Vigil honors Lori Hacking

OREM — A year has passed since her daughter's lifeless body was found at the Salt Lake County landfill. And, still, Thelma Soares has more questions than answers.

"I do not know why he felt it was necessary to kill her," said Soares, the mother of Lori Hacking, who was fatally shot and then dumped in a trash bin by her husband. "He does not even know why he did it."

Soares broke into sobs several times Thursday night as she spoke during a candlelight vigil at Utah Valley State College. The Orem school is drawing attention to domestic violence issues this week through its participation in the Clothesline Project.

Hanging on lines in a campus courtyard are about 250 T-shirts bearing messages written by victims of domestic violence in Utah County.

Soares' daughter, Lori Kay Hacking, 27, who grew up in Orem, was shot and killed in her Salt Lake apartment July 18, 2004. Her husband, Mark Hacking, reported Lori missing, saying she never returned from a jog in Memory Grove.

A police investigation revealed that Hacking, who had told the Deseret Morning News and other media that the couple were about to move to North Carolina so he could start medical school, had dropped out of his undergraduate program at the University of Utah. Police later arrested him for investigation of murder.

Lori's body was discovered at the landfill Oct. 1, 2004, and Mark Hacking pleaded guilty to first-degree felony murder April 15. He was sentenced June 6 to six years to life in prison. Officials with the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole have said he will not receive a parole hearing for 30 years.

"This terrible thing that happened in my life was such a shock because I never saw any signs of violence or abuse in their marriage," said Soares, who lives in Orem.

Mark and Lori were high-school sweethearts. He even asked Soares permission to marry Lori. Not long after they were married, Soares and Mark were alone in a car, and he promised that when she got older, she would move in with them. They would care for her.

"How many brand new son(s)-in-law say that to the mother-in-law?" Soares said. "Can you see why I loved him so much? He was so kind."

Soares has received mail from every state and 63 countries. She feels other people's prayers have helped her continue on with her life. She also has been encouraged by women who have told her that Lori's story helped them leave abusive relationships.

But Soares still struggles because she cannot, in retrospect, identify any major red flags in the marriage. "There are a few small things now I think I should have paid attention (to)," she said.

For instance, she said, she wondered about the amount of time it was taking Mark to finish an undergraduate degree. Soares said she asked her daughter why it was taking so long and Lori defended Mark by saying he worked almost full time and he had to get perfect grades to get into medical school.

"Looking back now," she said of her suspicions, "I was right."

Soares, who wore her daughter's earrings and necklace at the event, said she did not know much about domestic violence until her daughter's death.

"A whole new world has been opened to me that I barely knew existed," she said. "My heart goes out to people who are abused in any way, especially the children."

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E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com