Judge refuses to toss evidence in Hauck case

Bountiful police were justified in entering Laura Hauck's townhouse condo without a search warrant, a judge has ruled.

The ruling is a victory for prosecutors, who have charged 18-year-old Jeremy Hauck with murder in the death of his mother, whose body was found last year stuffed inside a freezer.

In a decision released this morning in Farmington's 2nd District Court, Judge Darwin Hansen said there was "an objectively reasonable basis to believe that an emergency aid existed."

"In addition, there was a reasonable basis to believe that if Laura was in need of assistance, she was likely still inside her house. As a result, the police were justified in using the emergency aid doctrine to bypass the warrant requirement of the Fourth Amendment," Hansen wrote.

Hauck's defense attorney tried to have the evidence — including Laura Hauck's body — suppressed, which prosecutors said would have likely meant Jeremy Hauck would have been set free. However, they argued that police were justified in going into the home after family members expressed concern for Laura Hauck's safety.

On Aug. 7, 2006, police were called to Laura Hauck's condo after family members hadn't heard from her or Jeremy in several days. Officers knocked on the doors without response. Members of Hauck's extended family asked the police to go through an open window on the second floor.

Inside the basement bedroom, officers said they found a pool of blood. A trail of blood led to a freezer, where Laura Hauck's body was found.

"No police officer is going to enter a home, see blood and then back out and say 'Uh oh, I shouldn't be here," Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings told the Deseret Morning News.

Jeremy Hauck was arrested several days later in Montana, where he had checked into a motel.

Arguing that the entry was improper, defense attorney Todd Utzinger asked the judge to toss out the evidence.

In his ruling, Hansen disagreed.

"In the instant case the officers had an objectively reasonable basis to believe that an emergency existed and to believe that Laura could be inside the house in need of immediate assistance for the protection of life," Hansen wrote. "Specifically, that Laura could be inside the house in an unconscious state, semiconscious state, injured or dead."

The judge did reject a prosecution claim that Jeremy Hauck had essentially "abandoned" the property when he fled.

Utzinger did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Prosecutors said they anticipate he will appeal the ruling to the Utah Supreme Court.

Hauck remains in the Davis County Jail where he is being held on $300,000 bail.

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E-mail: bwinslow@desnews.com