By: Gabriela Sundquist Read Time: 10 minutes

Since Lori Soares was young, she had always wanted to have a beautiful family with lots of kids. Lori was adopted by her parents when she was four months old and she grew up in California. When she was 11 her parents split and Lori and her mom went to Utah while her dad and brother, Paul, stayed behind. Lori’s mother, Thelma, sought refuge and support from the large community of members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and refuge she found.

Once they settled in Orem, Utah Thelma and Lori got settled into their life. Lori met Mark Hacking at her school, and they quickly fell in love. Lori and Mark were a beautiful couple. They dated throughout high school and even when Mark went to serve a two-year mission, they remained close. After he returned from his mission they got married in 1999. It was the classic love story between the class president and the class clown. Lori was well-loved and passionate about academics while Mark was athletic and always ready to make everyone laugh. They were the perfect pair.

In July 2004, Lori and Mark lived in Salt Lake City, Utah in a cute little apartment. Lori, 29 years old, had just found out she was pregnant. Her dream of having a big beautiful family was in the works and good things were happening. On top of that, Mark had just graduated from the University of Utah and had been accepted to the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill School of Medicine. They were planning to move out east for him to attend school. Life couldn’t be happier for them. They were getting everything they had ever wanted.

Lori put her two weeks in with Wells Fargo to prepare for their big move and their newest addition to the family. She started preparing to move across the country by packing and getting things in order for when they would arrive in North Carolina.

That was, until July 19, 2004.

Lori Reported Missing

At 10:07 am, the morning of July 19, 2004, Mark Hacking called the police, frantically reporting Lori as missing. He told them that she had gone on her normal run around Memory Grove and City Creek Canyon this morning and she hadn’t been back.

At 10:40 am, Mark calls Thelma and tells her that Lori is missing. Thelma rushes into her car and drives to Mark and Lori’s place.

At 10:46 am, Mark calls the police again and tells them that he found Lori’s car near the canyon where she’d gone running. By this time, a search began as Lori’s friends, family, neighbors and strangers alike searched the surrounding area for any sign of Lori.

Mark was at the head of this search, pouring out gratitude for the volunteers and for the people around the nation offering them prayers. Of course, he was a suspect, but his friends and neighbors didn’t assume him one bit. Even Lori’s family stood by Mark as they all searched for their daughter, sister, and friend.

Meanwhile, the police are searching Mark and Lori’s home for any clues that would point them to where Lori went. And what they found made their hearts drop.

Medical School Mix-Up

• July 16, 2004 – Lori called Mark’s school in North Carolina to ask about financial aid

• July 16, 2004 – Lori’s Farewell Party at Wells Fargo

Lori was full of hope and excitement moving into this next chapter of their life. She called Mark’s school in North Carolina to find out about financial aid. With Mark being in school and her having to find a new job in a new state, financial aid was going to be a huge relief, especially as their family was starting to grow. She was finally achieving her dreams of traveling and living in a different place and growing her family.

The school answered and claimed that not only was Mark never enrolled, but he had never even applied. Lori was confused and frustrated. How could this have happened? She left work crying as she went home to find the truth.

Later that night, Mark and Lori showed up at her farewell party with her coworkers at Wells Fargo and her spirits had lifted. Mark told her that the issue with the school was a computer problem and that he would straighten everything out. Relieved and assured, she left a message with the school explaining the mix-up. Unfortunately, the school wouldn’t get the message until Monday morning, July 20th, when she would have already been reported missing.

Looking for Lori

When the police went inside the Hacking residence they found Lori’s purse, keys, and wallet still inside along with a bloody hunting knife and several blood-covered spots around the apartment. They also found blood in the back seat of Lori’s car.

Wandering suspicions landed on Mark when they found that he hadn’t even been searching for his wife after he called 911; he had been out buying a new mattress. The police and the nation turned to Mark for answers and the blame, yet his family and friends still defended him. But slowly as they searched for these answers, Mark’s persona unraveled before their eyes.

• Jul 18, 2004 – The last day anyone would see Lori alive

• July 19, 2004 – Mark reports Lori missing with the Police

• July 20, 2004 – Mark is spotted walking around naked outside his hotel wearing nothing but sandals. He got admitted to a psych ward.

There was a call made about a disturbance outside the hotel, and police showed up to find Mark roaming around naked with nothing but sandals. This was a weird progression in the story. People didn’t know whether to take it as a depressed husband mourning his wife or a sign of mental illness. And if he was depressed, why had he already given up hope. It had been one day since she was reported missing.

Former FBI profiler Candice DeLong observed, “He kept his shoes on – his sandals- that’s not something we see in someone truly psychotic.” With that note, maybe he was even trying to prepare to plead the insanity defense as the police and the public closed in on him.

The Unraveling of the Web of Lies

• July 24, 2004 – Mark confessed to his brothers the truth about what happened to Lori.

On the 24th of July, Mark’s brothers paid him a visit and begged him to tell them what was going on. After some time, Mark finally confessed. He said that on July 18 he told Lori the truth about not getting into medical school, and they argued about it. Later that night he shot her while she slept and put her body in a dumpster. Mark’s brothers immediately brought this confession to the attorney who then shared it with the police.

• August 2, 2004 – Mark was arrested

• August 9, 2004 – Mark was charged with first-degree murder

• October – Her remains were found at the municipal landfill after two months of vigorously searching.

• April 15, 2005 – Mark pleaded guilty to first-degree murder

Mark confessed to the court “I intentionally shot Lori Hacking in the head with a .22 rifle on July 19, 2004.” He later said about Lori, “She was the greatest thing that ever happened to me, but I killed her, and took the life of my unborn child and put them in the garbage, and I can’t explain why I did it.”

The Aftermath

The confession that Mark had killed his wife broke so many hearts. He had gotten caught in a web of lies and reacted like a coward. Instead of owning up to the consequences of his lies, he decided to take the life of his wife and unborn child. Unfortunately, when Lori’s remains were found, they were very decomposed so they couldn’t charge him with the death of their child.

Mark did not face the death penalty. In fact, he didn’t even face a decent jail sentence at first. Mark was sentenced to a minimum of six years in prison, which was the legal guideline at the time.

• 2006 – Mark was found to be providing autographs and other items for a murder memorabilia site. He reportedly stopped voluntarily after he learned it was illegal to profit from crimes committed.

The fact that this man was reveling in and profiting from the murder is sickening. Mark seemed to feel no remorse about killing his family. Especially when Lori would have loved him the same if she had just known. Paul Soares, Lori’s brother, states, “He didn’t have to be a doctor, a president – whatever it was. As long as he was doing his best, she would have loved him.” If he had had the guts to confess and untangle his web of lies, Lori would have had the chance to make a choice to stay and work it out or to leave and start her own life. She would have had a choice to continue living her life and achieving her dreams.

The murder of Lori Hacking and her unborn child was a senseless act by a lazy and cowardly man. This was a man who continually looked for the easy way out. Kathy Yates states, “As [Mark Hacking] grew up and was watching other family members get successful or be successful, he was not. There’s an element of grandiosity. He felt like he deserved more than he was getting in life, but didn’t want to put his energies into achieving the kinds of goals that he probably could have achieved.”

Lori’s Legacy

• March 20, 2006 – “Lori’s Law” was passed

After a lot of hard work from Lori’s loved ones, Utah passed “Lori’s Law” which states that people convicted of first-degree murder in Utah must serve at least 15 years before they can even be considered for parole. This law and the public dislike of Mark Hacking results in him not being considered for parole until 2035.

Lori’s family and loved ones started a scholarship called “Lori Kay Soares Hacking Memorial Scholarship” available for students at the University of Utah, her alma mater. Lori and her baby’s remains were buried under Lori’s maiden name, Soares. Her family expressed that Mark didn’t want her in life so he couldn’t have her in death.

It’s heartbreaking that one very lost, cowardly man caused so much pain. He took Lori’s life in his hands. The man that she trusted and loved for so many years cut her life far too short. Lori was a powerhouse. She had dreams and goals and ambitions, and she thought she had a partner in that. In reality, she had a psychotic lazy murderer of a husband who got buried under his lies.

Why do you think it’s so hard for people to tell the truth after living so many years of a lie? What do you think you would have done in Mark’s situation? When was the last time you lied? Did you end up telling the truth?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Thanks for reading!

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