'Till Death Do Us Part: Love, Marriage, and the Mind of the Killer Spouse by Robi Ludwig, Matt Birkbeck Page B
Authors: Robi Ludwig, Matt Birkbeck
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Lori’s car and parked it near the jogging trail, and then visited a local furniture store and purchased the new mattress. Believing he had covered his tracks, Mark called Lori’s office, inquiring as to her whereabouts.
Upon his release from the mental facility, and following his confession to his brothers, Mark was arrested and charged with Lori’s murder. Two months later Lori’s body was found in a landfill, identifiable only through dental records. In April 2005, Mark pled guilty to killing his wife and was sentenced to sixty years life in prison.
* * * * *
T HE murder and subsequent cover-up were all too shocking for the conservative state capital of Salt Lake City. The Hackings had been together there for ten years, and their relationship appeared to be strong, with Lori, a pretty, private, reserved woman, calling her husband a “teddy bear.” In return Mark, an outgoing man who enjoyed joking around, even at his own expense, was said to have adored his wife.
But the first seeds of doubt were planted in 2002 when, unknown to anyone at the time, Mark secretly dropped out of the University of Utah after three years of study. Lori learned about this only after Mark’s mother called to say she could not pay his tuition because he was not enrolled. Mark said that he simply forgot to register. The couple reconciled and Mark returned to school. Or so everyone thought. A year later he began his supposed preparations for medical school. But this deception was far more elaborate than his previous ones. At one point he traveled to New York under the guise that he was interviewing for medical school there. He stayed with a cousin and on the day of the “interview” he dressed in a suit. Upon his return several hours later he discussed the “interview” in depth.
Previously Lori thought that her husband had received his bachelor’s degree and was set to study medicine in North Carolina. Now disabused of that notion and pregnant, her long-time dreams to become a mother and to have her own family shattered, Lori needed time to decide her future. But only a few hours later, Mark made that decision for her. It was the end of a union that had at first thrilled both families.
The Hackings loved Lori and the Soares family loved Mark. Especially Thelma, Lori’s mother. To her, Mark was more like a son than a son-in-law, which made her daughter’s murder even more devastating. And like many such murders, no one ever saw it coming.
Mark was born into a very accomplished family. His father was a well-known and well-respected pediatrician. His brothers were also professionals, one a doctor and the other an engineer. Mark told everyone he was going to follow in his family’s footsteps, his sights set on becoming a doctor. Everyone believed him and supported his dream. No one had any reason not to.
Mark and Lori were known by their friends and family to have a wonderful relationship. She was the more practical of the two, he the more carefree and spontaneous, “goofy” and “fun loving” by nature. They seemed to be in perfect balance.
Mark, like many sociopaths, could be extremely charming and impressive. The classic sociopath is someone who habitually and disobeys social norms and fails to learn from past mistakes. Mark exhibited the more neurotic variety of sociopathy, in his case triggered by an intense lack of self-esteem and self-regard. To compensate for his deficiencies, he lied, and his lying was pathological. He simply could not stop himself since lying was an easy way for him to feel good about himself.
Even when Mark achieved some success, he never really believed that he was worth very much. But the people around him would never have guessed this about him. He covered it up by being the life of the party and enjoying conversations about medicine and his professional aspirations. He spoke with certainty about becoming a doctor. All of the unpleasant realities of his life, such as failing to graduate from
Upon his release from the mental facility, and following his confession to his brothers, Mark was arrested and charged with Lori’s murder. Two months later Lori’s body was found in a landfill, identifiable only through dental records. In April 2005, Mark pled guilty to killing his wife and was sentenced to sixty years life in prison.
* * * * *
T HE murder and subsequent cover-up were all too shocking for the conservative state capital of Salt Lake City. The Hackings had been together there for ten years, and their relationship appeared to be strong, with Lori, a pretty, private, reserved woman, calling her husband a “teddy bear.” In return Mark, an outgoing man who enjoyed joking around, even at his own expense, was said to have adored his wife.
But the first seeds of doubt were planted in 2002 when, unknown to anyone at the time, Mark secretly dropped out of the University of Utah after three years of study. Lori learned about this only after Mark’s mother called to say she could not pay his tuition because he was not enrolled. Mark said that he simply forgot to register. The couple reconciled and Mark returned to school. Or so everyone thought. A year later he began his supposed preparations for medical school. But this deception was far more elaborate than his previous ones. At one point he traveled to New York under the guise that he was interviewing for medical school there. He stayed with a cousin and on the day of the “interview” he dressed in a suit. Upon his return several hours later he discussed the “interview” in depth.
Previously Lori thought that her husband had received his bachelor’s degree and was set to study medicine in North Carolina. Now disabused of that notion and pregnant, her long-time dreams to become a mother and to have her own family shattered, Lori needed time to decide her future. But only a few hours later, Mark made that decision for her. It was the end of a union that had at first thrilled both families.
The Hackings loved Lori and the Soares family loved Mark. Especially Thelma, Lori’s mother. To her, Mark was more like a son than a son-in-law, which made her daughter’s murder even more devastating. And like many such murders, no one ever saw it coming.
Mark was born into a very accomplished family. His father was a well-known and well-respected pediatrician. His brothers were also professionals, one a doctor and the other an engineer. Mark told everyone he was going to follow in his family’s footsteps, his sights set on becoming a doctor. Everyone believed him and supported his dream. No one had any reason not to.
Mark and Lori were known by their friends and family to have a wonderful relationship. She was the more practical of the two, he the more carefree and spontaneous, “goofy” and “fun loving” by nature. They seemed to be in perfect balance.
Mark, like many sociopaths, could be extremely charming and impressive. The classic sociopath is someone who habitually and disobeys social norms and fails to learn from past mistakes. Mark exhibited the more neurotic variety of sociopathy, in his case triggered by an intense lack of self-esteem and self-regard. To compensate for his deficiencies, he lied, and his lying was pathological. He simply could not stop himself since lying was an easy way for him to feel good about himself.
Even when Mark achieved some success, he never really believed that he was worth very much. But the people around him would never have guessed this about him. He covered it up by being the life of the party and enjoying conversations about medicine and his professional aspirations. He spoke with certainty about becoming a doctor. All of the unpleasant realities of his life, such as failing to graduate from
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