Salt Lake Tribune: Lori Hacking's body released to her family
Thursday, October 07, 2004
The state Office of the Medical Examiner has released the body of Lori Hacking to her family, which is planning a private burial.
Family members took custody of the body on Tuesday, police said.
"They're very pleased and relieved to have received Lori's body back," said family spokesman David Gehris.
Gehris said the the woman's mother, Thelma Soares, of Orem, and her father, Eraldo Soares, of Fullerton, Calif., are planning a private burial ceremony at Orem City Cemetery, where a headstone has already been erected.
Lori Hacking's body was found Friday at the Salt Lake County landfill following a 10-week search.
Although the office of the medical examiner has completed its autopsy, it has not delivered its written report to police and prosecutors, who this week refused to disclose the manner and cause of Lori Hacking's death.
Authorities believe she was shot to death July 19 by her husband, Mark Hacking, and her body was placed in a Dumpster near the University of Utah Neuropsychiatric Unit, where he worked.
Prosecutors say Mark Hacking killed his wife to prevent disclosure of his deceptions about his college career and medical school.
After Lori was reported missing, family members learned Hacking had not been accepted to medical school at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, as he had claimed, and had not graduated from the University of Utah. The couple were planning to move to North Carolina within days of Lori's disappearance.
Mark Hacking is charged with murder and obstruction of justice in Lori's death. He is scheduled for an arraignment Oct. 29 before 3rd District Judge Denise Lindberg.