a mattress in stock that he could take home.<<

Fine, but what exactly does that prove other than what it says?

This isn't the first time Lori has caught him in lies. When you are married to a liar, it takes a while, but you begin to figure it out.

Sad but true. I had a thought that perhaps she miscarried in bed from the stress. Wasn't she having trouble conceiving? The problem with some families that have strict religious backrounds is that divorce is highly frowned upon, if not totally forbidden. If she had wanted to leave him, her family probably would not have taken her in. Perhaps this is why her mother is in a "fugue state". She might know more about her daughter's marriage than she's letting on.

I'm still holding out a little hope that she ran away from home, and a friend is sheltering her. Of course that chance is slim to none...

>>I don't understand your point<<

Simple. You inferred on one hand that he was waiting to kill her until they got to NC, but killed her in SLC when his "plan" unraveled by her finding out about the phony medical school. My point was that 1)if he was methodical enough to plan a murder, he wouldn't leave it open to her finding out UNC was a fraud, and 2)given his forced plan change, he did way too good a job of disposing the body.

If I'm reading correctly, he was leaving last week to come to NC, she would be flying east 2 weeks later.

I wonder if he planned to just 'disappear' after he left SLC and start a new life, without wife, family or, oh yeah, baby.

I doubt the baby figured much in his thinking. He was at the end of his rope, and that phone call threatened to cut off the knot minutes before he was in the clear.

BTW, they can get DNA from hair roots on her brush, or from her toothbrush, can't they?

Pinz
Who is doing her best to not pay attention to this story.

What do you make of this, 1L?

Store clerks say that Hacking was alone and in the store for only a few minutes.

Hacking also declined to lay down and test out the mattress.

A guy goes to buy a mattress for himself and his wife, without his wife being there to look things over and approve the purchase. In fact, he doesn't even test the thing before buying.

From what I know of women, I'd say this is a very good way to start a fight with your wife and wind up returning the mattress to the store.

MH manages to stay married to the same woman for 10 years and doesn't know that a new bed is decided upon conjointly? I don't believe it. I think MH knew his wife's little behind would never touch that bed, or any other bed.

This would explain why Lori was upset friday afternoon, but was okay at the party.

Someone had posted a photo of Mark and Lori, at their going away party, on an earlier thread. He was smiling but she had a strained look on her face...not her usual bright smile. Probably still upset about the phone call.

I can't find the photo or I would have posted it.

"The problem with some families that have strict religious backrounds is that divorce is highly frowned upon, if not totally forbidden. If she had wanted to leave him, her family probably would not have taken her in. "

That's not the case here. Divorce is not forbidden among Mormons and I've never heard of a Mormon family turning thier back on thier own kid because they got a divorce. We discourage it as a solution to relationship problems that can be worked out, but recognize that sometimes there are very good reasons for it, or that it can't be avoided because of one party insists on it.

My own sister was in an emotionally abusive marriage and was encourged to get out of it by her Bishop (and my parents and all the rest of us in the family).

Given that Mark has the history of lying and covering things up, I doubt that she suddenly decided to pull off a scam by framing him. What would she have to gain if she has to stay 'dead' forever?

The more I think about this the more I wonder. It's easy to see him as the bad guy. What if *she* was the one pushing him to achieve and go to medical school. She finds out he's never going to medical school and on the same day she miscarries (hence the blood on the mattress). He comes home to find the bloody mattress and realizes she has run away. He doesn't know that he's been set up yet(bloody knife in apartment)and wants to hide the evidence of the bloody mattress so her parents don't see it.

I had relative once who was very good at being little goody-two-shoes and portraying her husband as a bad guy. She forced him to go to dental school and the whole thing just about sent him over the edge. He finally quit and she divorced him claiming physical abuse and sexual abuse. Who knows - maybe they were both crazy.

They and the DA know the defense is going to be temporary insanity, so at least two things they likely will want to establish are suspect's character and evidence of premeditation.

In a sense, people like that are insane, or mentally ill. However, he was able to work, at a psychiatric hospital no less. They will find a pattern if they look closely enough. They need a couple of highly trained forensic psychiatrists to interview people along with LE. They would be looking for a pattern that the cops just might miss.

Oh they'll go for the temporary insanity plea. I believe he deliberately pulled that stunt at the motel. He knows all the signs that indicate true mental breakdown/illness from his job. Law enforcement's job is to go through MH's life with a fine toothed comb. Find his grade school teachers and neighborhood friends. Okay maybe that is a little expensive and extreme, but I for one wonder when this started. If as the families say, he was just an average normal person, then what happened and when?

The Church and its members need to cooperate fully with this investigation. He was gone for 2 years on a mission. Somebody who was with him had to have seen or heard something. You just don't wake up one morning and turn into a sociopathic liar.

Yes I do believe him to be guilty of murder, because of his lies. You lie like that, you're capable of anything.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.