Lori Hacking's Family Find Some Peace

Oct. 4, 2004 -- After months of waiting, family members of Lori Hacking finally have the chance to begin the healing process following the discovery of her remains in a landfill. "I was pleased that we'll be able to put her to rest where she deserves and not to be in a landfill," said Paul Soares, Hacking's brother. "And those people at that landfill that looked for her, I am eternally grateful to them," he said on ABC News' Good Morning America.

Volunteers discovered the body of the 27-year-old assistant stockbroker after weeks of searching through 4,600 tons of garbage. The volunteers assisted investigators using cadaver dogs and garden rakes to comb through the trash.

Her remains were found among trash that included newspapers dated July 16-19, the same weekend she disappeared.

Police Chief Rick Dinse said the remains found "were not all intact."

Police say Hacking, who was said to be five weeks pregnant when she disappeared, was killed after she apparently discovered her husband had lied about graduating from the University of Utah and being accepted at a North Carolina medical school.

Mark Hacking allegedly confessed to his brothers, while hospitalized in a psychiatric unit, 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.

Lori Hacking's parents have remained close to Mark Hacking's family since their daughter went missing. Both families have continued to provide emotional support to one another.

Soares says his family was floored when they learned of Mark Hacking's lies.

He says he never had a reason to believe his brother-in-law was having problems.

Soares says his parents have found some peace since the discovery of the remains. The young woman's parents have said they're planning to lay her to rest with dignity.

Soares said he wants to see Mark Hacking punished to the furthest extent of the law if he is found guilty of his sister's murder.

"I just want him to serve what is the maximum that he'll be held in Utah," Soares said.

Mark Hacking is charged with first-degree felony murder, punishable by five years to life in prison, and with three counts of obstructing justice, which carries a maximum penalty of one to 15 years in prison.