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Hacking pleads guilty to murder of wife SALT LAKE CITY (AP)  He lied to his wife and family about getting into medical school and his plans to become a doctor. But standing before a judge and facing a life sentence for murder, Mark Hacking finally told the truth. Sentencing for Mark Hacking was scheduled for June 6. AP file "I intentionally shot Lori Hacking in the head with a .22 rifle on July 19," he said Friday, pleading guilty to first-degree murder. (Related: Utah v. Hacking) Hacking, a hospital orderly, did not explain why he attacked his 27-year-old wife while she slept last July, then threw her body in the trash. Police scouring a landfill found her decomposed remains almost three months later. Lori Hacking's parents said they hope he sits down with them after he is sentenced. "I still have a lot of questions ... and I need to get some answers from Mark," said Lori's mother, Thelma Soares. "But that will have to be between Mark and me in the future at some point." Hacking, 28, appeared in court with his hands cuffed behind his back and with a look of resignation. Prosecutors said Hacking faces a sentence from six years to life. Authorities plan to seek the maximum sentence, and the possibility of Hacking getting the low end of the sentencing range was remote. Sentencing was scheduled for June 6. Hacking also was charged with obstructing justice for disposing of his wife's body, the gun and a bloody mattress, but those charges were dropped as part of the plea agreement. Lori Hacking's colleagues at a Wells Fargo brokerage house have said she broke down sobbing after learning of her husband's deception. She became aware of the lies after making calls to school administrators in North Carolina, where Hacking claimed he was enrolled for medical school and where the couple planned to move. Police affidavits say the couple argued after she confronted him. Mark Hacking had also lied about graduating from the University of Utah. After the argument, Lori Hacking went to bed. He stayed up late playing video games for an hour. Then, sorting through his belongings, he found his deer rifle, went into the bedroom and shot his young wife, according to investigators. The victim's father, Eraldo Soares, said hearing Hacking plead guilty "was just like a knife going right through my heart. I could not imagine that he could do that to Lori." Prosecutors were unable to determine if Lori Hacking was five weeks' pregnant, as she had told friends. That meant her husband could not be charged with a capital crime. His defense lawyer, Gilbert Athay, repeated in an interview with Salt Lake television station KUTV his earlier claim that Hacking may have suffered "brain trauma" after a fall as a roofer. "He fell in a roofing accident some years ago and suffered some substantial brain trauma," said Athay, who plans to present that evidence at sentencing. "I think it plays heavily in where this case is." Hacking had reported his wife missing to police, saying she had not returned from a morning jog. The news prompted a weeklong search for the former stockbroker's assistant by thousands of volunteers — a search that echoed another sensational Salt Lake crime, the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart from her bedroom. Hacking was in a psychiatric hospital after suffering a breakdown when he confessed to his brothers that he killed his wife. Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Salt Lake City (Utah) resident and hospital orderly Mark Hacking pleaded guilty Friday to killing his wife Lori, and placing her body in a dumpster.

Mrs. Hacking’s disappearance last summer touched off an intense, weeklong search in Salt Lake County which a wire service report said was similar to the other sensational Salt Lake crime, the kidnapping of Elizabeth Smart from her own bedroom.

After Hacking admitted details of his crime to his family, earlier, he suffered a breakdown and was placed in a psychiatric hospital. He was seen in court Friday with his hands cuffed behind his back.

He admitted to the judge that he killed his wife while she slept. His motives, according to prosecutors, were his anger and despondency when she discovered that he was not accepted into a North Carolina medical school as he had claimed, but would remain a hospital orderly.

Mrs. Hacking is reported to have broken down sobbing at her workplace, a Wells Fargo brokerage, after discovering her husband’s deception. She had placed a call to the medical school’s administrators and been told he was not enrolled. He had lied to her about graduating from the University of Utah as well.

Mrs. Hacking’s mother and father were in the courtroom to hear their son-in-law declare: “I intentionally shot Lori Hacking in the head with a .22 rifle.” They said it was like a “knife in the heart” to hear that, but were happy he owned up to the crime.

The attack occurred last July. Volunteers scouring a landfill found her decomposed remains after three months of searching.