Police Find Utah Woman's Body in Landfill
Authorities Confirm Body of Missing Utah Woman Lori Hacking Found in Landfill
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY Oct. 1, 2004 Police found Lori Hacking's body in a landfill Friday after picking through the trash for weeks in a search for the young Utah woman allegedly murdered by her husband.
The state medical examiner's office used dental records to identify the remains about six hours after they were discovered.
"It means everything to us to find Lori's mortal remains so that we might lay them to rest with dignity," Hacking's parents, Eraldo and Thelma Soares, said in a statement.
The discovery came on the 33rd working day of a search of 4,600 tons of garbage. Over the past weeks, investigators used cadaver dogs and brought in garden rakes to comb through the trash. About 20 law enforcement found the remains on Friday.
Hacking, 27, had not been seen since July 18. Her husband, Mark Hacking, reported her missing the following day, saying she never returned from a morning jog.
While he was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit, he allegedly confessed to his brothers that he shot his wife while she was sleeping and disposed of her body, the weapon and a mattress in a trash bin. He was charged with murder and jailed on $1 million bail.
Police Chief Rick Dinse said the remains found "were not all intact."
The remains were found among trash that included newspapers dated July 16-19, the weekend Lori Hacking disappeared. Investigators also found business envelopes indicating they were from the University of Utah Research Park area where Mark Hacking worked and where prosecutors believed he dumped the body in the trash.
Neither Mark Hacking's parents nor his lawyer immediately returned calls for comment.
Investigators' hopes of finding the body had diminished in recent weeks. The search of landfill had been tedious, with each day presenting searchers and dogs with 300 or more tons of trash to sort through.
"Landfill searches are historically unsuccessful," Dinse said. "Needle in a haystack may not even adequately describe it."
At least she will have a proper burial . . .
Authorities Confirm Body of Missing Utah Woman Lori Hacking Found in Landfill
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY Oct. 1, 2004 Police found Lori Hacking's body in a landfill Friday after picking through the trash for weeks in a search for the young Utah woman allegedly murdered by her husband.
The state medical examiner's office used dental records to identify the remains about six hours after they were discovered.
"It means everything to us to find Lori's mortal remains so that we might lay them to rest with dignity," Hacking's parents, Eraldo and Thelma Soares, said in a statement.
The discovery came on the 33rd working day of a search of 4,600 tons of garbage. Over the past weeks, investigators used cadaver dogs and brought in garden rakes to comb through the trash. About 20 law enforcement found the remains on Friday.
Hacking, 27, had not been seen since July 18. Her husband, Mark Hacking, reported her missing the following day, saying she never returned from a morning jog.
While he was hospitalized in a psychiatric unit, he allegedly confessed to his brothers that he shot his wife while she was sleeping and disposed of her body, the weapon and a mattress in a trash bin. He was charged with murder and jailed on $1 million bail.
Police Chief Rick Dinse said the remains found "were not all intact."
The remains were found among trash that included newspapers dated July 16-19, the weekend Lori Hacking disappeared. Investigators also found business envelopes indicating they were from the University of Utah Research Park area where Mark Hacking worked and where prosecutors believed he dumped the body in the trash.
Neither Mark Hacking's parents nor his lawyer immediately returned calls for comment.
Investigators' hopes of finding the body had diminished in recent weeks. The search of landfill had been tedious, with each day presenting searchers and dogs with 300 or more tons of trash to sort through.
"Landfill searches are historically unsuccessful," Dinse said. "Needle in a haystack may not even adequately describe it."
At least she will have a proper burial . . .
