SALT LAKE CITY – A man whose credibility began crumbling the day he reported his pregnant wife missing was arrested Monday in her death, just hours before his scheduled release from a hospital psychiatric ward.
Investigators believe Lori Hacking, 27, was killed in the couple’s apartment and that her body is buried somewhere below 3,000 tons of trash at the county landfill. The landfill was expected to be searched again Wednesday.
Her husband, Mark Hacking, reported her missing July 19. He was hospitalized when he was seen running around naked outside a motel where he had taken a room.
Although Lori Hacking’s body has not been found, police said they had gathered enough evidence – including the murder weapon – to bring charges against her husband.
“The evidence gathered strongly indicated Lori was the victim of a homicide and that Mark Hacking is the individual responsible,” said Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said.
Mark Hacking, 28, has yet to be formally charged.
Since the day his wife was reported missing, Mark Hacking’s credibility has eroded amid revelations that he lied to his wife about enrolling at medical school in North Carolina and about graduating from the University of Utah.
Lori Hacking, an assistant stockbroker, has not been seen since late July 18. Mark Hacking reported her missing the following day, telling family, friends and police that she failed to return from a morning jog at a park near downtown.
But cracks soon emerged in the husband’s timeline and overall credibility, and police later said it was likely that Lori never made it to the park.
Investigators focused on Hacking after learning he was at a store buying a new mattress just before reporting his wife missing. Investigators have refused to confirm reports that they found a mattress in a nearby trash bin.
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