Hacking story captivates

Over the course of a year, thousands of people are reported missing by loved ones and friends. And more than 1,000 women are killed by their spouses or intimate partners; one-third of those women will have been pregnant, the research suggests.

In Utah last year, 18 people were killed as a result of domestic violence, but only Lori Kay Soares Hacking garnered the attention of the world. The story drew news media outlets from across the country and dominated the headlines for weeks. A Google search of Mark and Lori Hacking's names produces more than 2.6 million hits.

Lori Hacking, 27, was allegedly shot and killed by her husband, Mark, on July 19; her body was left in a Dumpster near the University of Utah. Mark Hacking, who in April will be tried on murder and obstruction of justice charges in his wife's death, has allegedly confessed the crime to his elder brothers.

So what was it about Lori Hacking's story that so captivated the nation?

Kay Gillespie, who teaches criminal justice at Weber State University, says he thinks the amount of attention the Hacking case received has a lot to do with the way the media responded and cites the Modesto, Calif., murder of Laci Peterson in December 2002 as an example. Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant, was killed by her husband, Scott, and dumped in the San Francisco Bay. Scott Peterson has been convicted of the murders of his wife and son and sentenced to die.

"I think there are certain crimes that the media catches on to and it sort of elevates (the story)," he said. "I think the Scott Peterson thing has something to do with it. It also has to do with the nature of the victim and the nature of the families."

Televised appeals from Mark Hacking and both families got the attention of the community, which turned out by the thousands to look for the "missing" woman. The close family relationship between Mark Hacking's parents and Lori's parents, and the unified front the family has continued to present, also adds to the compelling nature of the story, Gillespie said.

"In some ways, maybe that blows the story way out of proportion," he said. "I'm always amazed at how people use the media, anyway. I'm not sure if it was my family that I would have gone to the media. Why wash all my dirty linen out there where people can see it?"

And it would seem that Mark Hacking was initially trying to use the news media to, at least temporarily, deflect attention from himself.