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Human remains found Friday morning at the Salt Lake County landfill have
been identified as belonging to Lori Hacking.
The positive identification was made at the state Office of the Medical
Examiner using dental records, said Salt Lake City police Detective Phil
Eslinger.
No cause or manner of death has been determined.
But the identification brings an official end to the search for Lori
Hacking's body, a search that began shortly after she was reported missing
by her husband, Mark Hacking, on July 19.
Salt Lake County prosecutor Bob Stott said he was told by police the body
was found wrapped in plastic garbage bags, which fits murder suspect Mark
Hacking's description of how he disposed of his wife's body in a Dumpster at
Research Park at the University of Utah.
Mark Hacking, 28, faces a preliminary hearing Oct. 29 on charges of
first-degree felony murder and obstruction of justice. He is accused of
shooting Lori Hacking, 27, once in the head with a .22-caliber rifle as she
was sleeping in the early morning hours of July 19. The charges, which are
based largely on a confession he gave to his older brothers on July 24, also
accuse him of disposing of her body and the murder weapon in separate
Dumpsters. The gun has not been found.
Officers for the past 10 weeks have sifted through more than 4,000 tons
of trash believed to have been dumped into the landfill the day Lori Hacking
died.
Human remains were found shortly after 8 a.m. on Friday. Salt Lake City
Police Chief Rick Dinse said the remains were "heavily decomposed," but
added authorities believe they have found most of the body.
Police informed Lori's family of the positive identification, Eslinger
said.
Thelma Soares, Lori's mother, issued a statement shortly afterward,
thanking those involved in the search.
"It means everthying to us to find Lori's mortal remains so that we might
lay them to rest with the dignity befitting the valiant daughter of God she
was," the statement said.
Mark Hacking's family also issued a statement of gratitude.
"We hope today's discovery will begin to bring closure to both our family
and the Soares families in this tragic event," said the Hacking family news
release.
Stott credited the many police officers who have toiled for weeks at
landfill.
"We are pleased with the police and their work and dedication," he said.