Soares speaks at YWCA event

Thelma Soares shared accounts of the life and death of her daughter, Lori Hacking, during an emotional speech kicking off the YWCA's Week Without Violence.

The highly publicized murder case has made Soares a reluctant celebrity and a spokeswoman for those affected by violent crime, but she renounced her new membership in the club of those affected by domestic violence.

"Many of you have said tonight that you are pleased to be here," she said at the Sunday seminar. "Well, I'm really not pleased to be here tonight."

For almost half an hour, Soares delivered a tearful, intensely personal recollection of Lori, the investigation of her killing and the subsequent outreach from people all over the world.

"We all belong to this group. There is comfort in the fact that you know others share in your grief," Soares said.

"I have experienced good along with the sorrow this summer in losing my Lori," she said, while holding up drawings and letters from children.

Soares was thrust into the national spotlight when her daughter was reported missing on July 19, sparking a huge search. Later, her son-in-law, Mark Hacking, allegedly confessed to his brothers that he shot Lori while she slept and disposed of her body in trash bins. He's been charged with murder and faces an Oct. 29 arraignment.

Mark Hacking allegedly reacted after Lori confronted him about not being accepted to medical school, even though they were packing to leave for North Carolina.

"We don't really want to belong to this group but unfortunately because of the actions of others, we are thrown into it," Soares said.

Lori's body was recovered Oct. 1 after cadaver dogs and volunteers spent months searching the landfill.

Soares said her faith and her religious beliefs have helped her deal with her grief and that her daughter's burial gave her great closure.