Deadline to file charges is today

Prosecutors have until 5 p.m. today to file charges against Mark Hacking in the death of his wife, Lori.

A judge already granted the Salt Lake County Attorney's Office additional time to prepare its case last week. But if needed, prosecutors could ask for another extension or opt not to file charges at all.

Police arrested Hacking last Monday for investigation of criminal homicide.

They believe he killed his wife while she slept sometime between the night of July 18 and the morning of July 19.

Hacking reportedly confessed to his brothers, Lance and Scott Hacking, that he killed Lori while she was sleeping and placed her body in a Dumpster, according to a court filing.

Without a body, prosecution could be tough, according to legal experts. Robert Stott, spokesman for the Salt Lake County District Attorney's Office, refused to talk specifically about the Hacking investigation.

But, hypothetically speaking, it is possible to bring homicide charges against someone even if a body is not found.

"Could we prosecute without a body? Yes, but it would be in very exceptional circumstances," Stott said. "We'd want some strong evidence pointing to the fact that the person was actually killed and is not missing."

Salt Lake City Police Chief Rick Dinse said he is "confident we have a good case here," and that Hacking could be prosecuted without a body.

In the two weeks since Lori's disappearance, police have collected evidence such as a knife with human blood stains and hair, blood from the headboard of the Hackings' bed and the bed rail, and blood flakes from Lori's car that matched the blood found in the apartment, according to a court document.

A team of cadaver dogs continued to search for Lori's body at the Salt Lake County landfill Sunday night and early this morning.

Police have also enlisted a backhoe to help sift through the 3,000 tons of trash. As of late Sunday, police said they had discovered nothing of consequence.

Lori's father, Eraldo Soares, said in a statement Friday that he is "outraged" about his daughter's reported death and the "cowardly way in which she and her baby were brutally murdered in cold blood while she slept." Lori was reportedly 5 weeks pregnant at the time of her disappearance.